Number of 1-person households climb, with more higher earners

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Number of 1-person households climb, with more higher earners

Published: 19 Jun. 2025, 18:48 Updated: 19 Jun. 2025, 20:35

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Individually wrapped watermelon slices, designed for single-person households, are sold at a supermarket on June 16. [YONHAP]

More Koreans are living alone — and earning more — than ever before, while the number of dual income households fell for the first time in four years.

The number of single-person households reached a record 8 million as of October 2024, up by 616,000 from the previous year, according to data released by Statistics Korea on Thursday. Of those, 5.1 million were employed, surpassing the 5 million mark for the first time.

Employed one-person households accounted for 63.7 percent of all single households, a 0.4 percentage point increase from a year earlier.

The sharpest rise was seen in highly educated and high-income individuals living alone.

Among employed one-person households, 2.66 million had at least a college degree — a 293,000 increase from the previous year. These college-educated workers made up 52.1 percent of all employed single households, up 1.5 percentage points.

One-person households with monthly incomes above 4 million won ($2,900) accounted for 22.1 percent of the total, up from 20 percent the year before. Meanwhile, the share of workers earning between 2 million and 3 million won fell by 2.1 percentage points.

Professionals and related workers also increased, making up 24.8 percent of all employed one-person households, up 0.7 percentage points from the previous year.

Analysts attribute the trend to demographic and social shifts, including delayed marriages or decisions to remain single, low birthrates and an aging population.

As a result, businesses are expected to increasingly cater to the consumption and housing preferences of high-income, single-person households.

A support center for single-person households in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul [YONHAP]

In contrast, dual income households declined for the first time since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. As of October 2024, 6.09 million married households had both spouses working — a decrease of 29,000 from the previous year.

The proportion of dual income couples among all married households fell 0.2 percentage points to 48 percent.

A Statistics Korea official said the drop reflects the slowdown in employment growth as the labor market stabilized following the post-pandemic recovery between 2021 to 2023.

“Because dual income households require both spouses to be employed, the trend closely tracks changes in employment among both men and women,” the official said.

Despite the overall decline, households with children under 18 saw an uptick in dual incomes. Among the 3.94 million married households with children, 58.5 percent had both spouses working — a 1.7 percentage point increase from the previous year.

Dual income rates were highest among couples in their 30s and 40s, at 61.5 percent and 59.2 percent, respectively. These age groups saw increases of 2.6 and 1.3 percentage points from a year earlier. However, the share of dual earners declined among those aged 15 to 29 and those 60 and older, by 2.2 percentage points and 0.6 percentage points, respectively.

Among all dual income couples, 35.3 percent worked in the same industry and 37.7 percent held the same occupation — a potential indication of increasing workplace relationships. On average, husbands worked 41.4 hours per week while wives worked 36.2 hours.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KIM WON [[email protected]]