The table illustrates the figure for 6 types of households in North America over the period of 33 years, from 1970 to 2003.
Overall, it is clear that there was an opposite trend between the percentage of married couples and other family and non-family types. While the proportion of married couple represented a downward pattern, the figure for other types of family households slightly increased and significantly rose in non-family households at the end of the period. However, the proportion of married couples consistently outstripped all other categories in both 1970 and 2003.
The figures for single fathers, single mothers and households with other member sharing marginally rose by 1% over the period. Regarding the percentage of fathers raising children alone and unmarried mothers, the former rose from 9% to 10%, while the latter increased from 10% to 11%. This trend was similar in other member sharing (gradually climbed from 13% to 14%).
Meanwhile, the figure for married couples dramatically declined from 61% to 41% in 2003. The pattern of non-family households followed an opposite trend, with a sharp increase from around 3% to 13% for single and room-sharing households.