Demographics, Research, and Analysis
The John D. Calandra Italian American Institute continues with its project in demographics, research, and data analysis. The Italian Diasporas: Data Snapshot series provides information regarding a variety of characteristics related to the Italian diaspora. These summaries and more extensive reports answer questions such as:
What sets the Italian diaspora apart from those of other ethnic groups?
What distinguishes the Italian diaspora across the countries of immigration?
Are there significant differences in patterns of assimilation and acculturation for the Italian diaspora?
This month, the Data Snapshot examines Multigenerational Households, highlighting how Italian Americans compare with other ethnic origins and racial groups in the United States.
Multigenerational households have three or more generations living under one roof. Using data from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey, this snapshot compares the share of multigenerational households across ancestry and racial groups. The overall rate of multigenerational households is 3.4 percent, while households reporting Italian ancestry have a rate of 2.4 percent, placing Italian Americans below the overall national average.
Compared with other selected groups, 6.0 percent of Chinese households and 5.4 percent of Black or African American households include three or more generations sharing living arrangements. Even higher shares are evident amongst Other Asian or Pacific Islander groups (8.2 percent) and American Indian or Alaska Native households (7.8 percent). Hispanic households also show a higher rate, at 7.7 percent.
Italian American multigenerational households are concentrated in states with large Italian American populations. New York has the largest number of households, with 24,987, followed by New Jersey (15,711) and California (15,146). Florida (13,686) and Pennsylvania (12,954) also have higher totals.
The data indicate that multigenerational living is less common among Italian Americans than among many other ethnic and racial groups. This suggests that the commonly held stereotype of close-knit Italian Americans requires further study.
For previous Data Snapshots click here.