Living alone in Seattle almost as likely as living in a family.
Seattle is unusual for its high proportion of one-person households. This type of household is more common in Seattle than it is in the county, state, or in the nation (see table showing household composition for these areas). Two of every five Seattle households is home to just one person-41 percent, up slightly from 40 percent in 1990 (see graph showing composition of Seattle households).

In King County, 31 percent of households are comprised of one person (25 percent if Seattle households are excluded) and 26 percent of households in both Washington State and the U.S. overall are one-person homes.

Living alone more popular in Seattle than other Washington cities and selected U.S. cities of similar size.
Two of five Seattle households are comprised of just one person. The percent of one-person households in the other four Washington cities with populations over 100,000 range from 28 percent in Bellevue and Vancouver to 34 percent in Tacoma. None of the other U.S. cities shown here (see Table 1 below) has as high a percent of one-person households as Seattle's 41 percent. The 12 cities range from a low of 30 percent in Charlotte, North Carolina to 39 percent in Denver and San Francisco.

Nearly one-quarter of Seattle's one-person households is home to seniors.
People age 65 or over comprise 23 percent of Seattle's one-person households. In King County overall, 25 percent of one-person households are home to seniors (26 percent if Seattle is excluded), in Washington State, 31 percent, and in the U.S., 36 percent.

In Bellevue, Spokane, Tacoma, and Vancouver, Washington, the proportions of one-person households that are people age 65 or older are higher ranging from 28 percent to 34 percent. Of the other 12 U.S. cities shown here (see Table 2) only three have a lower percent of one-person households occupied by seniors than Seattle. In Austin, just 14 percent of one-person households are seniors; however, Charlotte, North Carolina and Minneapolis-Saint Paul are similar to Seattle with 21 and 22 percent respectively.

Seniors in Seattle are more likely to live on their own.
In Seattle people age 65 or older are more likely to live alone than are those residing in the rest of King County, Washington State, and the United States. In Seattle, just over one-third of the people age 65 or over live on their own. In 2000, seniors in Seattle were equally likely to live alone as they were in 1990 (35 percent). In King County, 29 percent of those 65 or older live alone; in King County apart from Seattle, 26 percent live alone. In Washington State and the U.S. 28 percent in this age group live alone.

Three of the cities compared here have slightly higher proportions of seniors living alone than Seattle: Boston, Denver, and Minneapolis-Saint Paul but all are within two percentage points of Seattle's 35 percent.

OTHER INFORMATION ON POPULATION TRENDS:

• DPD Population Trends Home
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• The Census and Seattle's Housing Goals
• Household Characteristics
• Home Ownership in Seattle
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