What does this measure?

The percentage of households composed of married couples (with and without children), singles, and other variations.

Why is this important?

Changes in the types of households in a community can provide insight into the changing structure of families and the proportions of singles living alone.

How are Cayuga and Seneca counties performing?

The most common household types in Cayuga and Seneca counties were married couples without children and non–family households made up of unrelated people living together – the same as in the state (excluding NYC) and the nation. About a third of households belonged to each of these two groups, with a slightly higher share in Cayuga being non–family households (35%). About a fifth of households had married couples with children and a tenth had single people with children, in the counties, state and nation. About 5–6% of households were made up of single people in the counties, state and nation.

Notes about the data

Figures are from the Census Bureau’s 2006–10 American Community Survey. The bureau combined three years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%–50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%–35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval). The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census.