The composition of the families that are gathering this Thanksgiving, whether in-person or virtual, is shown to have changed over time. The U.S. Census Bureau recently shared data on how the modern American family has changed over the past decade.
Like the Pilgrims, many Americans are recent immigrants. One in seven Americans were born outside of the United States. Most Americans have some branch of their family that has fairly recent immigration. Thirty-six million Americans are “first generation”, with their parents being immigrants, with 235 million (about 75%) able to trace their immigrant roots to their grandparents’ or earlier generations, according to the Census Bureau.
Family size is changing for the smaller. According to the 2019 American Community Survey, average family size declined from 3.27 persons in 2016 to 3.23 in 2019.
The 2020 Census is being prepared for submissionl right now and statistics will be analyzed and shared over the next several years. More information about families can be found at census.gov.
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
