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What are roommate trends over the last few decades
Hello. Thanks for your question about roommate trends. The most helpful sources I found were charts from Zillow and the U.S. Census Bureau. In 1990, approximately 48 million adults were living with roommates. In 2000, approximately 52 million adults were living with roommates, and in 2010, approximately 73 million adults were living with roommates. The most recent data I could extrapolate was from 2016, when approximately 82 million adults were living with roommates.
Below you will find a deep of my findings and calculations.
METHODOLOGY
Direct data was not available, so I calculated approximate numbers by looking at the adult population of the U.S. for the years specified and the percentage of adults living with a roommate.
CALCULATIONS
In 1990, the adult population of the U.S. was 185,400,000 and 26% of adults were living with roommates = 48 million adults living with roommates.
In 2000, the adult population of the U.S. was 209,786,000 and 25% of adults were living with roommates = 52 million adults living with roommates.
In 2010, the adult population of the U.S. was 235,224,000 and 31% of adults were living with roommates = 73 million adults living with roommates.
These numbers may be slightly elevated because the percentage of adults living with roommates provided by Zillow includes working-age adults living with their parents.
In 2016, the total population of the U.S. was 323,149,000. 77.2% of the population was adult = 249,471,000. 33% of adults age 18-34 were living with roommates (not including parents) = 82 million adults living with roommates.
This number is also most likely elevated since I could only find data for young adults living with roommates.
CONCLUSIONS
Despite a lack of direct data, I can decisively say that the number of adults living with roommates is on the rise. While the adult population of the U.S. is increasing, so are the percentage of adults living with a roommate. Thanks for using Wonder! Please let us know if we can help with anything else!