According to estimates based on the Current Population Survey, there were 97.1 million households in the United States in March 1994. This is a net increase of about 716,000 over the total for the previous year. The number of households rose by a total of 17.4 million or an average of 1.7 million per year during the 1970's. During the 1980's, the number of households increased by about 12.6 million or by an average of about 1.3 million households per year. Since 1990, the number of households has increased by an average of approximately 940,000 per year.
Households exhibit diversity in their composition.
A family household is composed of at least two persons related by birth, marriage, or adoption. A nonfamily household is either a person living alone or a householder who is not related to any of the other persons sharing their home. The composition of households has changed significantly. There were 68.5 million family households in 1994. Families have traditionally accounted for a large majority of all households, but their proportion of the total is significantly lower now than at various points in the past.