The table illustrates the household composition in a North American country in the years 1970 and 2003, divided into family and non-family households.
Overall, married couples were the most common type of household in both years, although their proportion decreased significantly. Meanwhile, non-family households such as single and room-sharing arrangements increased considerably, showing a shift away from traditional family structures.
In 1970, married couples made up the majority of households at 61%, but this figure dropped sharply to 41% by 2003. Conversely, the percentage of single-parent households (both father + kid and mother + kid) saw a slight rise, from 9% to 10% and 10% to 11%, respectively. Households involving other family members sharing increased only marginally from 13% to 14%.
Non-family households experienced the most notable growth. The proportion of single-person households more than tripled, rising from 4% in 1970 to 13% in 2003. Similarly, room-sharing households climbed from 3% to 11%, indicating a broader trend toward more independent or communal living arrangements.
In summary, the data reflects a clear decline in traditional family households, particularly married couples, and a rise in more varied and non-traditional living arrangements over the three decades.