The Home Alone Index: Where Americans Live Alone and How Solo Dwellers Stay Secure

Key takeaways

• Decatur, IL (41.7%), Wheeling, WV-OH (39.9%), and Champaign-Urbana, IL (39.9%) are the metros with the most solo dwellers in the country.
• Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT (12.2%), Logan, UT-ID (16.6%), and Visalia, CA (17.2%) have the fewest people who live alone.
• In the past year, 13% of people who live alone have lost sleep due to home security concerns.
• About 1 in 14 of solo dwellers (7%) admit to not locking their doors every night.

Living alone is far more common in some corners of the country than others, and it shapes how people think about safety once the front door closes. This analysis by Vivint pairs U.S. Census Bureau data on single-occupant households with a survey of 1,000 Americans to map where solo living is most common and how people who live by themselves protect their space. For homeowners and renters who go it alone, the findings offer a window into the habits, worries, and technology that help a quiet house feel secure.

Where living alone is most common

Where someone settles down can say a lot about whether they'll be sharing that space with anyone else. The patterns stretch from small Midwestern metros all the way to some of the country's biggest cities.

Decatur, IL leads the nation, where 41.7% of households have a single occupant, followed closely by Wheeling, WV-OH (39.9%) and Champaign-Urbana, IL (39.9%). At the other end of the spectrum, Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT, has the fewest people living alone at 12.2%, less than a third of Decatur’s rate. Logan, UT-ID (16.6%) and Visalia, CA (17.2%) round out the list of metros where living alone is least common, leaving the lowest-share areas mainly clustered in the West.

Metro size shapes the picture, too.

Among large metros with 400,000-plus households, New Orleans tops the list at 37.0%, ahead of Cleveland (35.6%), Milwaukee (34.2%), Pittsburgh (34.1%), and Buffalo (33.9%).

The highest rates overall, though, belong to smaller metros, where Decatur, IL (41.7%), edges out Wheeling, WV-OH (39.9%), Pittsfield, MA (39.3%), Jackson, MI (38.7%), and Grand Forks, ND-MN (38.7%). Even the leading big city falls short of the top small-metro rate, a sign that solo living tends to run highest in smaller communities.

How solo dwellers keep their homes feeling occupied

A home that looks lived-in can be a form of reassurance. People who live alone have found plenty of low-effort ways to give that impression and to stay in control of who comes to the door.

Most people who live alone took steps to make their homes seem fuller, with 77% using at least one trick to appear as though someone else was around. The most popular approach was leaving the lights on (56%), followed by keeping the TV or music playing (41%) and simply avoiding mentioning that they live alone (38%).

Caution at the door was common, too. When an unexpected visitor knocked, 94% did something other than simply open up: 42% checked a camera or peephole first, 15% stayed quiet, 11% ignored it, and 8% asked who was there before answering, while 17% said they rarely get unexpected visitors and just 6% opened the door right away. Screening like this was a steady habit for many, with 82% checking who's there before opening every time or most of the time.

Even with these habits, a small gap remains: seven percent don't lock their doors every night. Building a consistent lock-up routine is one of the simplest ways to close it. The good news is that solo living was a positive choice for most, with 62% saying they prefer it, though 18% admitted it makes them feel anxious or scared at least sometimes.

The role of smart home tech and peace of mind

Technology has made it easier than ever to keep tabs on a home from anywhere. For people who live alone, a few connected devices can turn an empty house into one that's always watching out for them.

More than half of solo dwellers (56%) owned at least one smart home security device, including:

• Security cameras (30%)
• Video doorbells (27%)
• Motion sensors (16%)
• Smart lighting on a timer or app (16%)
• Smart alarm or monitoring system (15%)
• Smart locks (12%)

Safety still crossed people's minds over the past year. The most common reaction was getting up to check a noise (38%), followed by avoiding answering the door (31%), repeatedly checking locks or cameras (21%), and keeping the lights on overnight (20%).

For some, those worries add up: in the past year, 13% of people who live alone have lost sleep due to home security concerns. Still, the overall picture is reassuring; 53% said they feel independent and safe at home, and 18% love living alone even when safety occasionally weighs on them.

Feeling secure on your own terms

Living alone clearly looks different from one metro to the next, but the instincts that come with it are remarkably consistent. Most people who live by themselves already lean on simple, effective habits, from leaving a light on to checking who's at the door before opening it, and a majority feel genuinely safe and independent at home. Layering in a few smart upgrades, like a camera or a video doorbell, can make those routines even easier to keep up.

Methodology

For this study, Vivint analyzed U.S. Census Bureau data to identify the U.S. metros with the highest and lowest shares of single-occupant households. Vivint also surveyed 1,000 Americans in June 2026, 33% of whom live alone, about their home security habits, concerns, and use of smart home technology. The survey findings reflect only the responses of people who live alone. Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.

Fair use statement

Feel free to share these findings for noncommercial purposes. If you do, please include a link back to this page with proper attribution to Vivint so readers can explore the full study.