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Singles |
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SINGLE STATS: Single and Suburban From Singles, The Magazine for Today's Single Forget the Cleavers (Ward and June) and the Nelsons (Ozzie and Harriet). Single professionals and widows increasingly head up suburban households. One of the surprising bits of information from the 2000 census that’s only recently been released is the fact that singles now outnumber married couples with children in suburbia. That’s not how it used to be. Until this census, the cities were the playgrounds of singles. It wasn’t until you married and were ready to start a family that many singles moved to the suburbs. But today’s single isn’t waiting for Mr. or Ms. Right to start on the rest of the American dream. The census found that in suburban areas, singles are 29 percent of the population while married couples with children are just 27 percent. The shift is striking. Condos and houses that would once have attracted couples are today occupied by single men and women -- sometimes with children; sometimes without. Suburbs with the greatest growth include Mesa and Glendale in Arizona -- both suburbs of Phoenix. Santa Ana, Anaheim and Riverside are fast-growing suburbs of Los Angeles. Arlington, Plano and Garland are suburbs of Dallas. And much of that growth -- in some cases well over 2,000 percent in the last half-century -- can be attributed to singles. Part of the explanation for the trend could be the movement of jobs. With many companies fleeing cities with high rents in favor of lower cost suburban offices, you’d expect employees to follow. But it’s also about lifestyle choices. Sure, there are singles in the city, enjoying the nightlife and cultural opportunities available. But living in the suburbs or smaller communities doesn’t necessarily mean you have to give all that up. Singles can live near their jobs Monday through Friday, shortening their commutes, and enjoying planting roots as well as flowers in their own yards on Saturday morning and still head into the city for a fun evening out. Lee, 27, an insurance salesman once lived in a suburb. "It was less expensive," he said. "It was quiet but still allowed me to get into town when I wanted to get into town." Lee has since moved back into town, deciding living out in the suburbs was too far from his friends. His friends mostly have stayed in town. Those who grew up in the suburbs, however, have often lived there all their lives and continue to stay. Suburban areas also increasingly offer activities and shopping opportunities that singles enjoy. Shopping is concentrated in malls rather than a single downtown business district. At the mall, alongside Sears and J.C. Penney’s, are coffee bars and trendy clothing stores to draw singles. Even products in grocery stores have changed to reflect the changing population. Just as city grocers frequently stocked ready-to-eat and frozen foods for single customers, those who shop in suburbia are just as likely to find sushi as family-sized portions of meat. Since two of three householders own their own homes, it shouldn’t be surprising that more and more singles are buying their own homes. The 1999 homebuyer's survey of first-time homebuyers by the Chicago Title Corporation showed nearly 32 percent of all buyers were singles. And since 26 percent of Americans live alone there are more singles than ever before. Many of us choose to marry late in life -- if at all. Many of the suburbs among the fastest growing have large populations and are overtaking the influence -- and size -- of more familiar urban areas. Mesa, Arizona, is a city of more than 396,000 people -- larger than Minneapolis or St. Louis. Yet it’s not a familiar name to the rest of the country -- yet. Looking at the list of the fastest-growing suburban cities, one thing becomes clear -- most of them are in the west, mirroring the growth and spread of America’s population westward. Internet References: www.census.gov/ |