With the interactive tool “How Many Households Are Like Yours?” you can explore different types of American households and see how they have changed over time.  Social Explorer analyzed data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) for the feature, which was created by Jeremy White, Ford Fessenden, Sergio Pecanha and Matthew Ericson.

The household interactive tool is a companion to the article “Baby Makes Four, and Complications” about a very atypical family.  Click on the figures to build your household and start comparing.

For instance, single female households constitute 15.28% of all households, while single male households make up 12.05%.  The numbers of both of these types of households have been on the rise and compared to other groups, a higher proportion of blacks live in these households and the greatest number of these households have incomes below $30,000.

You can explore the dynamics of a wide variety of household types, and you can add children, housemates and relatives into the mix as well.  Start learning more about all kinds of American families here.