i+D - July/August 2018 - 30

Design
by the
Numbers

UNDER ONE ROOF
BY HANNAH WISER
Family structures in the United States and Canada are facing
historic levels of fluidity with multigenerational living on
the rise, people waiting longer to marry, and high rates
of divorce and remarriage. Two-parent households with
children under 21 years of age, known as nuclear families,
no longer dominate the domestic market. Additionally,
a shrinking middle class, a record aging population, and a
lack of single-occupancy living options are raising concerns
over access to and affordability of living for all generations.
According to 2016 data from the U.S. Census Bureau and
Statistics Canada, as well as The Vanier Institute of the
Family in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and the National
Building Museum in Washington, D.C., fewer than half of
married couples-45 percent in Canada and 46 percent in
America-have children under 25-years-old. The number
of Canadian couples without children is at an all-time low,
and nuclear families represent just 20 percent of American
households. Single-parent American households have nearly
tripled since 1950; today, 27 percent of American children
live with a single parent. Single-parent households comprise
14 percent of American families and 16 percent of that same
demographic in Canada.

Also on the rise is the percentage of young adults living
with their parents. Thirty-two (32) percent of Americans
18- to 34-years-old remain in their parents' household, close
behind the 35 percent of 20- to 34-year-old Canadians living
with at least one parent. Among young adults in America,
living with a parent is the option most taken. Meanwhile,
in Canada, one-person households are more common than
any other living arrangement, at 28 percent. In America,
single households are 28 percent of the total; however, less
than 13 percent of apartments are designed for single use.
The elderly living with their children and grandchildren
make up the fastest-growing demographic of households
in Canada at 6.3 percent. In 2016, 9 percent of Canadian
children and 10 percent of American children ages 0-14
lived with at least one grandparent. By 2050, the population
of Americans 65 and older is expected to double, totaling
88 million people. This projection emphasizes the need for
homes to be equipped with universal design for aging
in place and comfort and convenience at every life stage.
For more on the changing face of the traditional household
and the solutions being designed to satisfy such diverse
arrangements, see "Closing the Gap," p. 34.

Modern Household Demographics
CANADA
UNITED STATES

28%

45%

16%

35%

9%

SINGLE-PERSON
HOUSEHOLDS

COUPLE FAMILIES WITH
CHILDREN UNDER 25

LONE-PARENT
HOUSEHOLDS

ADULT CHILDREN
LIVING WITH PARENTS

MULTIGENERATIONAL
HOUSEHOLDS 3

28%

46%

14%

32%

10%

1

2

1. Aged 20-34
2. Aged 18-34
3. Children aged 0-14 living with at least one grandparent

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistics Canada, National Building Museum,
The Vanier Institute of the Family

30

i+D - July/August 2018
i+D - July/August 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of i+D - July/August 2018
