US Households Decline in 2020

Taking shelter brought many back home

By Cheryl Russell

These are historic times. For those keeping count, here’s another eyebrow-raising consequence of the coronavirus pandemic: fewer households. That’s right, there are fewer households in the United States in 2020 than there were in 2019. The decline was slight, but unprecedented. Since the founding of the nation, households in the US have increased each time they have been measured—every 10 years by the census earlier in our history and annually by the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey more recently.

The data used to produce household estimates are collected by the Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement, fielded in March of each year. A lot was happening in March 2020, none of it good. Americans were taking shelter from the pandemic at home, and some fled to the homes of others. There were 128,451,000 households in the US in March 2020, down from 128,579,000 in March 2019.

While the overall decline was small—just 128,000 households—it was much bigger for one group—Generation Z, the nation’s youngest adults. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the oldest Gen Zers were beginning to establish their own households. This foray into independent living came to a halt for many in the spring of 2020, a fact documented by the 2020 household estimates. The number of households headed by Gen Zers (defined here as householders under age 25) was a stunning 12.8 percent lower in March 2020 than in March 2019—a loss of 793,000 households. Millennial households (householders aged 25 to 44) also shrank in 2020, but the decline was much smaller—a loss of 125,000 households, or less than 1 percent. (The number of households headed by 45-to-54-year-olds also fell in 2020, but this decline has been ongoing for the past decade and due to the small Generation X moving into the age group.)

What happened to all those young adults who threw in the towel on independent living? You know what happened. They went home to Mom and Dad. An analysis by Pew Research Center of 2020’s monthly Current Population Survey data reveals that the 52 percent majority of 18-to-29-year-olds were living with their parents in July, up from 47 percent in February. Fifty-two percent is an historic high, Pew notes, surpassing the previous measured high of 48 percent in the aftermath of the Great Depression—that’s Depression, not Recession.

The Gen Z retreat to the safety and security of home occurred in every race and Hispanic origin group, according to Census Bureau estimates. The number of Gen Z households fell 11 percent among non-Hispanic whites, 14 percent among Blacks and Hispanics, and 18 percent among Asians. “These new living arrangements may have an impact not just on young adults and their families, but on the US economy overall,” Pew cautions.

It’s been a rough year for everyone, but especially for the youngest adults. Let’s hope next year is better.

Gen Z Households Plummet in 2020

Households by generation of householder in 2020 (and percent change 2019-2020)

Gen Z (under age 25) 5,406,000 (-12.8%)

Millennials (aged 25 to 44) 41,856,000 (-0.3%)

Gen X (aged 45 to 54) 21,659,000 (-1.9%)

Boomers (aged 55 to 74) 44,630,000 (1.8%)

Older Americans (aged 75-plus) 14,900,000 (2.9%)

Source: Census Bureau, 2020 Current Population Survey