Differences in the Household Composition of Elders by Age, Gender, and Area of Residence

Using a new procedure for coding the relationships of elders to other household members, we examined age, gender, and area-of-residence differences in household type and generational composition. The majority of elders live in some form of family household; most prevalent are two-person, married-couple-only households at ages 65-79, one-person households at ages 80-89, and two-generation households at ages 90+. Overall, elders are more likely to live in two- than in three-generation households.