Community Corner

Census Data Shows Ferndale Increasingly Made Up of 'Nonfamilies'

That's the label the U.S. Census gives to singles or to people who are not related but living together.

What defines a home?

City-specific household and family data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau defines a home in Ferndale as one that is most likely owned and lived in by a non-traditional family.

Like most of Oakland County, the number of homeowners in Ferndale decreased over the past 10 years while the number of home-renters increased.

Find out what's happening in Ferndalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Across the county, the number of traditional families decreased while the number of nonfamilies increased. (The Census defines nonfamilies as people living alone and households that don't have any members related to the householder.)

That was true in Ferndale, as there was a 5.6 percent shift in families vs. nonfamilies during the decade.

Find out what's happening in Ferndalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Here's a closer look at the Ferndale and Oakland County data:

In Ferndale


2000

2010

Change
Total households 9,872 9,559 -313
Avg. household size 2.23 2.08
-.15
Families* 51.7% 45.5% -6.2
Nonfamilies* 48.3% 54.5% +6.2
Own home 70.8%
65.2% -5.6
Rent home 29.2%
34.8% +5.6

In Oakland County


2000 2010 Change Total households 471,115 483,698 +12,583 Avg. household size 2.51 2.46 -.05 Families* 66.9% 65.8% -1.1 Nonfamilies* 33.1% 34.2% +1.1 Own home 74.7% 72.6% -2.1 Rent home 25.3% 27.4% +2.1

Source: U.S. Census

* A family is defined by the Census as a household that includes at least one member of the household related by birth, marriage or adoption. Nonfamily households consist of people living alone and households which do not have any members related to the householder. Same-sex couples are included in the families category if there is at least one additional person related to the householder by birth or adoption.

This is one in a series of stories exploring the U.S. Census data. See more coverage here.


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