Which us child would be most likely to live in a single-parent household today?

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced parents to find creative ways to teach and entertain their children full time while staying afloat financially. But for single parents who have to pull twice the weight, this burden is intensified.

A single-parent household often means a single income. That increases the chances such a household will face poverty, according to a 2019 report compiled by Multnomah County. Across the county, 33% of single-parent households are in poverty—the highest rate among all demographics.

The kids most likely to live in single-parent homes? Black children.

A 2014 Multnomah County report card on racial and ethnic disparities, the most recent data available, shows that 71.2% of Black children in the county live in single-parent homes. That's more than double the percentage of white children: 27.3%.

The poverty seen more often in single-parent households has long-term effects on health and can even reduce life expectancy. The report card argues that government policies haven't provided sufficient support for such families, especially among populations of color.

LaRisha Baker, director of the county's Maternal Child Family Health programs, says there may be a correlation between single-parent households and poverty, but the disproportion is rooted in the nation's history.

"It's not Black people as a community, it's due to government policies that have hurt families and their ability to stay together, including racial discriminatory incarceration, mandatory minimum sentencing laws, and family separation due to slavery," Baker says. "That still impacts us today."

This reporting has been funded in part by a grant from the Jackson Foundation. See more Black and White in Oregon stories here.

Definitions: Children under age 18 who live with their own single parent either in a family or subfamily.

In this definition, single-parent families may include cohabiting couples and do not include children living with married stepparents. Children who live in group quarters (for example, institutions, dormitories, or group homes) are not included in this calculation.

Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Supplementary Survey, 2001 Supplementary Survey, 2002 through 2019 American Community Survey.

The data for this measure come from the 2005 through 2018 American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS, fully implemented, is designed to provide annually updated social, economic, and housing data for states and communities. (Such local-area data have traditionally been collected once every ten years in the long form of the decennial census.) Race/ethnic groups represented in this table are not mutually exclusive. The category of white includes only non-Hispanic white. The categories Black or African American, American Indian, and Asian and Pacific Islander include both Hispanic and non-Hispanic. Those in the Hispanic or Latino category include those identified as being in one of the non-White race groups.

Footnotes: Updated December 2020.
S - Estimates suppressed when the confidence interval around the percentage is greater than or equal to 10 percentage points.
N.A. – Data not available.
A 90 percent confidence interval for each estimate can be found at Children in single-parent families by race and ethnicity.

The number of children living with two parents has dropped since 1968, while the percentage living with their mother only has doubled.

In 1968, 85% of children under 18 lived with two parents (regardless of marital status); by 2020, 70% did, according to the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS).

Children living with a mother only is the second most common U.S. living arrangement, a number that has doubled since 1968.

Monitoring these trends is important because children’s living arrangements can have implications for children’s outcomes, such as academic achievements, internalizing problems (e.g., depression and anxiety), and externalizing problems (e.g., anger and aggression).

Since 2007, the CPS has specifically asked respondents to identify two parents for the child if both live in the household.

If one parent is deployed overseas at the time of interview, for example, children are shown as living with one parent. The same goes for separated or divorced parents sharing custody: The parent the child is living with during the interview would be the identified parent.

Prior to 2007, respondents could report the presence of one parent only and children were only shown as living with two parents when the parent was married. If the parent was not married, children were not identified as living with two parents.

Which us child would be most likely to live in a single-parent household today?

Living With Two Parents

Living with two parents has historically been the nation’s most common children’s living arrangement. In 1968, about 60.0 million (85%) U.S. children under 18 lived with two parents. But this number dipped between 1968 and 2020 when both the percentage and overall number of children living with two parents declined.

By 2020, although this living arrangement continued to be the most common for children, the number of children living with two parents had slipped to 51.3 million (70%).

Living With Mother Only

Children living with a mother only is the second most common U.S. living arrangement, a number that has doubled since 1968.

About 7.6 million (11%) children lived with their mother only in 1968 compared to 15.3 million (21%) in 2020.

Living With Father Only

The number of children living with their father only, although still small, more than quadrupled from 0.8 million (1%) to 3.3 million (4.5%) between 1968 and 2020. This arrangement remains much less common than living with a mother only.

Living With No Parent

Perhaps unsurprisingly, living with no parent but with grandparents or other relatives, for example, is the least common living arrangement for children.

In 1968, approximately 2.0 million (3%) children lived with no parent. In 2020, that estimate rose to approximately 3.0 million (4%).

Among those living without a parent, more than half (55%) had a grandparent in the household.

Which us child would be most likely to live in a single-parent household today?

Age of Children

The age profile of children living in specific living arrangements varies.

For example, the share of children ages 0 to 5, 6 to 11, and 12 to 17 living with two married parents did not differ significantly in 2020.

However, more than half of children living with two unmarried parents were between the ages of 0 and 5. Children living with one parent or no parent were older, more often ages 12 to 17 than 0 to 5 years.

Which us child would be most likely to live in a single-parent household today?

Differences Among Race and Origin Groups

Living with two married parents was the most common living arrangement for children of all race and origin groups other than Black children.

Fewer than two-fifths of Black children were living with two married parents in 2020. These children were most likely to live with their mothers only, with nearly half living in this arrangement in 2020.

Asian children were the most likely to live with two married parents, followed by White, non-Hispanic children and Hispanic children.

Other highlights:

  • Hispanic children were the most likely (6%) to live with two unmarried parents. The percentage of White, non-Hispanic (3.1%) and Black (3.4%) children living with two unmarried parents did not differ statistically.
  • Asian children were the least likely to live with two unmarried parents (roughly 2%).
  • Hispanic children were half as likely as Black children to live with their mothers only, with almost a fourth living with their mother only. About 13% of White, non-Hispanic children and about 8% of Asian children lived with their mothers only.
  • The percentage (5%) of White, non-Hispanic children living with their father only did not differ statistically from that of Black children. About 4% of Hispanic children lived with their father only. Asian children were less likely to live with their father only (about 2%) compared to children in the other race or Hispanic origin groups.
  • Living with no parent was most common for Black children (8%); followed by Hispanic (4%); White, non-Hispanic (3%); and Asian children (1%).

The America’s Families and Living Arrangements tables and figures also provide details about unmarried couples, family groups, household sizes and other living arrangements.

More information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error and definitions is available on the CPS technical documentation page.  

Paul Hemez and Chanell Washington are survey statisticians in the Census Bureau’s Fertility and Family Statistics Branch. 

Which us child would be most likely to live in a single-parent household today?

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Which group is most likely to live with a single parent quizlet?

Black children are far more likely to live with a single parent than are other racial or ethnic groups, regardless of the child's age.

Who is most likely to be a single parent in the United States today quizlet?

About 25% of all U.S. children live with just one parent. Single parents are overwhelmingly women who either have never married or are divorced.

What percentage of African American families is headed by a single parent quizlet?

70% of births in African American families are to single mothers.

Which of the following is an example of a social convention?

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