Did You Know It's Unmarried and Single Americans Week?

Fun facts about Unmarried Single Americans Week:

How'd it Start? 

The Buckeye Singles Council “National Singles Week” started in Ohio in the 1980s to celebrate single life and recognize singles and their contributions to society. The week is now widely observed during the third full week of September as “Unmarried and Single Americans Week.” 

Single Life

102 million: Number of unmarried people in America 18 and older in 2011. This group comprised 44.1 percent of all U.S. residents 18 and older.  Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2011

53%: Percentage of unmarried U.S. residents 18 and older who were women in 2011; 47 percent were men. Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2011  

62%: Percentage of unmarried U.S. residents 18 and older in 2011 who had never been married. Another 24 percent were divorced, and 14 percent were widowed. Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2011

17 million: Number of unmarried U.S. residents 65 and older in 2011. These seniors comprised 16 percent of all unmarried people 18 and older. Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2011 

89: Number of unmarried men 18 and older for every 100 unmarried women in the United States in 2011. Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2011  

55 million: Number of households maintained by unmarried men in 2011. These households comprised 46 percent of households nationwide. Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2011 

33 million: Number of people who lived alone in 2011. They comprised 28 percent of all households, up from 17 percent in 1970. Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2011 

Parenting

36%: Percentage of women age 15 to 50 with a birth in the last 12 months, as of 2010, who were widowed, divorced or never married. Source: 2010 American Community Survey 

40%: Percentage of opposite-sex, unmarried-partner households in 2011 that included at least one biological child of either partner. Source: America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2011 

820,000: Number of unmarried grandparents who were caregivers for their grandchildren in 2010. They comprised about three in 10 grandparents who were responsible for their grandchildren. Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey  

Unmarried Couples

6.8 million: Number of unmarried-partner households in 2010. Of this number, 593,000 were same-sex households. Source: 2010 American Community Survey