Changes in the types of households in a community can provide insight into the changing structure of families and the proportions of singles living alone.

The two most common types of households in Worcester County in 2018-22 were married couples without children under 18 (28%) and people living alone (27%). These were the most common types 10 years earlier as well. Married couples with children under 18 comprised 20% of Worcester County households in 2018-22, down from 24% in 2008-12. Single parent households remained at 10% during the same period. There was little or no change for other household types. Less common were individuals living with relatives or non-relatives (both at 7%). The County rates were very similar to state and national rates.

The multiyear figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval). The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Data for this indicator are released annually in December.