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Description

FAMUNIT indicates to which family within the housing unit each person belongs. If there is only one group of related individuals, all of them will be coded 1; if there is a second, separate such group, all members of that family group will be coded 2, and so on. All persons with a RELATE code less than 1100 are included in FAMUNIT, coded as 1. It is possible for an individual with a RELATE code larger than 1100 to be included in the "primary family" if they are identified as a child or spouse of a primary family member using SPLOC, MOMLOC, or POPLOC.

The Census Bureau defines "primary families" as groups of persons related to the head of household, and "primary individuals" as household heads/householders residing without kin. In the IPUMS, primary families and primary individuals are identified in FAMUNIT with a code of 1; each secondary family or secondary individual receives a higher code. Note that IPUMS primary families (FAMUNIT=1) may also include individuals that the Census Bureau does not consider to be in the primary family if they are linked to someone related to the household head by SPLOC, MOMLOC, or POPLOC. For example, IPUMS links unmarried partners of the head to the household head using SPLOC and so these partners will be included in the IPUMS primary family unit, but because they are not related by blood or marriage to the household head, they will not be included in the Census Bureau’s primary family unit. To recreate the Census Bureau’s definition of the primary family, users can select only those individuals in the IPUMS primary family whose RELATE value is less than or equal to 1100.

FAMUNIT is not analogous to the Census Bureau concept of "subfamily." People in Census Bureau "subfamilies" are necessarily related to the householder, and they will be included in FAMUNIT, coded as 1.