The number of people living in nonfamily households in Hamilton County, up 16% from 2012 to 2022, has increased steadily over the past decade, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The bureau defines a nonfamily household as someone living alone or where the householder shares the home only with nonrelated roommates.
The growth among this group in Hamilton County is similar to that seen in Tennessee and the nation as a whole.
Growth in nonfamily households over past decade
Hamilton County
— 2012: 47,794.
— 2022: 55,431; +16%.
Tennessee
— 2012: 818,328.
— 2022: 954,624; +16.7%.
United States
— 2012: 38.6 million.
— 2022: 44.3 million; +14.7%.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau’s five-year American Community Survey
(READ MORE: Following a trend in recent years, the Chattanooga area saw steady population growth in 2023)
In Hamilton County, the typical nonfamily household earns $40,848 a year, according to the bureau’s 2022 five-year American Community Survey.
According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s living wage calculator, that’s below Hamilton County’s living wage for a one-adult household with no children, which is $44,574 annually.
Data from the calculator was last updated Feb. 14.
(READ MORE: Hamilton gained the fifth most residents among all Tennessee counties in 2022)
The county’s increase in nonfamily households coincides with an uptick in people aged 25 to 34 and a spike in monthly rent costs over the past decade.
Emily Mack, president and CEO of the River City Company, said in an emailed statement the rise in nonfamily households could be attributed to millennials moving into their own housing.
“Younger individuals tend to have not yet established partnerships,” Mack said.
The increase in these households speaks to the need for dense housing at varied costs, she said.
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“It identifies the need for more housing in our area, including multifamily units at different price points,” Mack said.
Dan Reuter, executive director of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency, said in a phone interview that with the stagnation of wages in the past quarter century, there is a need to attract higher paying jobs to the area.
“Wages in general have not kept up with the growth in housing costs or the growth in food costs or the growth in inflation in general,” Reuter said. “There’s absolutely a need for us to attract jobs that are above retail and service level wages.”
Contact Ben Sessoms at [email protected] or 423-757-6354.