Living Arrangements

Over the course of the twentieth century, living arrangements changed dramatically for older adults. In the early 1900s, the majority of older adults lived with one of their adult children. In 1910, only 12 percent of widows age sixty-five or older lived alone. Following World War II, there was a dramatic increase in the percentage of elderly people living alone. In the 1990s, most older adults either lived with their spouses or, if not married, alone.

Today, the majority of males age sixty-five and over live with a spouse (72 percent) while 20 percent live alone or with nonrelatives. Only a small proportion of older men live with other relatives (8 percent). On the other hand, most women age sixty-five and over tend to live alone or with nonrelatives (43 percent), and another 40 percent live with a spouse. A small percentage of older women (17 percent) live with other relatives.