WASHINGTON, May 5 (UPI) -- A years-long slide in the number of people living in one household ended and reversed in some states, U.S. Census data released Thursday indicated.
Average household size crept up in Florida, growing to 2.48 persons per household compared to 2.46 in 2000, USA Today reported. In Tennessee, the average household size stopped sliding, settling at 2.48 people.
The statistics were included in the first batch of detailed data on 12 states and the District of Columbia.
The average household size in rentals either rose or remained flat in 11 states when comparing data 2000 and 2010 data, USA Today reported.
The troubled housing market, the recession and high unemployment forced more people to live under one roof.
"The economy played a large role," Zhenchao Qian, an Ohio State University sociology professor who is a researcher for the US 2010 Census Project, told USA Today.
The triple whammy played out in the percentage of young adults between the ages of 19 and 29 living with their parents, Qian's research indicates. The percentage rose from 25 percent in 1980 to 34 percent in the late 2000s, Qian's research shows.
"Young adults have poor job prospects when the economy is bad," he said.
Fewer traditional households dropped in the 12 states and the District of Columbia, data indicated. The number of married couples without children also rose in the states, in part because children of Baby Boomers became grew up and left the nest, USA Today said.
