Living Solo
The latest trend in many industrialized countries, including ours, is that of living alone. More people in Indiana are going it alone, living by themselves in an apartment or condo or their empty-nested family home. Each decade brings a larger percentage of people who live alone, and in Indiana that number is now more than one in four households – 26.9 percent of all households in Indiana compared to 26.7 percent nationally (see Figure 1). Consider this: the percentage of households comprised of married couples with children is now 19.9 percent in Indiana and 20.2 percent nationally.
Figure 1: Living Solo Timeline for Indiana, 1940 to 2010
Source: IBRC, using U.S. Census Bureau data
As shown in Table 1, the Census counted 671,920 Hoosiers living alone, with the majority (55 percent) women. Most of those living alone tend to own rather than rent, with 56 percent of them owning and the remaining 44 percent renting. Among seniors living alone, nearly three in four are women (73 percent).
Table 1: Living Solo in Indiana—Results from Census 2010
| Category | Number Living Alone | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| By Sex | ||
| Total | 671,920 | 100% |
| Men | 303,513 | 45% |
| Women | 368,407 | 55% |
| By Tenure | ||
| Owner | 379,164 | 56% |
| Renter | 292,756 | 44% |
| By Age | ||
| Less than Age 65 | 433,803 | 65% |
| 65 and Older | 238,117 | 35% |
| Men 65+ | 64,936 | 27% |
| Women 65+ | 173,181 | 73% |
| For Context | ||
| 65+ Living in Group Quarters | 39,942 | 5% |
Source: IBRC, using U.S. Census Bureau data
We will continue to mine the 2010 census in InContext, but if you are hungry for more data be sure to visit American FactFinder (https://data.census.gov), the repository for the 2010 Census as well as the American Community Survey.
Carol O. Rogers
Deputy Director and Executive Editor, Indiana Business Research Center, Indiana University Kelley School of Business