The bar chart presents the percentage of individuals living solitarily across five different age groups in the USA from 1850 to 2000.
Overall, the figures were highest at the end of the period and lowest in 1850, when two different age groups namely 17 to 26 and 27 to 36 were not even present. Among the five groups, the values for the oldest age group (55-64) showed the most significant changes, whereas those for the middle-aged group (37-46) experienced only modest shifts.
Looking first at the percentages of American residents between 55 and 64 living alone. Starting at roughly 3 percent, this group initially showed modest increase to just below 3.2 before experiencing a notable surge, reaching 9 in 1950. It then continued to rise rapidly before peaking at around 17 at the end of the period, claiming the number one spot. A comparable pattern emerged among participants aging 47-54 and 37-46: both groups began at 2% in 1850, followed by a modest increase in the next century before going through a sharp rise to 13 and 17 percent, respectively.
Finally, the last two age groups ranging from 27-36 and 17-26 emerged later in 1990 and 1950 respectively. Specifically, they also experienced modest increases throughout the years ,ending with a substantial growth at the end of the period. The figure for those aged 27-36 started at 2 and peaked at 7, while that of the youngest age group began at around 1.7 and finalized at just above 4 in 2000.