A family is defined by the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
for statistical purposes as "a group of two people or more (one of whom is the
householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together; all such people (including related subfamily members) are considered as members of one family."
A family household is more inclusive, consisting of "a household maintained by a householder who is in a family (as defined above), and includes any unrelated people (unrelated subfamily members and/or secondary individuals) who may be residing there."
In 2014 the US Census Bureau began including
same-sex marriages
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
in their counts of families and family households. Prior to this, they were counted as
cohabiting partners and thus not considered to form a family.
[Cohn]
Notes
References
*
*{{cite web, last1=Cohn, first1=D’Vera, title=Census says it will count same-sex marriages, but with caveats, url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/05/29/census-says-it-will-count-same-sex-marriages-but-with-caveats/, website=Pew Research Center, date=May 29, 2014
Family in the United States
United States Census Bureau