The U.S. Census reports some startling facts about the single and unmarried demographic within the American population. Just one question -- isn't single and unmarried the same thing?

Apparently not. According to the definition of the Buckeye Singles Council in Ohio, which "celebrates life, recognizes singles and their contributions to society," according to the U.S. Census, "many unmarried Americans do not identify with the word "single" because they are parents, have partners, or are widowed."

That said, out of nearly 300 million Americans, 89.9 million are unmarried or single, a whopping 41 percent of all U.S. residents age 18 and older.

Fifty-four percent of unmarried and single Americans are women.

Of the singles and unmarrieds, 60 percent have never been married, while the remaining 25 percent are divorced and 15 percent are widowed. There are currently 86 unmarried men age 18 and older for every 100 unmarried women in the United States.

Singles and unmarrieds over the age of 65 constitute 14 percent of singles and unmarrieds, or 14.9 million people.

Of special interest to developers, builders and Realtors is the rising number of people who live alone -- 29.9 million. This is a huge increase to 26 percent of all households, up from 17 percent in 1970. Nearly half of all households (55 million) are maintained by unmarried men or women. Of these, 12.9 million are households comprised of single parents living with their children, 10.4 million of which are single mothers. And, 4.9 million households consist of unmarried-partners, a householder living with someone of the opposite sex who was identified as their unmarried partner.

The society is increasingly relaxed about how children are raised. Thirty-two percent of births in 2004 were to unmarried women, and 40 percent of opposite-sex, unmarried-partner households include children. And, according to American FactFinder, nearly one in three (672,000) grandparents are the primary caregivers for their grandchildren.

"National Unmarried and Singles Week" is observed during the third full week of September (Sept. 17-23 in 2006).

Published: August 14, 2006

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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.