Household Headship and its Changes in the United States, 1940–1960, 1970

Abstract This article examines changes in household headship reported in U.S. census data, 1940–1960, with some 1970 material. Household headship is discussed as a demographic variable which has substantial importance for sociologists and economists. Change occurred both in the likelihood of an adult being a household head and in type of head. Increases came both from favorable shifts in marital status and from rate changes, holding marital status constant. The most striking change is the enormous increase in the proportion of older widowed and divorced women living alone as household heads.