Average family size in the US through the years?

[Dan]

I'm working on the Demographics Element of the comp plan right now.

I'd like to find breakdowns of average/median family size in the US from 1900 through 2000, or even for recent decades. I'm trying to reassure inner ring suburbs with declining populations that they aren't dying, but rather family sizes and living patterns are changing.

I'm not looking for the answer itself (I don't want you to do the work for me), but where I can find it; I can't seem to ferret out the data from the US Census Web site.

 

[nerudite]

Here's a table on the average household size in the US from 1940 to present...

http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/hh-fam/tabHH-6.xls

I got it from the Families and Household data page at the Census site:

http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam.html

 

[Dan]

Thanks!

Do you know if breakdowns are available for individual regions?

 

[Wannaplan?]

These links might be helpful:

http://www.ipums.umn.edu/usa/index.html

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/usgd/census/schedules.html

 

[nerudite]

Not that I know of (at least not from the Federal government). There may be a State agency that compiles its own info. Here's the Ohio Quicklinks from the Fed site, but it will probably only have numbers from the last decade or two:

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/39000lk.html

 

[SGB]

Do you know if breakdowns are available for individual regions?

Check with your regional planning board/commission to see what historical data they may have available.

 

[donk]

From a quick look I noticed that total population data and total households are available. if worse comes to worse you could always do the math yourself.

A trip to the library may be needed too.