The Census Bureau has reported that in 2010 only 48 percent of American households were represented by married couples.  This is the first time that figure has dropped below 50 percent.  This is down from 78 percent in 1950—the days of “Ozzie and Harriet” are gone.  Just a fifth of households were traditional families—married couples with children.

The image of the American family has changed.  The overwhelming majority of Americans still eventually marry, although increasingly working-class people do not stay married.