Most Seattleites live in families.
The majority of Seattleites (58 percent) live in family households as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau (see Graph 1). Family households are those where the head of the household is related to one or more others in the home by blood, adoption, or marriage; the Census Bureau defines any other household arrangement as nonfamily.
Graph 1: More Unrelated People Living Together and More People Living Alone, 1990 & 2000
Family households grew at slower rate than other types.
Graph 2 shows the shares of Seattle households that were families (with and without children), unrelated people who lived together, and people who lived alone in 2000. Families still make up the largest group at 44 percent of Seattle's households. While the number of families in Seattle grew during the decade, their share of total households is declining (see Graph 3). Other types of households have grown much faster: those comprised of unrelated persons grew by one-third and single-person households by 12 percent, while family households grew less than one percent over the decade.
Graph 2: Most Seattle Households Are Families, 2000
Graph 3: One-person Households and Urelated People Living Together Increasingly Popular in Seattle, 1990-2000
One-person households contributed the most growth to the number of Seattle households.
The number of one-person households increased by over 11,000 between 1990 and 2000 accounting for 52 percent of Seattle's new households over the decade. Households comprised of unrelated individuals contributed 46 percent of the growth in Seattle households. Families contributed 2 percent of Seattle's household growth between 1990 and 2000.
Fewer of Seattle households are families than in King County, Washington State, or the nation.
Families comprise a lower percent of Seattle households than they do in King County, Washington State, and the United States (see Table 1). Forty-four percent of Seattle's households are a family compared to 59 percent of King County households overall and 68 percent of King County households minus Seattle. In Washington State and the United States, 66 percent and 68 percent of households are families, respectively.
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Table 1: Household Composition in Seattle, King County, Washington State, and the United States |
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|
Percent of Households |
Seattle |
King |
Washington State |
United |
|
Comprised of Families* |
44 |
59 |
66 |
68 |
|
Include a Married Couple |
33 |
46 |
52 |
52 |
|
Include a Person Under Age 18 |
20 |
30 |
35 |
36 |
|
Include a Person Age 65 or Older |
19 |
18 |
20 |
23 |
|
Comprised of One Person |
41 |
31 |
26 |
26 |
|
Comprised of One Person, Age 65 or Older |
9 |
8 |
8 |
9 |
|
Comprised of Unrelated People |
15 |
10 |
8 |
6 |
|
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000, Table DP-1, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000. * Family households are comprised of two or more people who are related by blood, adoption, or marriage. |
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Seattle households are less likely to include children than are those in the county, state, and nation.
Twenty percent of Seattle households include someone under 18 years of age; in King County the corresponding figure is 30 percent (or 37 percent if Seattle households are excluded); in Washington State, 35 percent; and in the U.S., 36 percent. Of the 12 cities shown in Table 2, only San Francisco has a lower proportion with children.
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Table 2: Household Composition in Seattle, Other Washington Cities, and Selected U.S. Cities |
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PERCENT OF HOUSEHOLDS: |
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|
Families* |
Unrelated People |
One Person: |
Include Person of Age: |
|||
|
Any age |
Age 65 or over |
17 or under |
65 or over |
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|
WASHINGTON STATE CITIES |
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|
Bellevue |
63 |
8 |
28 |
28 |
29 |
22 |
|
Seattle |
44 |
15 |
41 |
23 |
20 |
19 |
|
Spokane |
58 |
8 |
34 |
34 |
32 |
23 |
|
Tacoma |
60 |
8 |
32 |
33 |
34 |
22 |
|
Vancouver |
64 |
8 |
28 |
30 |
36 |
19 |
|
OTHER SELECTED CITIES: |
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|
Austin, Texas |
53 |
14 |
33 |
14 |
30 |
12 |
|
Boston, Mass. |
48 |
15 |
37 |
25 |
26 |
19 |
|
Charlotte, N.C. |
61 |
9 |
30 |
21 |
34 |
16 |
|
Cleveland, Ohio |
59 |
6 |
35 |
32 |
35 |
24 |
|
Denver, Colo. |
50 |
11 |
39 |
24 |
26 |
19 |
|
Kansas City, Mo. |
58 |
8 |
34 |
28 |
32 |
21 |
|
Memphis, Tenn. |
63 |
8 |
34 |
29 |
35 |
21 |
|
Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minn. |
49 |
12 |
39 |
22 |
28 |
17 |
|
Oklahoma City, Okla. |
63 |
6 |
31 |
29 |
34 |
20 |
|
Portland, Ore. |
53 |
12 |
35 |
26 |
27 |
20 |
|
San Francisco, Calif. |
44 |
17 |
39 |
25 |
19 |
24 |
|
Tucson, Ariz. |
58 |
9 |
32 |
29 |
33 |
22 |
|
NOTE: The first three columns may not add to 100 due to rounding. * Family households are comprised of two or more people who are related by blood, adoption, or marriage. SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, 2001, Table DP-1. Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000. |
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Seattle's average family size is staying steady.
The average family size for Seattle increased by 1 percent from 2.84 persons per family in 1990 to 2.87 in 2000. Families in King County are larger than families in Seattle; they average 3.03 persons. If Seattle families are excluded from King County, the average size family in the county has 3.09 persons. The average family size in Washington State is 3.07 and in the United States, 3.14.
Seattle stands apart from other cities in household composition.
About twice as many Seattle households are comprised of unrelated individuals than is the case in the other Washington cities with population above 100,000--Bellevue, Spokane, Tacoma, and Vancouver (see Table 2). Also, Seattle households are more likely than those in King County, Washington State, or the U.S. to be comprised of people who are not related to one another (see Table 1). Fifteen percent of Boston households are also of this type and San Francisco has a higher percent at 17. The other U.S. cities shown here (see Table 2) each have a lower proportion ranging from six percent in Cleveland and Oklahoma City to 14 percent in Austin.
Family households are more prevalent in Washington's other cities with over 100,000 population.
Bellevue, Spokane, Tacoma, and Vancouver, Washington all have a higher share of family households than does Seattle, according to Census 2000. Family households are also more common in the other cities shown here (see Table 2) with the exception of San Francisco where, like Seattle, 44 percent of households are families.
Other Washington cities have higher percentage of households with youth.
One in five Seattle households includes someone under age 18 compared to 29 percent in Bellevue, 32 percent in Spokane, 34 percent in Tacoma, and 36 percent in Vancouver, Washington. Among the other cities shown here (see Table 2) only San Francisco has a lower percent of households (19 percent) with youth under age 18 than Seattle.
Owner-occupied households in Seattle are smaller, on average, than those in Bellevue, Spokane, Tacoma, and Vancouver, Washington, King County, Washington State, or the United States, overall. At 2.32 people, Seattle's average household size for owner-occupied homes is smaller than that for any of the cities shown here (see Table 3) which range from a low of 2.41 in Denver to 2.73 in San Francisco. Seattle's average household size for renter-occupied homes is also smaller than are those for King County, Washington State, the U.S. and all of the cities shown here.
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Table 3: Housing Tenure and Average Household Size in Seattle, King County, Washington State, United States, Other Washington Cities, and Selected U.S. Cities |
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|
Occupied Housing Units |
Avg. Household Size |
|||
|
Owner-occupied |
Renter- |
Owner-occupied |
Renter-occupied |
|
|
Seattle |
48 |
52 |
2.32 |
1.84 |
|
King County |
60 |
40 |
2.60 |
2.08 |
|
Washington State |
65 |
35 |
2.65 |
2.32 |
|
United States |
66 |
34 |
2.69 |
2.40 |
|
OTHER WASHINGTON CITIES |
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|
Bellevue |
62 |
39 |
2.54 |
2.10 |
|
Spokane |
59 |
41 |
2.47 |
2.11 |
|
Tacoma |
55 |
45 |
2.60 |
2.27 |
|
Vancouver |
53 |
47 |
2.57 |
2.42 |
|
SELECTED CITIES |
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|
Austin, Texas |
45 |
55 |
2.65 |
2.19 |
|
Boston, Mass. |
32 |
68 |
2.51 |
2.22 |
|
Charlotte, N.C. |
58 |
43 |
2.56 |
2.30 |
|
Cleveland, Ohio |
49 |
52 |
2.56 |
2.32 |
|
Denver, Colo. |
53 |
48 |
2.41 |
2.10 |
|
Kansas City, Mo. |
58 |
42 |
2.52 |
2.11 |
|
Memphis, Tenn. |
56 |
44 |
2.62 |
2.40 |
|
Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minn. |
53 |
47 |
2.55 |
2.09 |
|
Oklahoma City, Okla. |
59 |
41 |
2.51 |
2.27 |
|
Portland, Ore. |
56 |
44 |
2.47 |
2.08 |
|
San Francisco, Calif. |
35 |
65 |
2.73 |
2.06 |
|
Tucson, Ariz. |
53 |
47 |
2.58 |
2.24 |
|
NOTE: The first two columns may not round to 100 due to rounding error. SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, 2001, Table DP-1. Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000. |
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OTHER INFORMATION ON POPULATION TRENDS:
