More Americans are living alone than ever before
As a viral app sparks debate about solo living in China, new Census Bureau data shows that the share of one-person households in the US is reaching record highs.
A new app has risen to the top of China’s iPhone App Store charts — one markedly more macabre than the messaging platforms and AI assistants that typically lead the ranking.
On Monday, media outlets reported that the viral named app Sile Me (which roughly translates from Mandarin as a very literal “Are You Dead?”) had become the country’s most popular paid Apple App Store download.
Launched in mid-2025 and costing a mere 8 yuan ($1.15) to buy, Sile Me offers just one function: a large button that users can press to confirm that they are, in fact, alive. If they fail to do so for two consecutive days, the app will reach out to an appointed emergency contact.
Sile Me, myself, and I
While the app’s simplicity is reminiscent of some earlier patrons of the App Store, its sudden popularity is putting the spotlight on a growing cohort of solo dwellers in the Eastern nation.
Research suggests that there could be as many as 200 million one-person households in China by 2030 — and while a rapidly aging population explains some of that rise, younger people now also appear to be embracing living alone.
In the US, it’s no different. Data from the US Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey for 2025 reveals that the number of one-person households in the US is edging close to a record 40 million, with the share of American households made up of just one person hitting an all-time high of 29%.
This denotes an estimated ~1.3 million extra one-person households in 2025 compared with the prior year, though the Bureau noted that this may be reflective of both demographic changes and methodological updates. Even so, the significant rise over the last decade indicates a broader societal shift that’s been playing out around the globe.
Residin’ solo
As noted by The Economist in November, the share of people living alone has increased in 26 out of 30 rich countries since 2010.
Marriage rates are continuing to plummet in the US, as well as in China and many other developed nations, which has coincided with rising incomes and some heated online discourse about traditional relationships. And, like China, the surge in solo dwellings is also being driven at the other end of the demographic spectrum: America’s population aged 65 and older, statistically the most likely cohort to live alone, is expected to keep booming.
