Americas Families and Living Arrangements: 2012

Population Characteristics
By Jonathan Vespa, Jamie M. Lewis, and Rose M. Kreider Issued August 2013
P20-570

INTRODUCTION
Families and living arrangements in the United States have changed over time, just as they have developed distinct regional trends because of factors such as local labor markets and migration patterns. As a result, it is difficult to talk about a single kind of family or one predominant living arrangement in the United States. The goals of this report are to provide an updated picture of the composition of families and households and to describe trends in living arrangements in the United States.1 The report also describes how families and households have changed in recent years, notably during the latest economic recession, which lasted from 20072009.2 This report uses data from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the American Community Survey (ACS).3 It capitalizes on the strengths of both data sets, using CPS detailed information about family structure and characteristics over time, along with ACS
The 8.0 million people living in group quarters (rather than households) in 2011, 2.8 percent of whom were under the age of 18, are not included in this report. See Table S2601A accessible on American FactFinder at <http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages /productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_1YR_S2601A&prodType=table>. 2 For periods of recession in the United States, see the National Bureau of Economic Research, <www.nber.org/cycles.html>. The most recent recession began December 2007 and ended June 2009. 3 The data in this report are from the CPS ASEC, collected in February, March, and April of 2012 and earlier supplements, and the 2011 ACS. The CPS represents the civilian noninstitutionalized population living in the United States, and the ACS represents the population in households.
1

data about how basic family and household characteristics vary across states.4 The report contains five sections: (1) a review of some data sources for studying family life in the United States; (2) households and living arrangements of adults; (3) family groups; (4) spouses, partners, and couples; and (5) the economic well-being of families before and after the 20072009 recession, focusing on childrens perspective. Some highlights of the report are: Sixty-six percent of households in 2012 were family households, down from 81 percent in 1970. Between 1970 and 2012, the share of households that were married couples with children under 18 halved from 40 percent to 20 percent. The proportion of one-person households increased by 10 percentage points between 1970 and 2012, from 17 percent to 27 percent. Between 1970 and 2012, the average number of people per household declined from 3.1 to 2.6.

4 For more details on the ACS, including its sample size and questions, see <www.census.gov/acs/www/>. Further information on the CPS is available at <www.census.gov/cps/>. For a comparison of households and families estimates in ACS and CPS, see Martin OConnell and Gretchen Gooding, 2005, Comparison of ACS and ASEC Data on Households and Families: 2004, Census Bureau Working Paper accessible online at <www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/library/2006 /2006_OConnell_01.pdf>.

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Economics and Statistics Administration
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

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 Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of men aged 65 and over lived with their spouse compared with less than half (45 percent) of women. Married couples made up most (63 percent) of the family groups with children under the age of 18. Partners in married oppositesex couples were less likely (4 percent) to be different races than partners in either unmarried opposite-sex couples (9 percent) or same-sex couples (12 percent).5 Black children (55 percent) and Hispanic children (31 percent) were more likely to live with one parent than non-Hispanic White children (21 percent) or Asian children (13 percent).6 During the latest recession, the percentage of stay-at-home mothers declined and did not
5 Note that unmarried opposite-sex couples were not statistically different from same-sex couples. 6 Federal surveys now give respondents the option of reporting more than one race. Therefore, two basic ways of defining a race group are possible. A group such as Asian may be defined as those who reported Asian and no other race (the race-alone or singlerace concept) or as those who reported Asian regardless of whether they also reported another race (the race-alone-or-in- combination concept). The body of this report (text, figures, and tables) shows data using the first approach (race alone). Use of the singlerace population does not imply that it is the preferred method of presenting or analyzing data. The Census Bureau uses a variety of approaches. For further information, see the 2010 Census Brief, Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin: 2010 (C2010BR-02) at <www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs /c2010br-02.pdf>. This report will refer to the White-alone population as White, the Black-alone population as Black, the Asianalone population as Asian, and the Whitealone-non-Hispanic population as White, nonHispanic. Because Hispanics may be any race, data in this report for Hispanics overlap with data for racial groups. Based on the 2012 CPS ASEC, 19 percent of the White population was Hispanic, as was 7 percent of the Black population, 4 percent of Asians, and 23 percent of others who reported only one race. Since the ACS sample is much larger than the CPS, we are able to show additional categories for race groups in Table 1.

Households A household contains one or more people. Everyone living in a housing unit makes up a household. One of the people who owns or rents the residence is designated as the householder. For the purposes of examining family and household composition, two types of households are defined: family and nonfamily. A family household has at least two members related by birth, marriage, or adoption, one of whom is the householder. A nonfamily household can be either a person living alone or a householder who shares the housing unit only with nonrelativesfor example, boarders or roommates. The nonrelatives of the householder may be related to each other. Family households are maintained by married couples or by a man or woman living with other relatives. Children may or may not be present. In contrast, nonfamily households are maintained only by men or women with no relatives at home. Own children are a subset of all childrenthey are the biological, step, or adopted child of the householder or family reference person (in the case of subfamilies) for the universe being considered, whether household, family, or family group. Own children are also limited to children who have never been married, are under the age of 18 (unless otherwise specified), and are not themselves a family reference person. Foster children are not included as own children since they are not related to the householder. return to its prerecession level until 2012. During the latest recession, homeownership among households with their own children under the age of 18 fell by 15 percent. These households saw a 33 percent increase in parental unemployment. The various designs and topics of the surveys provide an array of perspectives for studying Americas families and living arrangements. For example, the U.S. Census Bureaus Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) is a panel study that follows the same respondents over time. It collects detailed information on household relationships, assets, and participation in government transfer programs, which researchers can use to study disadvantaged families as well as the living arrangements, support, and economic well-being of children. Other data sources, such as the Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies and National Survey of Adoptive Parents, focus specifically on the cognitive, physical, and mental development of children. The National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth follow the same birth cohort over time, collecting data

DATA SOURCES FOR STUDYING AMERICAN FAMILIES

Because the family interacts with many aspects of social life, surveys typically opt for depth over breadth by concentrating data collection on a handful of related family topics. Appendix Table A highlights the variety of data sources available for studying families, households, and living arrangements in the United States.

U.S. Census Bureau

on educational, family, and work experiences through young adulthood and into middle age, while the Health and Retirement Study follows the life course experiences of older Americans. Other surveys focus on ties between the family and specific experiences such as incarceration and substance abuse (e.g., the Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health). This report features data from the ACS and CPS to describe Americas families and living arrangements. The ACS provides statistics about the nations people, housing, and economy at various geographic levels including the nation, state, and county. The CPS collects detailed information about the economic characteristics of households, including employment patterns, work hours, earnings, and worker occupation. Because the survey began in 1940, researchers can use the CPS to examine change in families and households over the last half century.7

changes in Americas households and living arrangements: Households and families have gotten smaller over time. Married households tended to be older and made up a smaller share of all households. Living alone has become more widespread as the rising number of one-person households offset the shrinking number of married households withchildren. The increase in living alone and the decline in married households reflect a rising age at first marriage for men and women. In 2011, there were 56 million married-couple households and 32 million one-person households (Table 1). The United States had about 115 million households in 2011 (Table 1). Family households numbered 76 million, which included about 56 million married-couple households and 5 million male and 15 million female householders with no spouse present.8 Nonfamily households numbered 39 million and represented one-third of all households in the United States. Of these nonfamily households, 32 million consisted of one person living alone. Twelve million nonfamily households were maintained by individuals 65 years and older. Over time, the proportion of households headed by older individuals

has increased.9 Twenty-two percent of households in 2011 had a householder 65 or older, up from 20 percent in 2007, when the U.S. Census Bureau last reported on this topic in detail. Householders in married-couple family households also tended to be older than those in other family households (Table 1). In 2011, 41 percent of married-couple family householders were at least 55 years old; in comparison, about 24 percent of other male family householders and 26 percent of other female family householders were in this age range. The difference partly results from the way these families are defined. When a married couple with children becomes empty nesters, they are still counted as a married-couple family. But when children move out of a one-parent family household, a parent living alone is counted as a nonfamily household. Because parents with children still at home tended to be younger, other family householders tended to be younger. Fewer family households with a Hispanic or Black householder were maintained by a married couple (Table 1). In 2011, married-couple households made up 81 percent of the family households that an Asian householder maintained and 80 percent that a White, nonHispanic householder maintained. The corresponding proportion among Hispanic and Black householders was smaller: 62 percent and 44 percent, respectively. Likewise, other family households were more common among Hispanic or Black householders than they were among Asian or non-Hispanic White householders.
9 See Table 1, Rose M. Kreider and Diana Elliott, 2009, Americas Families and Living Arrangements: 2007, Current Population Reports, P20-561, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC.

AMERICAS HOUSEHOLDS AND LIVING ARRANGEMENTS

Many factors affect the number, type, and size of households. These include patterns of population growth such as fertility and mortality, decisions individuals make about their living arrangements, and changes in social norms, health, and the economy that influence how individuals organize their lives. In turn, individual decisions produce aggregate societal changes in household and family composition. This section of the report highlights several historical

For more information on the history of the CPS, see Chapter 2 of Technical Paper 66 at <www.census.gov/cps/files/Techincal paper 66 chapter 2 history.pdf>.

8 The estimates in this report (which may be shown in text, figures, and tables) are based on responses from a sample of the population and may differ from actual values because of sampling variability or other factors. As a result, apparent differences between the estimates for two or more groups may not be statistically significant. All comparative statements have undergone statistical testing and are significant at the 90 percent confidence level unless otherwise noted.

U.S. Census Bureau

Table 1.

Households by Type and Selected Characteristics: ACS 2011

All households Characteristic Number All households . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Age of Householder 15 to 24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 to 34 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 to 54 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 to 64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 years and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Race and Hispanic Origin of Householder White alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Non-Hispanic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Black or African American alone. . . . . . . American Indian and Alaska Native alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Asian alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Some Other Race alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . Two or More Races. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hispanic (any race) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Size of Household 1 person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 or more people. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Average size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number of Related Children Under 18 No related children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . With related children2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 or more children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Presence of Own Children Under 18 No own children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . With own children2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . With own children under 12. . . . . . . . . With own children under 6 . . . . . . . . With own children under 3 . . . . . . With own children under 1 . . . . . Tenure Owned home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rented home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Occupied without payment . . . . . . . . . . . 114,991,725 Margin of error1 Total Married couple Family households Other families Male householder Female householder Male householder Female householder Nonfamily households

Total

179,541 76,084,006 55,519,648

5,457,141 15,107,217 38,907,719 18,030,888 20,876,831

4,704,541 17,704,876 21,065,572 24,351,960 21,760,211 25,404,565

44,095 60,479 48,364 50,700 51,095 61,226

2,058,709 11,834,989 16,560,256 17,651,283 14,293,163 13,685,606

791,259 7,547,784 11,440,262 13,008,878 11,643,837 11,087,628

386,058 1,145,249 1,321,452 1,308,663 731,021 564,698

881,392 2,645,832 3,141,956 5,869,887 3,798,542 4,505,316 3,333,742 6,700,677 1,918,305 7,467,048 2,033,280 11,718,959

1,311,058 3,434,054 2,801,769 3,617,182 3,333,840 3,532,985

1,334,774 2,435,833 1,703,547 3,083,495 4,133,208 8,185,974

89,716,881 80,686,965 13,879,391 814,468 4,644,197 130,399 3,841,498 1,964,891 13,637,150

118,696 58,946,781 45,982,567 98,050 51,980,137 41,500,162 46,747 8,726,419 3,804,021 15,555 24,448 4,921 29,836 34,711 557,425 3,446,258 100,674 3,026,253 1,280,196 315,753 2,787,491 67,105 1,759,462 803,249 6,528,120

3,802,675 3,060,572 836,460 61,588 219,358 11,180 404,534 121,346 1,212,573

9,161,539 30,770,100 14,173,114 16,596,986 7,419,403 28,706,828 13,082,329 15,624,499 4,085,938 5,152,972 2,312,473 2,840,499 180,084 439,409 22,389 862,257 355,601 2,800,449 257,043 1,197,939 29,725 815,245 684,695 3,096,008 133,593 591,684 15,795 472,839 331,390 1,673,986 123,450 606,255 13,930 342,406 353,305 1,422,022

56,416 10,541,142

31,886,794 38,635,170 18,044,529 15,030,350 6,940,508 2,704,873 1,749,501 2.64

114,173 X X 115,300 32,882,461 24,712,814 75,552 17,225,354 11,006,882 58,958 14,710,713 11,290,906 46,062 6,854,293 5,268,439 26,971 2,674,980 2,003,798 22,103 1,736,205 1,236,809 Z 3.34 3.28

X 2,171,427 1,611,009 903,885 440,483 186,396 143,941 3.50

X 31,886,794 14,119,225 17,767,569 5,998,220 5,752,709 3,069,470 2,683,239 4,607,463 819,175 533,053 286,122 2,515,922 319,637 218,093 101,544 1,145,371 86,215 59,209 27,006 484,786 29,893 22,465 7,428 355,455 13,296 9,373 3,923 3.49 1.28 1.35 1.22

77,844,222 37,147,503 15,902,634 13,414,048 5,430,075 2,400,746

158,791 78,916 66,375 58,604 38,142 27,581

38,936,503 31,462,882 37,147,503 24,056,766 15,902,634 9,325,508 13,414,048 9,368,291 5,430,075 3,774,744 2,400,746 1,588,223

2,372,577 5,101,044 38,907,719 18,030,888 20,876,831 3,084,564 10,006,173 X X X 1,714,744 4,862,382 X X X 889,656 3,156,101 X X X 334,647 1,320,684 X X X 145,517 667,006 X X X

81,228,585 33,763,140 24,346,074 14,307,333 8,086,757 2,782,662

150,547 78,715 69,573 64,326 60,155 28,518

42,320,866 32,958,335 33,763,140 22,561,313 24,346,074 16,523,483 14,307,333 9,855,286 8,086,757 5,697,549 2,782,662 1,984,657

2,805,085 2,652,056 1,854,578 1,117,335 644,262 242,226

6,557,446 38,907,719 18,030,888 20,876,831 8,549,771 X X X 5,968,013 X X X 3,334,712 X X X 1,744,946 X X X 555,779 X X X

74,264,435 38,515,453 2,211,837

230,440 54,627,945 44,808,444 103,548 20,313,830 10,027,501 24,889 1,142,231 683,703

2,929,038 2,405,146 122,957

6,890,463 19,636,490 7,881,183 18,201,623 335,571 1,069,606

8,511,414 11,125,076 8,972,270 9,229,353 547,204 522,402

X Not applicable. Z Rounds to zero. 1 This number, when added to or subtracted from the estimated total number of households in each category or the average household size, represents the 90 percent confidence interval around the estimate. 2 Excludes ever-married children under 18 years. Note: See <www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of_Data_2011.pdf> for further information on the accuracy of the data. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2011.

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Figure 1.

Households by Type, 1970 to 2012: CPS

(In percent)

_1.7 11.5

3.6 14.0

4.6 14.9

5.0 14.7

5.7 14.8

5.6 15.3

6.2 14.8

6.1 15.2

Other nonfamily households Women living alone Men living alone

5.6 10.6 8.6 12.9 14.8 30.3 29.9 29.8 15.6 9.7 10.2

10.7

11.3

11.9

12.3

16.0

16.7

17.4

17.8

Other family households

28.9

28.7

28.3

28.8

29.1

Married couples without children

40.3 30.9

26.3

25.5

24.1

22.9

20.9

19.6

Married couples with children

1970

1980

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2012

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, selected years, 1970 to 2012.

The share of households that married couples maintained has fallen since 1970, while the share of nonfamily households has increased (Figure 1). Figure 1 shows households by type from 1970 to 2012. Family households predominated in 1970, when they made up 81 percent of all households. This proportion dropped to around 66 percent by 2012. Note, however, that most of this change occurred between 1970 and 1990. Changes in household type since 1990 have been smaller. The most noticeable trend in Figure 1 is the decline of married-couple households with their own children, from 40 percent of households in 1970 to 20 percent in 2012. As of 1970, married couples with children outnumbered married couples

without children but by 2012 the opposite was true. Indeed, the number of married couples without children has grown in recent years, from 28 percent of households in 2005 to 29 percent in 2012. This change is likely related to the aging of householders, noted earlier, as well as delays in childbearing.10 The other family households shown in Figure 1 (families whose householder was living with children or other relatives but had no spouse present) increased from 11 percent of households in 1970

to 18 percent in 2012.11 Since 1992, however, the proportion of households that are one-parent families (included in the other family households category) has stabilized at about 9 percent.12 The growth in one-person households (people living alone) is responsible for most of the increase in nonfamily households over timeand the corresponding decrease in family households. The proportion of one-person households increased by 10 percentage
11 Although a spouse is not present, an unmarried partner of the parent may or may not be present. 12 See historical Tables HH-1 and FM-1, accessible on the U.S. Census Bureau Web site at <www.census.gov/hhes/families/files/hh1 .xls> and <www.census.gov/hhes/families /files/fm1.xls>. Although the proportion of one-parent families remained around 9 percent throughout this period, the 2012 value is significantly higher than in 2008 through 2010, 2000 through 2005, and 1992 through 1993.

10 Between 1970 and 2006, the average age of first-time mothers increased from 21.4 years to 25.0 years. See T. J. Mathews and Brady E. Hamilton, 2009, Delayed Childbearing: More Women are having their First Child Later in Life, NCHS Data Brief, No. 21, National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD.

U.S. Census Bureau

Figure 2.

One-Person Households by Age and Sex, 1970 to 2012: CPS

(In percent)

15.9

15.6

17.1

16.6

16.0

15.0

Women 75+

19.6

16.2

14.4

11.2

9.9

10.2

Women 6574

29.8 30.9

29.2

30.4

29.6

30.1

Women 1564

3.6 4.8 5.6 4.0

3.9 4.5

4.7 4.1

5.1 5.1

4.9 5.5

Men 75+ Men 6574

23.2

30.6

30.9

33.0

34.3

34.3

Men 1564

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2012

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, selected years, 1970 to 2012.

points between 1970 and 2012 (from 17 percent to 27 percent) compared with an increase of 4 percentage points in other nonfamily households (from 2 percent to 6 percent) during the same period (Figure 1). In 2012, women represented more than half (55 percent) of one-person households, although men have been closing this gap over time. More one-person households were headed by men aged 15 to 64 in 2012 than in 1970 (Figure 2). Figure 2 highlights changes in one-person households, by age and sex, from 1970 to 2012. It shows a decline in the share of older women living alone, which fell by half over the 40-year period, from 20 percent to 10 percent, 6

among 65- to 74-year-old women. The decrease for the oldest women (aged 75 and older) was much smaller, dipping by 1 percent across the same period. The share of one-person households maintained by men aged 65 and older did not change between 1970 and 2012. However, one-person households headed by men aged 15 to 64 did rise, from 23 percent in 1970 to 34 percent in 2012. This pattern could result from changes in divorce rates, which increased sharply between 1970 and 1980.13 However, oneperson households among women of the same age did not increase between 1970 and 2012. This may
13 See Joshua R. Goldstein, 1999, The Leveling of Divorce in the United States, Demography, 36:409414.

be explained by living arrangements following divorce. Because mother-only custody is the dominant living arrangement for children following divorce, men more often than women live alone following a divorce.14 Households and families have become smaller over time (Figure 3). Between 1970 and 2012, the average number of people per household declined from 3.1 to about 2.6.15 But the most profound changes in household size occurred among the largest and smallest
14 See Maria Cancian and Daniel R. Meyer, 1998, Who Gets Custody? Demography, 35:147157. 15 See historical Tables HH-4 and HH-6, accessible on the U.S. Census Bureau Web site at <www.census.gov/hhes/families/files/hh4 .xls> and <www.census.gov/hhes/families /files/hh6.xls>.

U.S. Census Bureau

Figure 3.

Households by Size, 1970 to 2012: CPS

(In percent)

20.9

12.8

10.4

10.4

10.4 14.6

9.8 14.5

10.1 13.7

9.6 13.3

5 people or more 4 people

15.7 15.8 17.5

15.5 17.3

15.5 17.0

16.4

16.1

15.9

15.9

3 people

17.3

31.4 28.9

32.3

32.2

33.1

33.0

33.6

33.8

2 people

17.1

22.7

24.6

25.0

25.5

26.6

26.7

27.4

1 person

1970

1980

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2012

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, selected years, 1970 to 2012.

households (Figure 3). Households with five or more people decreased by half, from 21 percent to 10 percent of households, between 1970 and 2012 while the share of households with only one or two people increased from 46 percent to 61 percent. Consistent with trends in Figure 1 for household type, changes in more recent decades have been small. There was no significant difference, for example, in households with five or more people between 2005 and 2012. Multigenerational households were less common among White, non-Hispanic householders (Table 2). The term multigenerational refers to family households consisting of three or more generations.

These include families with either a householder with both a parent and a child, a householder with both a child and grandchild, a householder with both a grandchild and a parent, or a four-generation household (i.e., a householder with a parent, child, and grandchild present). In 2012, multigenerational households made up 5 percent of family households, although this percentage differed by race and Hispanic origin (Table 2).16 Multigenerational households made up 3 percent of family households with a White,
16 The comparable figure from the ACS was 6 percent. See Tables B11017 and B11001, accessible on American FactFinder at <http://factfinder2.census .gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages /productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_1YR _B11017&prodType=table> and <http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/ pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_1YR _B11001&prodType=table>.

non-Hispanic householder compared with 6 percent of those with an Asian reference person and 8 percent of those with a Black or Hispanic reference person.17 The most common type of multigenerational household was one in which a householder lives with a child and a grandchild (64 percent). This pattern was especially pronounced among multigenerational households with a White, nonHispanic householder. The next most common type was one in which a householder lives with a child and a parent (34 percent). This pattern was predominant among multigenerational households with an Asian householder.
17 The share of family households that were multigenerational did not differ statistically for Black and Hispanic householders.

U.S. Census Bureau

Table 2.

Multigenerational Households by Race and Hispanic Origin of Reference Person: CPS 2012
(Numbers in thousands) Total all family households 80,506 3,726 4.6 80,506 2,390 1,274 62 63,829 3,010 13,667 9,486 6,572 64,448 45,522 34,984 30,413 25,596 15,342 8,606 2,802 100.0 3.0 1.6 0.1 79.3 3.7 17.0 11.8 8.2 80.1 56.5 43.5 37.8 31.8 19.1 10.7 3.5 Total multigenerational households 3,726 3,726 100.0 3,726 2,390 1,274 62 2,519 105 1,102 694 514 2,518 2,252 1,474 1,222 990 581 296 106 100.0 64.1 34.2 1.7 67.6 2.8 29.6 18.6 13.8 67.6 60.4 39.6 32.8 26.6 15.6 7.9 2.8 Race of family reference person White alone, nonHispanic 54,146 1,638 3.0 1,638 1,187 425 25 1,463 18 157 206 196 1,236 1,157 481 372 299 161 79 25 100.0 72.5 25.9 1.5 89.3 1.1 9.6 12.6 12.0 75.5 70.6 29.4 22.7 18.3 9.8 4.8 1.5

Characteristic

White alone 64,614 2,533 3.9 2,533 1,690 798 44 1,716 81 736 414 362 1,756 1,591 942 776 621 366 192 75 100.0 66.7 31.5 1.7 67.7 3.2 29.1 16.3 14.3 69.3 62.8 37.2 30.6 24.5 14.4 7.6 3.0

Black alone 9,651 799 8.3 799 544 245 9 671 18 109 209 100 489 493 306 244 199 110 58 17 100.0 68.1 30.7 1.1 84.0 2.3 13.6 26.2 12.5 61.2 61.7 38.3 30.5 24.9 13.8 7.3 2.1

Asian Hispanic alone (any race) 4,149 262 6.3 262 91 164 6 30 4 228 40 20 202 105 157 138 115 68 27 7 100.0 34.7 62.6 2.3 11.5 1.5 87.0 15.3 7.6 77.1 40.1 59.9 52.7 43.9 26.0 10.3 2.7 11,585 970 8.4 970 539 412 19 286 68 616 229 183 558 458 512 448 360 228 126 54 100.0 55.6 42.5 2.0 29.5 7.0 63.5 23.6 18.9 57.5 47.2 52.8 46.2 37.1 23.5 13.0 5.6

Total all family households . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total multigenerational households . . . . . . . . . . . Percent multigenerational households . . . . . . . . . Number. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Type of multigenerational household1 Householder with child and grandchild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Householder with child and parent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Householder with grandchild and parent or four-generation household. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Presence of foreign-born persons in household No foreign-born persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Householder is foreign-born . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other person beside householder is foreign-born. . . . . . Poverty status Below 100 percent of poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 to 199 percent of poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 percent of poverty and above. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Presence of children under 182 No children under 18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . At least one child under 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . At least one child under 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . At least one child under 12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . At least one child under 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . At least one child under 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . At least one child under 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Percent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Type of multigenerational household1 Householder with child and grandchild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Householder with child and parent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Householder with grandchild and parent or four-generation household. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Presence of foreign-born persons in household No foreign-born persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Householder is foreign-born . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other person beside householder is foreign-born. . . . . . Poverty status Below 100 percent of poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 to 199 percent of poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 percent of poverty and above. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Presence of children under 182 No children under 18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . At least one child under 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . At least one child under 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . At least one child under 12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . At least one child under 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . At least one child under 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . At least one child under 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 2

For total all family households, categories do not add to total or 100 percent, as there is no category for nonmultigenerational households. Excludes ever-married children under 18 years, as well as householders. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2012.

U.S. Census Bureau

Multigenerational households were more likely to contain foreign-born persons (Table 2). Table 2 shows that 79 percent of family households had no foreignborn persons, compared with 68 percent of multigenerational households. Multigenerational households with an Asian or Hispanic householder were substantially more likely to include the foreign-born than those with a White, non-Hispanic or a Black householder. Eighty-nine percent of multigenerational households headed by White, non-Hispanics and 84 percent headed by Blacks contained no foreign-born persons, compared with 29 percent of those with a Hispanic householder and 11 percent with an Asian householder. These patterns are not surprising when considering that half (53 percent) of all foreign-born persons in the United States come from Latin America and the Caribbean, and over one-quarter (28 percent) come from Asia.18 Multigenerational households were more likely to be in poverty (Table 2). In 2012, 19 percent of multigenerational households were below 100 percent of poverty compared with 12 percent of all family households (Table 2). Poverty was especially pronounced for multigenerational households with a Black (26 percent) or Hispanic reference person (24 percent).19 Forming a multigenerational household may be a strategy for coping with

poverty and could offer a financial safety net for some families.20 Women aged 25 to 34 were more likely to live with a spouse than men were; men in this age group were more likely than women were to live alone or in their parents home (Table 3). The last part of this section discusses the living arrangements of men and women and of younger and older adults (Table 3 and Figure 4). Gender differences in the age at first marriage and cohabitation drive the living arrangements of young men and women. Table 3 shows that 59 percent (9 million) of men 18 to 24 years old lived in their parents home in 2012, compared with 51 percent (7.6 million) of women the same age.21 It is important to note that the CPS counts students living in dormitories as living in their parents home.22 In contrast, women 18 to 24 years old were more likely to live with a spouse or unmarried partner. Among this age group of young adults, 11 percent of women and 6 percent of men were married
20 See Rakesh Kochhar and DVera Cohn, 2011, Fighting Poverty in a Tough Economy, Americans Move in with their Relatives, Pew Research Center, Washington, DC, <www.pewsocialtrends.org/files/2011/10 /Multigenerational-Households-Final1.pdf>. 21 For more information on young adults living at home, see Laryssa Mykyta and Suzanne Macartney, 2012, Sharing a Household: Household Composition and Economic Well-Being: 20072010, Current Population Reports, P60-242, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. See also, Rose M. Kreider, 2007, Young Adults Living in their Parents Home, a working paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, New York, NY, August 1114, 2007, <www.census.gov/hhes/families/files /young-adults-in-parents-home.pdf>. 22 Estimates from ACS data show that about 7.8 percent of young adults aged 18 to 24 lived in college/university housing. See Tables S2601B and B01001, accessible on American FactFinder at <http://factfinder2 .census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages /productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_1YR _S2601B&prodType=table> and <http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/ pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_1YR _B01001&prodType=table>.

and living with their spouse. An additional 12 percent of women and 8 percent of men cohabited with an unmarried partner. These differences reflect a trend in which women typically marry at younger ages than men do.23 This gender pattern was also present at older ages. Although living with a spouse was the most prevalent type of living arrangement among 25- to 34-year-olds, a greater proportion of women in this age group lived with a spouse than men (48 percent versus 40 percent, respectively). And although some 25- to 34-year-olds were living in their parents home, this arrangement was more common among men than women (16 percent versus 10 percent). Men aged 65 or older were more likely to live with their spouse; women in this age group were more likely to live alone (Table 3). Differences in living arrangements among older adults most likely reflect womens longer life expectancy, their higher rate of widowhood, and lower rate of remarriage.24 Shown in Table 3, older men were more likely to live with their spouse while older women were more likely to live alone. For example, 36 percent of women 65 and over lived alone, compared with only 19 percent of men. Table 3 highlights some notable differences among older adults as well. Living with ones spouse was more common for 65- to 74-yearold men and women than it was for adults aged 75 or older. For example, 75 percent of men and
23 In 2012, the median age at first marriage was 28.6 for men and 26.6 for women. See historical Table MS-2, accessible on the U.S. Census Bureau Web site at <www.census .gov/hhes/families/files/ms2.xls>. 24 See Elizabeth Arias, 2012, United States Life Tables, 2008, National Vital Statistics Reports, 61(3), National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD.

18 See Elizabeth M. Grieco et al., 2012, The Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 2010, American Community Survey Reports, ACS-19, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. 19 The share of multigenerational households in poverty did not differ statistically between those with a Black and Hispanic householder.

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Table 3.

Living Arrangements of Younger and Older Adults by Age: CPS 2012

(Numbers in thousands) Characteristic YOUNGER ADULTS Total, 18 to 34 Years Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living with spouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living with an unmarried partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Child of the householdernot living with a spouse or partner1 . . . Other living arrangement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 to 24 Years Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living with spouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living with an unmarried partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Child of the householdernot living with a spouse or partner1 . . . Other living arrangement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 to 34 Years Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living with spouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living with an unmarried partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Child of the householdernot living with a spouse or partner1 . . . Other living arrangement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OLDER ADULTS Total, 65 Years and Over Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living with spouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living with an unmarried partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other living arrangement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 to 74 Years Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living with spouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living with an unmarried partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other living arrangement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 years and Over Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living with spouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living with an unmarried partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other living arrangement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1

Number Men Women

Percent Men Women

35,612 2,976 9,163 4,139 12,254 7,079 15,154 653 925 1,151 9,008 3,417 20,458 2,323 8,238 2,988 3,247 3,662

35,714 2,482 11,625 4,627 9,639 7,341 14,971 724 1,592 1,765 7,626 3,265 20,743 1,758 10,033 2,862 2,014 4,076

100.0 8.4 25.7 11.6 34.4 19.9 100.0 4.3 6.1 7.6 59.4 22.6 100.0 11.4 40.3 14.6 15.9 17.9

100.0 7.0 32.5 13.0 27.0 20.6 100.0 4.8 10.6 11.8 50.9 21.8 100.0 8.5 48.4 13.8 9.7 19.6

18,333 3,462 13,216 430 1,225 10,980 1,829 8,199 274 678 7,353 1,633 5,017 156 548

23,160 8,355 10,335 305 4,164 12,393 3,369 6,875 230 1,920 10,767 4,987 3,461 75 2,244

100.0 18.9 72.1 2.3 6.7 100.0 16.7 74.7 2.5 6.2 100.0 22.2 68.2 2.1 7.5

100.0 36.1 44.6 1.3 18.0 100.0 27.2 55.5 1.9 15.4 100.0 46.3 32.1 0.7 20.8

The CPS counts students living in dormitories as living in their parents home. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2012.

56 percent of women aged 65 to 74 resided with their spouse, compared with 68 percent of men and only 32 percent of women who were aged 75 or older.

Fewer women 65 and over lived alone in 2012 than in 2003 (Table 3). Consistent with trends shown in Figure 2, the percentage of women aged 65 or older who lived alone declined between 2003 and 2012,

from 40 percent to 36 percent.25 During the same period, the percentage of older women who lived with a spouse rose from 41 percent to 45 percent. Nonetheless, the
25 See Table 7, Jason Fields, 2003, Americas Families and Living Arrangements: 2003, Current Population Reports, P20-553, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC.

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Figure 4.

Young Adults Living in Their Parents' Home, 1960 to 2012: Census and CPS
Men 1824 Percent 70 Women 1824 Men 2534 Women 2534

60

50

40

30

20

10

0 1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 1960, 1970, and 1980 Census, and Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 1983 to 2012.

share of men in this age group who lived alone or with a spouse did not change during this period. These trends likely reflect the gradually closing gap between male and female life expectancy.26 More men and women aged 18 to 34 lived in their parents home in 2012 than in the early 2000s (Figure 4). Figure 4 shows the percentage of young adults who lived in their
26 Between 1996 and 2008, the malefemale gap in life expectancy at birth narrowed from 6 to 5 years. See Robert N. Anderson, 1998, United States Abridged Life Tables, 1996, National Vital Statistics Reports, 47(13), National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD; Elizabeth Arias, 2012, United States Life Tables, 2008, National Vital Statistics Reports, 61(3), National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD.

parents home between 1960 and 2012. Between 2000 and 2012, the trend has been for a rising share of young adult men and women to live in their parents home, among both 18- to 24-year-olds and 25- to 34-year-olds. This living arrangement was much more common among 18- to 24-year-olds than among the older group of young adults. These trends in young adult living arrangements follow a broader pattern in the United States in which young adults are experiencing the traditional markers of adulthood, such as starting a family, leaving their parents home, and establishing stable careers, later in life than previous recent

generations did.27 Importantly, the CPS, but not the decennial census, counts students living in dormitories as living in their parents home. A nontrivial number of young adults were enrolled in college or graduate school: 43 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds.28 This difference in survey design helps account for the apparent increase in this living
27 Francis Goldscheider and Calvin Goldscheider, 1999, The Changing Transition to Adulthood: Leaving and Returning Home, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; Maria Lacovou, 2002, Regional Differences in the Transition to Adulthood, Annals of the American Academy of Political Social Science, 580:40 69; Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, 2007, Emerging Adulthood: What is it and what is it Good for? Child Development Perspectives, 1:6873. 28 See Table B14004, accessible on American FactFinder at <http://factfinder2 .census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages /productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_1YR _B14004&prodType=table>.

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11

arrangement between 1980 (decennial census data) and 1983 (CPS data).

Family Groups Households can contain more than one married-couple family or oneparent family. Nonfamily households can contain families that are not related to the householder. In 1970 the Census Bureau developed the concept of the family group to count all of these types of families. Family groups include family households plus all family groups that do not include the householder (subfamilies). These subfamilies may consist of either married couples or parent-child units. An individual may be counted in two different family groups. For example, the householder and her adult daughter and granddaughter form one family group. The adult daughter and her child form a second family group, a mother-child subfamily. Reference people are the members of a household around whom family units are organized. In family households, the householder is always the reference person for the primary family, while another member of the household would be the reference person for the subfamily.

AMERICAS FAMILIES
The family is a vital institution in American society and serves as a major source of support and socialization for individuals, especially children. The CPS can identify family units regardless of whether they include the householder. For example, if a mother and child live in the home of the mothers parents, then the mother and her child are considered a separate family group. This section of the report highlights several trends in Americas families and family groups:

Table 4.

Family Groups by Race and Hispanic Origin of Reference Person: CPS 2012
(Numbers in thousands) Race of family reference person Type of family group Total Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Married couple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . With children under 181 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Without children under 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Unmarried parent couple2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mother only with children under 183 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Father only with children under 183. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Householder and other relative(s)4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grandparent householder with grandchildren under 18 . . . . Householder with adult children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Householder with young adult children aged 18 to 24. . . Householder with parent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Married couple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . With children under 181 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Without children under 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Unmarried parent couple2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mother only with children under 183 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Father only with children under 183. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Householder and other relative(s)4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grandparent householder with grandchildren under 18 . . . . Householder with adult children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Householder with young adult children aged 18 to 24. . . Householder with parent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 2

White alone 68,080 51,545 20,035 31,510 1,402 6,566 1,489 7,078 791 4,067 1,607 1,613 100.0 75.7 29.4 46.3 2.1 9.6 2.2 10.4 1.2 6.0 2.4 2.4

White alone, nonHispanic 56,299 44,264 15,760 28,505 881 4,521 1,185 5,448 590 3,406 1,294 1,022 100.0 78.6 28.0 50.6 1.6 8.0 2.1 9.7 1.0 6.0 2.3 1.8

Black alone 10,459 4,521 1,961 2,560 301 3,035 324 2,279 376 1,337 615 459 100.0 43.2 18.7 24.5 2.9 29.0 3.1 21.8 3.6 12.8 5.9 4.4

Asian alone 4,621 3,666 1,779 1,888 66 265 56 568 33 193 71 238 100.0 79.3 38.5 40.9 1.4 5.7 1.2 12.3 0.7 4.2 1.5 5.2

Hispanic (any race) 13,046 7,889 4,655 3,234 609 2,381 345 1,822 222 734 361 664 100.0 60.5 35.7 24.8 4.7 18.3 2.6 14.0 1.7 5.6 2.8 5.1

85,463 61,047 24,445 36,602 1,859 10,322 1,956 10,277 1,249 5,747 2,371 2,420 100.0 71.4 28.6 42.8 2.2 12.1 2.3 12.0 1.5 6.7 2.8 2.8

Excludes ever-married children under 18 years. Includes unmarried opposite-sex couples who have at least one joint never-married child under 18 years. 3 Parent may have a cohabiting partner, but none of his or her children are also identified as the child of his or her cohabiting partner. 4 Subcategories of householder and other relative(s) are not mutually exclusive. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2012.

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 Married families tended to be economically advantaged compared with other families, but the economic well-being of all families has worsened since 2007. Married families were still the most common family arrangement and tended to be prevalent in the Plains States, Midwest, and West. Married family groups have declined over time but remained the most common type of family group regardless of race or Hispanic origin (Table 4). Married couples, especially those with children under the age of 18, have made up a declining share of family groups over time, while other family groups have become more common (Table 4). In 2012, 71 percent of family groups were married couples, down from 74 percent in 2003.29 Of these married couples, 40 percent had children under the age of 18, down from 45 percent in 2003.30 Both the absolute number and relative size of all other types of family groups, except for unmarried mothers, have increased since 2007.31 These groups include unmarried-parent couples,32 unmarried fathers with children under the age of 18, and

householders who live with other relatives. Table 4 shows that the most common family group was married couples, regardless of race or Hispanic origin. The distribution of family groups varied depending on the race and Hispanic origin of the family reference person, however. Married family groups, for example, were more common among Whites and Asians (76 percent and 79 percent, respectively) than Blacks or Hispanics (43 percent and 61 percent, respectively). Blacks had the highest percentage of mother-only family groups and householders living with other relatives (29 percent and 22 percent, respectively), followed by Hispanics (18 percent and 14 percent, respectively). Unmarried-parent couples were most common among Hispanics, at 5 percent. Since 2007, householders living with other relatives have increased across all racial and ethnic groups; they now make up a larger share of family groups than they did 5 years ago. The percentage of mother-only and father-only family groups increased since 2007 (Table 5). Table 5 details characteristics of the nearly 39 million family groups with children under 18 years old and highlights three noteworthy trends. First, married parents were economically advantaged compared with other family groups with children under the age of 18. Second, father-only family groups were in better economic standing than mother-only family groups. And third, the economic welfare of all family groups with children under the age of 18 declined since 2007. Overall, married couples made up the majority of family groups with children under the age of 18 (63 percent). This percentage decreased since 2007, however,

when they made up 67 percent of family groups with children. Across the same period, the percentage of mother-only family groups rose from 25 to 27 percent while that of unmarried couples with children and father-only family groups each rose from 4 to 5 percent. Married parents were the most economically advantaged of all the family groups with children under the age of 18 (Table 5). The economic advantage of married families is consistent with research showing that marriage is associated with greater wealth.33 Married parents were more likely to be college educated and to be homeowners compared with unmarried parents and with mother-only and father-only families.34 Nine percent of married-family groups were living below the poverty level and 9 percent were receiving food stamps compared with 4 times as many mother-only families who were living below poverty or receiving food stamps. Not all one-parent family groups were similarly disadvantaged. Father-only groups were in better economic standing than motheronly groups, evidenced by their better educational attainment, higher rates of employment and homeownership, and lower rates of food stamp receipt (Table 5). Roughly 19 percent of these single fathers had a bachelors degree, compared with 17 percent of the single mothers. Furthermore, over
33 See, for example, Daniel Schneider, 2011, Wealth and the Marital Divide, American Journal of Sociology, 177:627667. See also, Jonathan Vespa and Matthew A. Painter II, 2011, Cohabitation History, Marriage, and Wealth Accumulation, Demography, 48:9831004, Scholars have found both that wealthier people are more likely to marry and married people accumulate more wealth. 34 Note that the share of unmarried parents who were homeowners was not significantly different from the share of mother-only families who were homeowners.

29 See Table 3, Jason Fields, 2003, Americas Families and Living Arrangements: 2003, Current Population Reports, P20-553, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. 30 See Table 3, Jason Fields, 2003, Americas Families and Living Arrangements: 2003, Current Population Reports, P20-553, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. 31 See Table 2, Rose M. Kreider and Diana Elliott, 2009, Americas Families and Living Arrangements: 2007, Current Population Reports, P20-561, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. 32 CPS data can better identify these groups in 20072012 than in 2003. Beginning in 2007, the CPS added a direct question to measure cohabitation. See Rose M. Kreider, 2008, Improvements to Demographic Household Data in the Current Population Survey: 2007, <www.census.gov/population /www/documentation/twps08/twps08.pdf>.

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Table 5.

Family Groups With Children Under 181 by Selected Characteristics: CPS 2012
(Numbers in thousands) Number Two parents Characteristic Married parents Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Age of Reference Person Under 20 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 to 29 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 to 39 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 years and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Race and Hispanic Origin of Reference Person White alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Non-Hispanic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Black alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Asian alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other race. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hispanic (any race). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Education of Male Less than high school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . High school graduate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Some college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bachelors degree or higher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Education of Female Less than high school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . High school graduate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Some college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bachelors degree or higher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Employment of Male Not employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Employed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Employment of Female Not employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Employed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Household Receives Food Stamps Receives food stamps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Does not receive food stamps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tenure Owned home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rented home3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Poverty Status4 Below 100 percent of poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 to 199 percent of poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 percent of poverty and above. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,445 18 466 1,901 3,790 4,763 5,064 8,442 20,024 15,751 2,047 1,728 646 4,647 2,786 6,335 6,143 9,180 2,391 5,446 6,769 9,839 2,625 21,820 8,542 15,903 2,263 22,182 17,919 6,526 2,168 4,159 18,118 One parent Two parents Married parents 100.0 0.1 1.9 7.8 15.5 19.5 20.7 34.5 81.9 64.4 8.4 7.1 2.6 19.0 11.4 25.9 25.1 37.6 9.8 22.3 27.7 40.2 10.7 89.3 34.9 65.1 9.3 90.7 73.3 26.7 8.9 17.0 74.1 Unmarried parents2 Mom only 1,859 26 237 484 402 246 230 235 1,366 832 340 65 88 613 476 780 462 141 408 636 610 206 428 1,432 819 1,040 607 1,252 668 1,192 785 530 545 10,322 225 1,278 1,559 1,890 1,858 1,507 2,006 6,566 4,521 3,035 265 457 2,381 X X X X 1,688 3,229 3,677 1,729 X X 3,448 6,875 4,010 6,312 3,908 6,415 3,960 2,945 3,418 Percent One parent Unmarried parents2 Mom only 100.0 1.4 12.7 26.0 21.6 13.2 12.4 12.6 73.5 44.8 18.3 3.5 4.7 33.0 25.6 42.0 24.9 7.6 21.9 34.2 32.8 11.1 23.0 77.0 44.1 55.9 32.7 67.3 35.9 64.1 42.2 28.5 29.3 100.0 2.2 12.4 15.1 18.3 18.0 14.6 19.4 63.6 43.8 29.4 2.6 4.4 23.1 X X X X 16.4 31.3 35.6 16.8 X X 33.4 66.6 38.8 61.2 37.9 62.1 38.4 28.5 33.1

Dad only 1,956 11 76 200 320 367 358 624 1,489 1,185 324 56 87 345 268 793 519 376 X X X X 446 1,510 X X 366 1,590 1,105 851 351 522 1,084

Dad only 100.0 0.6 3.9 10.2 16.4 18.8 18.3 31.9 76.1 60.6 16.6 2.9 4.4 17.6 13.7 40.5 26.5 19.2 X X X X 22.8 77.2 X X 18.7 81.3 56.5 43.5 17.9 26.7 55.4

X Not applicable. 1 Excludes ever-married children under 18 years. 2 Includes unmarried opposite-sex couples who have at least one joint never-married child under 18 years. 3 No cash rent is included with rented home. 4 For both primary families and subfamilies, poverty status of the primary family is shown. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2012.

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half (57 percent) of the fatheronly groups were homeowners, compared with 38 percent of the mother-only groups. One reason for these differences is that the fathers were older than the mothers, which reflects a common route to single parenthood for men and women in the United States. Most fathers who become single parents do so through divorce whereas single mothers are more often never married. Table 6 shows that of all the children who lived with their father only, 44 percent had a divorced father but 47 percent of children who lived with their mother only had a nevermarried mother.35 The share of one-parent family groups that fathers maintained rose from 10 to 17 percent between 1980 and 2012 (Table 6). Table 6 reinforces the finding that one-parent family groups were concentrated in the South, as was shown in Figure 6. The table also reveals that regional variation depends on the parents race and Hispanic origin. For example, Asian and Hispanic one-parent family groups lived predominantly in the West, while Black one-parent groups lived predominantly in the South. These patterns most likely reflect historical trends in residence and migration across the United States.36 Table 6 also shows differences between father-only and mother-only family groups. For example, children in father-only family groups were more likely to live with the parents cohabiting partner than children in motheronly family groups. In addition, more mother-only family groups
35 See Table C3 accessible on the U.S. Census Bureau Web site at <www.census .gov/hhes/families/data/cps2012.html>. 36 See Karen R. Humes et al., 2011, Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin: 2010, 2010 Census Brief, C2010BR-02, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC.

Cohabitation Cohabitation. This report uses the terms unmarried partner, cohabiting partner, and cohabiter interchangeably. Since 1995 and in the historical tables since 1996, a category of relationship to the householder has been available from the Current Population Survey for use in the measurement of cohabitation. This category allows respondents to identify an individual in the household as the unmarried partner of the householder. Beginning in 2007, a question was also asked of adults who lived with adult nonrelatives to find out if they had a boyfriend, girlfriend, or partner living in the household. In the ACS, a relationship category for unmarried partner has been available since its inception in 2005. had young children, under the age of 6, in the household as fatheronly family groups. Married households with their own children under the age of 18 were more prevalent in the Plains States, Midwest, and West (Figure 5). Following national trends in Americas families, Figures 57 show geographic differences in the prevalence of family households. Research has shown that regional variations in married and unmarried households are related to the job opportunities of men and women and the availability of potential mates in a given area.37 Figure 5 shows the percentage of U.S. households with children under the age of 18 that married couples maintained (67 percent) and whether the estimate for each state was above or below the national average. The figure shows distinct regional differences. States with a percentage of marriedparent households that was below the national estimate were concentrated near the Great Lakes and in
37 See, for example, Daniel T. Lichter et al., 1991, Local Marriage Markets and the Marital Behavior of Black and White Women, American Journal of Sociology, 96:843867; R. Kelly Raley, 1996, A Shortage of Marriageable Men? A Note on the Role of Cohabitation in Black-White Differences in Marriage Rates, American Sociological Review, 61:973983; and Scott J. South and Kim M. Lloyd, 1992, Marriage Opportunities and Family Formation: Further Implications of Imbalanced Sex Ratios, Journal of Marriage and the Family, 54:440451.

the South and Southwest. These households were more prevalent in the Plains States, West, and parts of the Midwest. Washington, DC, had the lowest share (42 percent) while Utah had the highest (79 percent). One-parent households with children under the age of 18 were more prevalent in states near the Great Lakes and in the South and Southwest (Figure 6). Figure 6 forms nearly a mirror image of the previous figure. States with the smallest shares of marriedparent households typically had the highest shares of one-parent households. States with percentages of one-parent households that were higher than the national estimate were concentrated near the Great Lakes and in the South and parts of the Southwest. States with the smallest shares included Utah (18 percent), Hawaii (20 percent), and Minnesota (20 percent).38 Places with the largest shares included Washington, DC (49 percent), Mississippi (36 percent), and Louisiana (34 percent). In addition to married parents and single parents, children may live in a household with two unmarried

38 The proportion of one-parent households did not differ statistically for Utah versus Hawaii or Minnesota versus Hawaii.

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Table 6.

One-Parent Family Groups by Sex and Selected Characteristics: CPS 2012

(In thousands) Maintained by father Race and Hispanic origin Characteristic White alone, nonWhite His- Black Asian Total alone panic alone alone 2,453 1,878 1,512 396 539 916 602 761 486 1,206 319 441 657 461 565 377 937 277 408 541 286 468 301 742 968 423 102 19 327 762 333 77 12 403 62 72 226 42 144 83 176 271 98 30 4 79 209 83 28 4 72 7 6 14 45 26 5 40 37 19 14 3 16 31 19 5 2 Hispanic (any race) Maintained by mother Race and Hispanic origin White alone, nonWhite His- Black Asian Total alone panic alone alone 7,642 1,400 1,732 2,658 1,852 2,722 869 4,052 4,004 2,424 858 355 1,078 3,662 1,967 679 256 5,371 3,545 1,014 614 1,523 720 1,835 1,895 998 316 1,889 1,612 697 137 2,784 1,795 3,007 1,713 1,687 1,043 505 507 171 282 851 510 2,672 1,549 1,329 883 391 391 128 212 317 52 29 91 144 79 26 212 170 101 35 11 52 151 82 22 9 Hispanic (any race) 2,643 515 234 904 990 944 226 1,473 1,166 857 403 217 263 1,155 749 326 151

Total All one-parent family groups . . . . Region Northeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Midwest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . South. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Living Arrangement Parent is sole adult . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parent has cohabiting partner. . . . . . . . Another adult age 18 or older is present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number of Own Children Under 25 1 child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 or more children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number of Own Children Under 18 None . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 or more children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Presence of Own Children Under 251 With own children under 25. . . . . . . . . . With own children under 18. . . . . . . . With own children under 12 . . . . . . With own children under 6 . . . . . With own children under 3 . . . . With own children under 1. . Education Less than high school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . High school graduate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Some college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bachelors degree or higher . . . . . . . . . . Marital Status Never married. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Divorced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Separated2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Widowed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Poverty Status in 20113 Below 100 percent of poverty . . . . . . . . 100 to 199 percent of poverty . . . . . . . . 200 percent of poverty and above. . . . . 14,473 2,500 3,134 5,706 3,133 5,376 1,593 7,504 7,738 4,383 1,639 714 2,197 6,871 3,603 1,281 523

414 12,020 49 43 116 205 118 79 217 273 96 39 6 69 235 77 30 3 2,104 2,595 4,790 2,531 4,615 1,107 6,298 6,167 3,729 1,447 678 1,700 5,615 3,072 1,134 499

1,571 1,206 655 508 192 140 36 24 497 1,255 531 147 23 389 969 398 106 15

14,473 12,277 8,645 4,837 2,415 747 2,191 4,742 4,925 2,614 5,926 5,202 2,662 684 4,646 3,981 5,846

2,453 1,878 1,512 1,956 1,489 1,185 1,211 880 690 525 381 282 200 146 102 52 37 30 316 969 674 493 651 1,159 512 131 253 736 491 399 425 969 385 99 131 600 435 346 286 866 280 79 204 326 981

403 324 225 102 32 9 37 167 137 62 181 120 81 21 89 134 180

72 56 40 12 7 Z 16 23 12 21 14 26 25 8 9 21 42

414 12,020 345 10,321 215 7,434 108 4,312 50 2,215 7 695 123 160 71 59 151 117 121 24 84 125 204 1,875 3,773 4,251 2,121 5,275 4,043 2,149 553 4,243 3,365 4,412

7,642 6,564 4,650 2,667 1,378 429 1,243 2,315 2,662 1,422 2,669 3,118 1,455 400 2,454 2,141 3,047

5,371 4,520 3,080 1,671 852 284

3,545 3,035 2,257 1,346 694 228

317 265 191 97 46 16 45 59 72 141 86 98 104 29 60 97 160

2,643 2,381 1,818 1,143 608 162 901 810 694 239 1,211 692 662 78 1,148 840 655

440 484 1,615 1,250 2,090 1,298 1,226 512 1,649 2,262 2,506 692 881 498 335 94 1,473 1,524 1,419 951 2,478 1,069

402 283 616 431 1,435 1,164

Z Rounds to zero. 1 Excludes ever-married children under 25 years. 2 Separated includes married spouse absent. 3 For both primary families and subfamilies, poverty status of the primary family is shown. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2012.

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AK

Figure 5.
500 Miles

Percentage of Households With Own Children Under 18 That Are Married-Couple Households for the United States: ACS 2011

WA MT OR ME ND MN SD WY NE UT CA CO KS MO KY TN AR MS TX AL GA SC NC IA OH IL IN WV VA WI MI PA MD
!
!

VT NH NY

ID

MA
CT RI

NV

NJ
! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

DE
! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

DC

AZ

OK NM

Statistical signi cance as compared to the national average

Statistically higher No di erence Statistically lower

LA FL

U.S. average is 66.8

100 Miles

HI
0 100 Miles

Note: For further information on the accuracy of the data, see <www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of_Data_2011.pdf>. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2011.

parents (Figure 7).39 Although one-parent households were concentrated in the South (Figure 6), unmarried parents living with an unmarried partner were concentrated in the West and Southwest. States with estimates that were higher than the national average included Alaska (11 percent), Maine (11 percent), New Mexico (11 percent), and Wyoming (10 percent).40 States with the lowest percentages included Utah (4 percent),

Arkansas (5 percent), and Alabama (5 percent).41

AMERICAS SPOUSES, PARTNERS, AND COUPLES

Intimate relationships form an integral element of adult life and are an important source of support and well-being. Indeed, about 86 percent of young men and 89 percent of young women are projected to marry at some point in their lives.42 This report looks at three kinds of couples: (1) married spouses who are of the opposite
41 The percentage of unmarried-parent households did not differ statistically for Arkansas versus Alabama. 42 See Table 11, Rose M. Kreider and Jason Fields, 2002, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 1996, Current Population Reports, P70-80, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC.

sex, (2) unmarried couples living together who are of the opposite sex, and (3) same-sex couples who are either married or living together unmarried. This section highlights several trends in Americas spouses, partners, and couples: Cohabitation has rapidly expanded in recent decades, led primarily by changes in young adults living arrangements. Married parents were older, better educated, and had higher earnings than cohabiting parents. Interracial relationships were more common among oppositesex cohabiters and same-sex couples than among oppositesex married couples.

39 In ACS data, only the relationship to householder is collected, so we cannot determine whether the unmarried partner of the householder is also the parent of the householders child. 40 Although all of these states had a high proportion of unmarried-parent households compared with the United States overall, they do not differ statistically from one another.

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AK

Figure 6.
500 Miles

Percentage of Households With Own Children Under 18 That Are Single-Parent Households for the United States: ACS 2011

WA MT OR ME ND MN SD WY NE UT CA CO KS MO KY TN AR MS TX AL GA SC NC IA OH IL IN WV VA WI MI PA MD
!
!

VT NH NY

ID

MA
CT RI

NV

NJ
! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

DE
! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

DC

AZ

OK NM

Statistical signi cance as compared to the national average

Statistically higher No di erence Statistically lower

LA FL

U.S. average is 25.9

HI
0 100 Miles

Note: The term "single-parent households" excludes single parents living with unmarried partners.

100 Miles

For further information on the accuracy of the data, see <www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of_Data_2011.pdf>. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2011.

Married couples with children overwhelmingly had only their joint biological children in the household, as did a majority of cohabiting parents. Statistics in Table 7 suggest that cohabitation was more prevalent during young adulthood, while marriage was more prevalent later in adulthood, a fact that Table 3 also reinforced by showing the living arrangements of younger and older adults. For example, over half of cohabiting men and women (51 percent and 57 percent, respectively) were 34 years old or younger, compared with less than one-fifth of married men and women (15 percent and 19 percent, respectively).

Over one-third of married men and women had a bachelors degree, compared with about one-fifth of cohabiting men and women (Table 7). Overall, married men and women were better educatedover onethird had a bachelors degreethan their cohabiting counterparts, about one-fifth of whom had a bachelors degree (Table 7). However, women were better educated than men among cohabiters, a pattern that did not exist among spouses. About 55 percent of female cohabiters had some college or a bachelors degree, compared with 46 percent of male cohabiters. Some researchers argue that women may be more willing to cohabit with than to marry a man

who has less education than she does.43 Table 7 shows that being employed was more common among cohabiters than spouses, although this difference did not necessarily translate into better economic standing. About 66 percent of female cohabiters were employed, compared with 56 percent of female spouses. And 75 percent of male cohabiters were employed, compared with 71 percent of male spouses. Nonetheless, the percentage of men and women earning at least $50,000 was higher among the married: 37 percent of male spouses and 16 percent of female spouses earned
43 See Zhenchao Qian, 1998, Changes in Assortative Mating: The Impact of Age and Education, 19701990, Demography, 35:279292.

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Figure 7.
500 Miles

Percentage of Households With Own Children Under 18 That Are Unmarried-Partner Households for the United States: ACS 2011

WA MT OR ME ND MN SD WY NE UT CA CO KS MO KY TN AR MS TX AL GA SC NC IA OH IL IN WV VA WI MI PA MD
!
!

VT NH NY

ID

MA
CT RI

NV

NJ
! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

DE
! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

DC

AZ

OK NM

Statistical signi cance as compared to the national average

Statistically higher No di erence Statistically lower

LA FL

U.S. average is 7.3

100 Miles

HI
0 100 Miles

Note: For further information on the accuracy of the data, see <www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of_Data_2011.pdf>. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2011.

at least $50,000, compared with 21 percent of male cohabiters and 12 percent of female cohabiters. One reason for the discrepancy in employment is that spouses are older than cohabiters. Thus a higher proportion of married individuals may be retired and out of the labor force.44 In economic terms cohabiters are faring worse today than they were a decade ago. Although the percentage of female cohabiters with a bachelors degree increased in the last decade, the percentage who were employed and had earnings declined. About 18 percent of
44 Note, however, that the percentage of married men who were not in the labor force did not statistically differ from the percentage of cohabiting women who were not in the labor force.

male cohabiters and 27 percent of female cohabiters had no earnings in 2012, up from 11 percent and 20 percent respectively in 2003.45 Married parents were older and better educated than cohabiting parents (Table 7). In general, the patterns observed for cohabiting partners and spouses also extended to parents, but cohabiting parents tended to be very young. About 23 percent of cohabiting women and 13 percent of cohabiting men who had children under the age of 18 were between 15 and 24 years old; the corresponding figures for male and female spouses were 2 percent and
45 See Table 8, Jason Fields, 2003, Americas Families and Living Arrangements: 2003, Current Population Reports, P20-553, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC.

4 percent, respectively. Married parents were also better educated. For example, 40 percent of married women with children under the age of 18 had a bachelors degree, compared with 12 percent of their cohabiting counterparts. The majority of spouses in opposite-sex married couples were married to someone within 5 years of their own age (Table 8). People commonly marry someone who has similar characteristics as themselves. For example, collegeeducated people tend to marry other college-educated people, and members of one race tend to marry

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Table 7.

Characteristics of Male-Female Unmarried Partners and Spouses by Sex: CPS 2012

(In thousands) Unmarried partners Characteristic Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Age 15 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 years and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Race and Hispanic Origin White alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Non-Hispanic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Black alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Asian alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hispanic (any race). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Education Less than high school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . High school graduate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Some college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bachelors degree or higher . . . . . . . . . . Employment Status Employed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Not in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Earnings in 2011 Without earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . With earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Under $5,000 or loss. . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 to $9,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000 to $14,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15,000 to $19,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20,000 to $24,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25,000 to $29,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30,000 to $39,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $40,000 to $49,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $50,000 to $74,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $75,000 and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1

Married spouses Total Men 61,047 933 8,238 12,256 13,914 12,491 13,216 51,592 44,323 4,652 3,528 7,875 6,865 17,656 15,047 21,480 43,098 2,526 15,424 15,319 45,728 1,446 1,373 1,926 2,033 2,629 2,330 5,898 5,370 9,894 12,829 Women 61,047 1,618 10,033 12,731 14,207 12,123 10,335 51,347 43,932 4,373 3,985 8,115 5,728 17,887 16,551 20,882 34,458 1,940 24,650 24,041 37,007 2,525 2,617 3,136 3,160 3,469 2,779 5,461 4,081 5,720 4,059 With children under 181 Men 24,445 485 5,692 9,828 6,752 1,447 243 20,024 15,751 2,047 1,728 4,647 2,786 6,335 6,143 9,180 21,820 1,158 1,467 1,725 22,721 429 495 791 1,004 1,336 1,147 3,023 2,778 4,983 6,733 Women 24,445 885 7,320 10,113 5,410 608 109 19,987 15,751 1,884 1,897 4,757 2,391 5,446 6,769 9,839 15,903 859 7,684 7,483 16,963 1,282 1,256 1,554 1,408 1,521 1,168 2,489 1,891 2,511 1,885 Women 3,202 721 1,401 796 251 26 7 2,651 1,728 456 95 897 583 1,110 1,124 385 1,892 295 1,015 1,015 2,187 268 255 267 260 237 176 304 154 185 80

Total Men 7,845 1,124 2,850 1,562 1,176 755 378 6,242 4,962 1,094 197 1,468 1,152 3,062 2,130 1,501 5,867 738 1,240 1,385 6,459 335 381 527 554 619 612 1,041 756 965 670 Women 7,845 1,723 2,723 1,402 1,102 646 249 6,672 5,072 920 253 1,446 1,012 2,474 2,622 1,737 5,160 588 2,096 2,130 5,714 504 535 629 605 583 484 925 502 625 322

With children under 181 Men 3,202 402 1,386 858 419 111 26 2,413 1,642 545 84 906 691 1,379 840 293 2,488 345 369 456 2,746 153 177 229 260 280 283 458 330 360 214

May be biological, step, or adopted children of either or both partners. Excludes ever-married children under 18 years. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2012.

someone of the same race.46 Tables 8 and 9 look at the three kinds of couples detailed in this study and

ask how similar spouses and partners are to each other.47

47 Here, we show all same-sex couples as a group, rather than distinguish between same-sex married and unmarried couples. In the 2011 ACS, about 1 percent of all coupled households in the United States reported as same-sex couples, totaling about 605,000 households. About 28 percent reported themselves as spouses. See Tables 1 and 3 accessible on the U.S. Census Bureau Web site at <www.census.gov/hhes/samesex/files /ssex-tables-2011.xls>. For more information on same-sex couples, see also, Daphne Lofquist, 2011, Same-Sex Couple Households, American Community Survey Brief, ACSBR/10-03, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC.

46 Debra Blackwell and Daniel T. Lichter, 2005, Homogamy among Dating, Cohabiting, and Married Couples, The Sociological Quarterly, 45:719737; Christine R. Schwartz and Robert D. Mare, 2005, Trends in Educational Assortative Marriage from 1940 to 2003, Demography, 42:621646; and Zhenchao Qian, 1998, Changes in Assortative Mating: The Impact of Age and Education, 19701990, Demography, 35:279292.

Opposite-sex spouses were the most similar in age. About threequarters (77 percent) had spouses whose ages were within 5 years of one another compared with twothirds (68 percent) of opposite-sex cohabiters and 60 percent of samesex couples. Same-sex couples were less similar in age: one-fifth of the couples (21 percent) had a partner who was at least 10 years older than the other, twice as high as opposite-sex married couples. This pattern differed by gender:

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about 25 percent of male samesex couples had one partner at least 10 years older, compared with 18 percent of female samesex couples. Same-sex couples face more restricted dating pools than opposite-sex couples, which may explain their wider age gaps between partners.48 Interracial and interethnic couples were least common among opposite-sex spouses (Tables 8 and 9). In this report, the term interracial refers to couples where one partner is a different race than the other partner; interethnic refers to couples where one partner is Hispanic and the other is nonHispanic. Interracial marriages among opposite-sex couples were relatively rare. Relationships in which both partners were the same race were the most prevalent among opposite-sex spouses, at 96 percent. This figure compared with 91 percent of opposite-sex cohabiting couples and 88 percent of same-sex couples.49 Interethnic couples were equally rare among opposite-sex spouses: just 4 percent had one Hispanic and one non-Hispanic spouse. The corresponding figures for opposite-sex cohabiters and same-sex couples were over twice as high, at 9 percent and 10 percent respectively. More same-sex couples had two college-educated partners than opposite-sex married couples (Tables 8 and 9). Same-sex couples had the highest share (31 percent) of unions in
48 See Michael J. Rosenfeld and Reuben J. Thomas, 2012, Searching for a Mate: The Rise of the Internet as a Social Intermediary, American Sociological Review, 77:523547; and Michael J. Rosenfeld, 2007, The Age of Independence: Interracial Unions, Same-Sex Unions, and the Changing American Family, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. 49 Note that the percentage of oppositesex cohabiters who were in an interracial relationship was not statistically different from the percentage of same-sex couples.

which both partners had a bachelors degree, followed by oppositesex married couples (24 percent) and opposite-sex cohabiting couples (12 percent). Eighty-seven percent of married parents with children under 18 had only biological children of both spouses present, compared with 51 percent of cohabiting couples (Table 8).50 Equal shares of opposite-sex cohabiters (41 percent) and opposite-sex spouses (40 percent) had children under the age of 18 present in the household. Far fewer same-sex couples (16 percent) had children under the age of 18 present. Among opposite-sex parents, however, almost 9 in 10 spouses had children who were the biological offspring of both spouses, compared with only 51 percent of cohabiting parents. Over one-third of these cohabiting couples (38 percent) had children who were the offspring of only one partner. Thus, more cohabiting adults lived with children who were not biologically related to them than did married spouses.51 Among same-sex unions children were far more prevalent in female than male couples. Of all the same-sex couples who had children under the age of 18 in the household, 70 percent were femalefemale couples, and 30 percent were male-male couples.

in December 2007 and officially ended in June 2009. The welfare of children concerns parents, policymakers, and researchers alike because social, economic, and developmental experiences during childhood may have lasting consequences through adulthood and later life.52 This section highlights several trends in childrens living arrangements and family economic well-being during the recession: Children living with two married parents resided in the most economically advantaged households, compared with children living in other family arrangements. The share of children living with one parent varied widely by race and Hispanic origin. The economic well-being of households with children declined during the recession, evidenced by a drop in homeownership and rise in unemployment rates among households with children. The percentage of stay-at-home mothers declined during the recession and did not return to its prerecession level until 2012. The majority of children in the United States lived with two married parents (Table 10). The most common family arrangement for the 74 million children in the United States in 2012 was living with two married parents (64 percent) (Table 10). This arrangement was less common than it was a decade ago, when 69 percent of children lived with two married
52 See Susan L. Brown, 2006, Family Structure Transitions and Adolescent WellBeing, Demography, 43:447461; Wendy D. Manning and Susan Brown, 2006, Childrens Economic Well-Being in Married and Cohabiting Parent Families, Journal of Marriage and Family, 68:345362; R. Kelly Raley and Elizabeth Wildsmith, 2004, Cohabitation and Childrens Family Instability, Journal of Marriage and Family, 66:210219.

FAMILY ECONOMIC WELLBEING AND THE 20072009 RECESSION

This section of the report focuses on changes in childrens living arrangements and economic well-being around the most recent recession, which began
50 Table 8 does not show this percentage but it can be calculated from the numbers in the table. 51 Note that opposite-sex cohabiters and same-sex couples were not statistically different from one another.

U.S. Census Bureau

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Table 8.

Characteristics of Male-Female Unmarried and Married Couples: CPS 2012Con.

(In thousands) Unmarried couples Characteristic Total Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Age Difference Male 10 or more years older than female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Male 6 to 9 years older than female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Male 2 to 5 years older than female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Within 1 year of each other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female 2 to 5 years older than male. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female 6 to 9 years older than male. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female 10 or more years older than male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Race and Hispanic Origin Difference Both White alone, non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both Black alone, non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both Other alone or any combination, non-Hispanic. . . . . . . Both Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Neither Hispanic, different groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One Hispanic, other non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Race Difference Both White alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both Black alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both Asian alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both Other alone or any combination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Partners identify as different races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hispanic Origin Difference2 Neither Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Male Hispanic, female not. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female Hispanic, male not . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Type of Children Only her children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Only his children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . His children and her children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Only biological children of both partners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Education Difference Neither has Bachelors degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Male has Bachelors degree, female has less. . . . . . . . . . . . Female has Bachelors degree, male has less . . . . . . . . . . . Both have Bachelors degree or higher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Employment Status Both in labor force, both employed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both in labor force, only male employed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both in labor force, only female employed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both in labor force, both unemployed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Male in labor force, male employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Male in labor force, male unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female in labor force, female employed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female in labor force, female unemployed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Not in labor force, not employed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
See notes at end of table.

Married couples No children under 18 4,642 462 545 1,257 1,401 508 242 227 3,001 397 133 358 358 396 3,639 431 87 70 415 3,888 358 205 191 X X X X 2,917 374 517 834 2,673 195 217 49 511 127 378 49 443 With children under 181 24,445 1,816 2,911 8,156 8,209 2,497 585 272 14,684 1,554 1,761 4,037 1,080 1,332 19,421 1,775 1,603 366 1,280 19,078 4,037 610 720 X X 24,445 21,383 12,247 2,359 3,018 6,821 14,235 669 714 134 6,916 310 953 56 457 No children under 18 36,602 2,759 4,024 12,360 12,135 3,486 1,097 742 27,312 2,306 1,855 2,693 1,236 1,200 30,819 2,399 1,686 319 1,379 32,709 2,693 535 665 X X X X 20,787 4,773 3,516 7,527 14,349 728 821 154 6,200 393 3,385 200 10,372

With children under 181 3,202 389 465 980 833 321 123 91 1,471 341 112 746 222 312 2,303 425 75 97 302 2,145 746 160 152 859 357 1,986 1,626 2,654 163 255 130 1,526 203 173 54 759 118 192 39 138

Total 61,047 4,576 6,935 20,516 20,344 5,981 1,682 1,013 41,996 3,860 3,616 6,730 2,315 2,530 50,240 4,174 3,288 685 2,660 51,787 6,730 1,146 1,385 X X 24,445 21,383 33,034 7,132 6,533 14,348 28,584 1,397 1,535 287 13,116 704 4,339 256 10,830

7,845 852 1,010 2,237 2,234 830 364 318 4,472 738 244 1,103 579 708 5,942 856 162 167 717 6,033 1,103 365 343 859 357 1,986 1,626 5,571 537 773 964 4,199 398 391 102 1,270 245 571 88 581

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Table 8.

Characteristics of Male-Female Unmarried and Married Couples: CPS 2012Con.

(In thousands) Unmarried couples Characteristic Total Earnings Difference in 2011 Male earns $50,000+ more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Male earns $30,000 to $49,999 more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Male earns $10,000 to $29,999 more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Male earns $5,000 to $9,999 more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Within $4,999 of each other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female earns $5,000 to $9,999 more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female earns $10,000 to $29,999 more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female earns $30,000 to $49,999 more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female earns $50,000+ more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3

Married couples No children under 18 408 412 951 380 1,246 228 631 214 172 With children under 181 6,902 3,989 5,234 1,148 2,731 729 1,898 897 917 No children under 18 6,330 3,505 4,891 1,311 12,764 1,051 3,332 1,612 1,807

With children under 181 279 438 873 233 666 180 369 89 73

Total 13,232 7,495 10,126 2,458 15,495 1,780 5,230 2,508 2,723

687 850 1,825 613 1,912 409 1,000 303 246

X Not applicable. 1 May be biological, step, or adopted children of either or both partners. Excludes ever-married children under 18 years. 2 This difference does not consider race. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race. 3 Includes people with no earnings or loss. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2012.

parents.53 Living with their mother only (24 percent) was the next most common arrangement in 2012. Together, these two arrangements described the living situation of almost 9 in 10 children in the United States (88 percent). The remaining 12 percent of children were split fairly evenly among three other types of living arrangements: two unmarried parents, father only, and no parents.54 Children living with two married parents typically resided in economically advantaged households (Table10). Seventy percent of the children who lived with two married parents were in households that were at least 200 percent above the poverty level (Table 10). But nearly 1 in 2 children who lived with their mother only, two unmarried parents, or no parents at all were

living below the poverty level.55 Children living in these other family arrangements were also more likely than those living with two married parents to receive public assistance and food stamps, and to lack health insurance coverage. This is not to say that marriage ensures economic security for children. Of the 16 million children who lived below the poverty level, 31 percent lived with two married parentsa share that is statistically unchanged compared with 2002. What is more, the percentage receiving food stamps more than doubled since 2002, from 4 percent to 11 percent, showing that children with two married parents were also vulnerable to economicdistress. Indeed, the economic welfare of family groups with children under the age of 18 has deteriorated since the latest recession began in 2007. Even 3 years after its official end in 2009, well-being has remained lower than it was before the recession began. For example,
55 The percentage of children living below the poverty level was not statistically different between those living with two unmarried parents and with their mother only.

more family groups of all types were receiving food stamps in 2012 than in 2007 (Table 5). For married family groups, the share receiving food stamps more than doubled during this 5-year period, from 4 percent to 9 percent,56 while the share of unmarried-couple parents increased from 21 percent to 33 percent, mother-only family groups increased from 28 percent to 39 percent, and father-only family groups increased from 11 percent to 19 percent. Twenty-eight percent of children in the United States lived with one parent (Figure8). Approximately 21 million childrenor about 28 percent of children in the United Stateslived with one parent in 2012 (Table 10). This percentage varied depending on the childs race and Hispanic origin, however. Figure 8 shows that Asian children had the smallest proportion that lived with one parent, at 13 percent. In contrast,
56 For information on family groups with children under the age of 18 before the recession began in 2007, see Table 3, Rose M. Kreider and Diana Elliott, 2009, Americas Families and Living Arrangements: 2007, Current Population Reports, P20-561, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC.

53 See Table 7, Jason Fields, 2003, Childrens Living Arrangements and Characteristics, March 2002, Current Population Reports, P20-547, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. 54 Note that the percentage of children living with two unmarried parents does not differ statistically from the share of children living with their father only.

U.S. Census Bureau

23

Table 9.

Characteristics of Same-Sex Couple Households: ACS 2011

Characteristic Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Age Difference One 10 or more years older than other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One 6 to 9 years older than other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One 2 to 5 years older than other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Within 1 year of each other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Race and Hispanic Origin Difference Both White alone, non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both Black alone, non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both Other alone or any combination, non-Hispanic. . . . . . . . . . Both Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One Hispanic, other non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Race Difference Both White alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both Black alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both Asian alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both Other alone or any combination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One White alone, one Black alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One White alone, one Asian alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One White alone, one Other alone or any combination . . . . . . . . Hispanic Origin Difference1 Neither Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One Hispanic, other non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Presence of Own Children in the Household2 Not present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Education Difference Neither has Bachelors degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One has Bachelors degree, one has less. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both have Bachelors degree or higher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Employment Status Population 16 years and older Both in labor force, both employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both in labor force, only one employed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both in labor force, both unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One in labor force, employed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One in labor force, unemployed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Not in labor force, not employed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Earnings Difference in 20113 Population 16 years and older One earns $50,000+ more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One earns $30,000 to $49,999 more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One earns $10,000 to $29,999 more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One earns $5,000 to $9,999 more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Within $4,999 of each other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 2

All same-sex couples Number 605,472 126,995 114,662 227,051 136,764 413,148 31,861 67,141 35,738 57,584 470,634 33,279 7,165 20,649 21,776 15,940 36,029 512,150 35,738 57,584 506,231 99,241 252,528 164,995 187,949 Percent 100.0 21.0 18.9 37.5 22.6 68.2 5.3 11.1 5.9 9.5 77.7 5.5 1.2 3.4 3.6 2.6 6.0 84.6 5.9 9.5 83.6 16.4 41.7 27.3 31.0

Male-male couples Number 284,295 70,238 53,243 99,855 60,959 189,220 11,350 33,550 17,160 33,015 221,594 11,810 3,366 8,605 12,023 10,792 16,105 234,120 17,160 33,015 254,526 29,769 107,928 84,205 92,162 Percent 100.0 24.7 18.7 35.1 21.4 66.6 4.0 11.8 6.0 11.6 77.9 4.2 1.2 3.0 4.2 3.8 5.7 82.4 6.0 11.6 89.5 10.5 38.0 29.6 32.4

Female-female couples Number 321,177 56,757 61,419 127,196 75,805 223,928 20,511 33,591 18,578 24,569 249,040 21,469 3,799 12,044 9,753 5,148 19,924 278,030 18,578 24,569 251,705 69,472 144,600 80,790 95,787 Percent 100.0 17.7 19.1 39.6 23.6 69.7 6.4 10.5 5.8 7.6 77.5 6.7 1.2 3.7 3.0 1.6 6.2 86.6 5.8 7.6 78.4 21.6 45.0 25.2 29.8

350,944 45,120 5,723 119,899 11,881 70,901

58.0 7.5 0.9 19.8 2.0 11.7

166,074 22,374 2,046 57,591 6,360 29,617

58.4 7.9 0.7 20.3 2.2 10.4

184,870 22,746 3,677 62,308 5,521 41,284

57.6 7.1 1.1 19.4 1.7 12.9

144,620 97,760 164,762 58,166 139,160

23.9 16.1 27.2 9.6 23.0

81,366 47,429 72,811 25,487 56,969

28.6 16.7 25.6 9.0 20.0

63,254 50,331 91,951 32,679 82,191

19.7 15.7 28.6 10.2 25.6

This difference does not consider race. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race. May be biological, step, or adopted children of the householder. Excludes ever-married children under 18 years. 3 Includes people with no earnings or loss. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2011.

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Table 10.

Childrens Economic Situation by Family Structure: CPS 20121Con.

(Numbers in thousands) Living with two parents Characteristic Total Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Family Income Under $15,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15,000 to $29,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30,000 to $49,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $50,000 to $74,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $75,000 to $99,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100,000 and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Poverty Status2 Below 100 percent of poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 to 199 percent of poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 percent of poverty and above. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Household Receives Public Assistance Receives assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Does not receive assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Household Receives Food Stamps Receives food stamps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Does not receive food stamps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Household Tenure Owned home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rented home3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Health Insurance Coverage Covered by health insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Not covered by health insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parental Employment Status Father only in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mother only in labor force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both father and mother in labor force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No coresident parent in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No parents present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Family Income Under $15,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15,000 to $29,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30,000 to $49,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $50,000 to $74,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $75,000 to $99,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100,000 and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Poverty Status2 Below 100 percent of poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 to 199 percent of poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 percent of poverty and above. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Household Receives Public Assistance Receives assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Does not receive assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
See notes at end of table.

Living with one parent Mother only 17,990 5,638 4,843 3,708 2,085 780 938 8,152 4,969 4,869 2,031 15,960 8,037 9,954 6,408 11,581 16,004 1,987 X 13,465 X 4,525 X 100.0 31.3 26.9 20.6 11.6 4.3 5.2 45.3 27.6 27.1 11.3 88.7 Father only 2,925 397 601 715 684 246 286 586 813 1,527 102 2,821 633 2,292 1,608 1,317 2,486 437 2,536 X X 389 X 100.0 13.6 20.5 24.4 23.4 8.4 9.8 20.0 27.8 52.2 3.5 96.4

Married 47,330 1,824 4,175 7,531 9,157 7,807 16,836 5,155 9,162 33,012 835 46,495 5,230 42,100 34,431 12,899 43,760 3,570 14,839 2,141 28,903 1,446 X 100.0 3.9 8.8 15.9 19.3 16.5 35.6 10.9 19.4 69.7 1.8 98.2

Unmarried 2,937 997 743 609 346 111 134 1,344 832 761 218 2,720 1,016 1,921 1,055 1,882 2,590 348 896 171 1,720 150 X 100.0 33.9 25.3 20.7 11.8 3.8 4.6 45.8 28.3 25.9 7.4 92.6

Not living with any parent 2,634 893 497 520 328 202 193 1,160 695 780 310 2,325 759 1,876 1,630 1,004 2,089 546 X X X X 2,634 100.0 33.9 18.9 19.7 12.5 7.7 7.3 44.0 26.4 29.6 11.8 88.3

73,817 9,746 10,856 13,083 12,600 9,145 18,387 16,397 16,471 40,949 3,497 70,321 15,673 58,144 45,134 28,683 66,930 6,887 18,272 15,778 30,624 6,510 2,634 100.0 13.2 14.7 17.7 17.1 12.4 24.9 22.2 22.3 55.5 4.7 95.3

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Table 10.

Childrens Economic Situation by Family Structure: CPS 20121Con.

(Numbers in thousands) Living with two parents Characteristic Total Household Receives Food Stamps Receives food stamps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Does not receive food stamps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Household Tenure Owned home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rented home3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Health Insurance Coverage Covered by health insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Not covered by health insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parental Employment Status Father only in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mother only in labor force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Both father and mother in labor force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No coresident parent in labor force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No parents present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.2 78.8 61.1 38.9 90.7 9.3 24.8 21.4 41.5 8.8 3.6 Married 11.1 88.9 72.7 27.3 92.5 7.5 31.4 4.5 61.1 3.1 X Unmarried 34.6 65.4 35.9 64.1 88.2 11.8 30.5 5.8 58.6 5.1 X Living with one parent Mother only 44.7 55.3 35.6 64.4 89.0 11.0 X 74.8 X 25.2 X Father only 21.6 78.4 55.0 45.0 85.0 14.9 86.7 X X 13.3 X Not living with any parent 28.8 71.2 61.9 38.1 79.3 20.7 X X X X 100.0

X Not applicable. 1 All people under age 18, excluding group quarters, householders, subfamily reference people, and their spouses or unmarried partners. 2 For children in both primary families and subfamilies, poverty status of the primary family is shown. 3 No cash rent is included with rented home. Note: Data based on the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the 2012 Current Population Survey. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see <www.census.gov/prod/techdoc/cps/cpsmar12.pdf>. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2012.

approximately 1 in 5 White, nonHispanic children (21 percent); 1 in 3 Hispanic children (31 percent); and 1 in 2 Black children (55 percent) lived with one parent. Again, except for Asian children, the percentage of children who lived with the boyfriend or girlfriend of their unmarried parent was not statistically different across racial and ethnic groups. The percentage of stay-athome mothers declined during the recession and did not return to its prerecession level until 2012 (Figure 9). This report defines stay-at-home parents as those who had a spouse in the labor force all 52 weeks last year while they were out of the labor force during the same period to care for home and family.57 Estimates of stay-at-home parents
57 This is a restrictive definition of stayat-home parents. We use this definition to approximate the often-called traditional arrangement that was more common in the mid-twentieth century.

caring for children under 15 are based not on the parents activities as childcare providers but on their labor force status and the primary reason why they were not in the labor force during the previous 52 weeks. This labor force based measure is derived from the CPS ASEC and allows for consistent measurement of stay-at-home parent families over time.58 Figure 9 shows that a decline in stay-at-home mothers produced an overall decrease in stay-at-home parents during the recession; the percentage of married fathers who stayed at home did not change. Before the recession began in 2007, roughly 24 percent of married mothers with children under the age of 15 were stay-at-home parents. This percentage did not drop until 2009 but then remained below prerecession levels through
58 See historical Table SHP-1 accessible on the U.S. Census Bureau Web site at <www.census.gov/hhes/families/files/shp1 .xls>.

2011. The percentage of married mothers who were stay-at-home parents returned to its prerecession level by 2012.59 Overall, the percentage of married fathers who were stay-at-home parents has been quite small, under 1 percent (Figure 9). Between 2006 and 2010, that percentage remained unchanged. Beginning in 2011 and 2012, however, the percentage of married fathers who were stay-at-home parents increased slightly (0.8 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively) compared with its level in 2007, before the recession began (0.7 percent).60 Disproportionately higher unemployment rates for men during the recession and the prolonged
59 The years 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2012 were not statistically different from 2005, nor were the years 2007 and 2008 different from one another, nor 2009 and 2010. 60 The years 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 were not statistically different from one another, nor were 2011 and 2012 different from one another.

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Figure 8.

Children Living With One Parent by Race and Hispanic Origin: CPS 2012
(In percent)

52.1

24.9 19.9 17.3 12.0 3.4

All children

27.5
Parent has no cohabiting partner

3.4
White alone

3.4
White alone, non-Hispanic

3.1
Black alone Asian alone

_0.9

3.6
Hispanic (any race)

Parent has cohabiting partner

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2012.

jobless recovery may underlie the rise in stay-at-home fathers and the decline in stay-at-home mothers.61 Research has found that in response to their husbands job loss during a recession, wives tended to enter or return to the labor force. Indeed, over the last 3 decades the single largest 1-year increase in a wifes contribution to family

earnings occurred between 2008 and 2009.62 Homeownership among households with children fell by 15 percent nationally between 2005 and 2011 (Figure 10). Table 5 showed that the proportion of homeowners among all family groups with children under 18 declined between 2007 and 2012. Trends in homeownership and unemployment varied geographically because the recession affected states differently. Based on Figure 10, children living in the Plains States may have fared better during the recession than children living elsewhere in the Midwest or in the West, at least in terms of
62 See Kristin Smith, 2012, Recessions Accelerate Trend of Wives as Breadwinners, Brief 56, Carsey Institute: Durham, NH, <http://carseyinstitute.unh.edu/sites /carseyinstitute.unh.edu/files/publications /IB-Smith-Breadwinners-2012-web.pdf>.

61 See Aysegl Sahin et al., 2010, The Unemployment Gender Gap during the 2007 Recession, Federal Reserve Bank of New York: Current Issues in Economics and Finance 16:17; Michael Hout et al., 2011, Job Loss and Unemployment, pp. 5981 in The Great Recession, edited by David B. Grusky, Bruce Western, and Christopher Wimer, New York: Russell Sage Foundation; and Heather Boushey, 2009, Job Prospects Remain Dim for Millions of Workers, Center for American Progress, Washington, DC, <www.americanprogress.org /issues/2009/10/employment1009 .html>.

homeownership. Between 2005 and 2011, the number of households with children under the age of 18 that owned a home fell by 15 percent nationally (Figure 10). In some states the decline was steeper, in particular California (22 percent) and Arizona (22 percent) in the West and Michigan (23 percent), Ohio (20 percent), and Illinois (18 percent) in the Midwest. Along with New York (17 percent), Florida (19 percent), and New Hampshire (19 percent), these states witnessed greater declines than the national average in homeownership rates among households with children under 18.63
63 The change in home ownership did not differ statistically for the following comparisons: California versus Arizona, Michigan, Ohio, or New Hampshire; Arizona versus Michigan, Ohio, Florida, or New Hampshire; Michigan versus New Hampshire; Ohio versus Florida or New Hampshire; Illinois versus New York, Florida, or New Hampshire; New York versus New Hampshire; or Florida versus New Hampshire.

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Figure 9.

Percentage of Married-Couple Family Groups With Children Under 15 With a Stay-at-Home Parent by Sex, 2005 to 2012: CPS
Percent 30

25

Married mothers

20

15

10

5 Married fathers 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Note: Stay-at-home parents are out of the labor force for the entire year with the reason "taking care of home and family," and have a spouse in the labor force all of the previous year. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2005 to 2012.

Households with at least one unemployed parent rose by one-third nationally between 2005 and 2011 (Figure 11). Between 2005 and 2011, the number of households with children under 18 that had at least one unemployed parent rose by onethird (33 percent) across the United States (Figure 11). States experiencing a larger than average increase included Hawaii (95 percent), California (61 percent), Nevada (148 percent), and Colorado (56 percent) in the West and Florida (93 percent), North Carolina (54 percent), New Jersey (63 percent), and Connecticut (65 percent) in

the East.64 Some of the states with steep declines in homeownership also witnessed a larger rise than the national average in unemployment rates, notably California and Florida. Not all of the states overlapped with the ones that saw a decline in homeownership, however. Although homeownership declined in Michigan, Ohio, New York, and New Hampshire, households with children in these states saw a smaller than average increase in parental unemployment.
64 The change in parental unemployment did not differ statistically for the following comparisons: Hawaii versus California, Nevada, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, New Jersey, or Connecticut; California versus Colorado, North Carolina, New Jersey, or Connecticut; Colorado versus North Carolina, New Jersey, or Connecticut; Florida versus Connecticut; North Carolina versus New Jersey or Connecticut; or New Jersey versus Connecticut.

It is helpful to remember that these maps do not represent all households in the United States, but only those with children under the age of 18.

SUMMARY
This report uses data from the 2012 Current Population Survey and the 2011 American Community Survey to describe trends in living arrangements and the composition of families and households in the United States. The report highlights the complexity and variety of contemporary families and living arrangements and also illustrates how they have changed over time. Over the last few decades the trend in the United States has been toward smaller households,

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AK

Figure 10.
500 Miles

Percentage Change in Households With Own Children Under 18 That Do Not Own a Home for the United States, 2005 to 2011: ACS

WA MT OR ME ND MN ID SD WY NE UT CA CO KS MO KY TN AR MS TX AL GA SC NC IA OH IL IN WV VA WI MI PA MD
!! ! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

VT NH NY

MA
CT RI

NV

NJ
! !

DE
! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

DC

AZ

OK NM

Statistical signi cance as compared to the national average

Statistically higher No di erence Statistically lower

LA FL

U.S. average is 14.7

100 Miles

HI
0 100 Miles

Note: For further information on the accuracy of the data, see <www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/accuracy2005.pdf> and <www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of_Data_2011.pdf>. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2005 and 2011.

fewer family and married-couple households, and more people living alone, especially at older ages. Although married families tend to be economically better off than other families, the economic wellbeing of all family types worsened on average during the 20072009 recession and in the years since its official end. These trends showcase the importance of collecting detailed demographic and economic information about how the shape of Americas families and households are changing overtime.

SOURCE OF THE DATA

The data in this report are from the Annual Social and Economic

Supplement (ASEC) to the 2012 Current Population Survey (CPS) and the 2011 American Community Survey (ACS). The population represented (the population universe) in the ASEC is the civilian noninstitutionalized population living in the United States. Members of the Armed Forces living off post or with their families on post are included if at least one civilian adult lives in the household. The institutionalized population, which is excluded from the population universe, is composed primarily of the population in adult correctional institutions and nursing facilities (94 percent of the 4.0 million institutionalized people in the

2010 Census).65 Most of the data from the ASEC were collected in March (with some data collected in February and April), and the data were controlled to independent population estimates for March 2012. For annual time series from the CPS, data collected in the 2012 ASEC may be compared with data collected in the March Supplement to the CPS in prior years. This report also presents data from the 2011 ACS. The population represented (the population universe) in the ACS is the population living
65 See Table P42, available on American FactFinder at <http://factfinder2.census .gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages /productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_SF1 _P42&prodType=table>.

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AK

Figure 11.
500 Miles

Percentage Change in Households With Own Children Under 18 With an Unemployed Parent for the United States, 2005 to 2011: ACS

WA MT OR ME ND MN ID SD WY NE UT CA CO KS MO KY TN AR MS TX AL GA SC NC IA OH IL IN WV VA WI MI PA MD
!! ! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

VT NH NY

MA
CT RI

NV

NJ
! !

DE
! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

DC

AZ

OK NM

Statistical signi cance as compared to the national average

Statistically higher No di erence Statistically lower

LA FL

U.S. average is 32.5

100 Miles

HI
0 100 Miles

Note: For further information on the accuracy of the data, see <www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/accuracy2005.pdf> and <www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of_Data_2011.pdf>. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2005 and 2011.

in both households and group quartersthat is, the resident population. The group quarters population consists of the institutionalized population (such as people in correctional institutions or nursing homes) and the noninstitutionalized population (most of whom are in college dormitories). For tabulation purposes in this report, ACS data are shown only for the population living in households since relationship data are not collected for the group quarters population.

ACCURACY OF THE ESTIMATES

Statistics from surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling error. All comparisons presented in this report have taken sampling error

into account and are significant at the 90 percent confidence level, unless otherwise indicated. This means the 90 percent confidence interval for the difference between the estimates being compared does not include zero. Nonsampling errors in surveys may be attributed to a variety of sources, such as how the survey is designed, how respondents interpret questions, how able and willing respondents are to provide correct answers, and how accurately the answers are coded and classified. The Census Bureau employs quality control procedures throughout the production processincluding overall survey design, question wording, review of interviewers and coders work,

and statistical review of reportsto minimize these errors. The CPS weighting procedure uses ratio estimation, whereby sample estimates are adjusted to independent estimates of the national population by age, race, sex, and Hispanic origin. This weighting partially corrects for bias due to undercoverage, but biases may still be present; for example, when people who are missed by the survey differ from those interviewed in ways other than age, race, sex, and Hispanic origin. How this weighting procedure affects other variables in the survey is not precisely known. All of these considerations affect comparisons across different surveys or data sources.

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For further information on statistical standards and the computation and use of standard errors, go to <www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc /cps/cpsmar12.pdf> or contact the Census Bureaus Demographic Statistical Methods Division via e-mail at <dsmd.source.and.accuracy @census.gov>. The final ACS population estimates are adjusted in the weighting procedure for coverage error by controlling specific survey estimates to independent population controls by age, race, sex, and Hispanic origin. The final ACS estimates of housing units are controlled to independent estimates of total housing. This weighting partially corrects for bias due to over or undercoverage, but biases may still be present; for example, when people who are missed by the survey differ from those interviewed in ways other than age, race, sex, and Hispanic origin. How this weighting procedure affects other variables in the

survey is not precisely known. All of these considerations affect comparisons across different surveys or data sources. For further information on the ACS sample, weighting procedures, sampling error, nonsampling error, and quality measures from the ACS, see <www.census.gov/acs /www/Downloads/data _documentation/Accuracy/ACS _Accuracy_of_Data_2011.pdf>.

SUGGESTED CITATION
Jonathan Vespa, Jamie M. Lewis, and Rose M. Kreider, 2013, Americas Families and Living Arrangements: 2012, Current Population Reports, P20-570, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC.

CONTACTS
For additional information on these topics, contact the authors of this report: Jonathan Vespa: [email protected] Jamie Lewis: [email protected] Rose Kreider: [email protected] Fertility and Family Statistics Branch: 301-763-2416

MORE INFORMATION
Detailed tables from the 2012 Annual Social and Economic supplement to the CPS are available on the Internet at the Census Bureaus Web site at <www.census.gov /hhes/families/data/cps2012 .html>. To access ACS tables about households and families, see American FactFinder on the Census Bureaus Web site at <http://factfinder2.census.gov /faces/nav/jsf/pages/index .xhtml>.

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Appendix Table A.
Description
Provides cross-sectional data on social, economic, demographic, and housing characteristics of the U.S. population at various geographic levels (nation, region, state, congressional district, census tract) Cross-sectional survey on the consumer habits of Americans; provides data on expenditures, income, and consumer unit (families and single consumers) characteristics A monthly cross-sectional survey with data Household characteristics; marital status; going back 50 years on the economic character- supplements on fertility and child support istics of U.S. households, including employment and earnings Panel survey that collects information on income, employment, assets and liabilities, and participation in government transfer programs Longitudinal study on the school experiences and development of young children with data on teachers, schools, and parents Longitudinal panel survey on early childhood experiences from 9 months to kindergarten Detailed household relationships; marital and fertility histories; child well-being, childcare and support, and child living arrangements Household structure, parental marital history, and relationship to the child; childcare arrangements and well-being Household and family characteristics; work status of family members Household characteristics; marital and relationship information; data on number and type of children

32
Family Topics Uses for Family Research and Data
Examine geographic variation in household characteristics; identify multigenerational households and examine changes in family events such as marriage and childbearing Examine expenditures and income of families and single consumers including childcare costs, assistance to family members, and money spent on education and housing Examine employment patterns of households including labor force participation, earnings, work hours, and industry and occupation of workers Examine household and family composition in relation to changes in income, labor force behaviors, and program participation Link childrens early cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development with their home, family, and classroom experiences Household characteristics and information about Link childrens health, development, care, and the primary caregiver, parenting practices, and education with family experiences social support; data from resident and nonresident fathers Information on parenting behavior and relationships, attitudes, and demographic characteristics; childrens cognitive and emotional development; home environment characteristics Study experiences and transitions of fragile families, changes in the parents relationship and childrens well-being, and fathers interaction with his children and participation in family life Event history information on marriage and cohabitation; transfers to family members; intergenerational relationships; caregiving support across generations Fertility intentions and pregnancy histories; infertility information; number and type of children; family planning; adoption Attitudes toward interpersonal relationships; expectations for marriage and childbearing; family values Study family lives and experiences of older Americans including living situations, intergenerational relationships and transfers, caregiving, and interactions with children and grandchildren Examine family and fertility experiences across 6 decades using comparable measures from different surveys Study changes in family values and expectations of adolescents since 1975 A panel study of a cohort of children born to mostly unmarried parents between 1998 and 2000; focuses on childrens family experiences and the relationships of the parents A panel study that began in 1992 of Americans who are at least 50 years old that examines older adults experiences with retirement and aging A harmonized data set of ten cross-sectional surveys on fertility dating from 1955 to 2002 Annual cross-sectional survey that began in 1975 on the values and attitudes of high school seniors

Summary of National Surveys for Studying Families, Households, and Living Arrangements in the United StatesCon.

Survey

American Community Survey (ACS) www.census.gov/acs/www/

Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) www.bls.gov/cex/

Current Population Survey (CPS) www.bls.gov/cps/

Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) www.census.gov/sipp/

Early Childhood Longitudinal Study: Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) nces.ed.gov/ecls/kindergarten.asp

Early Childhood Longitudinal Study: Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) nces.ed.gov/ecls/birth.asp

Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study (FFCWB) www.fragilefamilies.princeton.edu

Health and Retirement Study (HRS) hrsonline.isr.umich.edu

Integrated Fertility Survey Series (IFSS) www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/IFSS/

U.S. Census Bureau

Monitoring the Future (MTF) www.monitoringthefuture.org

Appendix Table A.
Description
Panel study that began in 1994 of adolescents who have been followed over four waves into young adulthood; focuses on health and health behaviors Marriage and cohabitation event histories; fertility information for men and women; information on other romantic relationships and sexual partners

Summary of National Surveys for Studying Families, Households, and Living Arrangements in the United StatesCon.
Family Topics Uses for Family Research and Data
In conjunction with biomarkers and neighborhood and school characteristics, study the emotional content and quality of romantic, cohabiting, and marital relationships; examine sexual behavior and pregnancy histories Examine relationship and family experiences from youth into middle adulthood in conjunction with labor market experiences; the linked childrens cohort allows for studying generational linkages of family and life course experiences Examine the labor market behavior and educational experiences of young adults over time in conjunction with marriage and family experiences

Survey

U.S. Census Bureau

National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth

National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) www.bls.gov/nls/nlsy79.htm

Longitudinal panel survey that began in 1979 that has followed the life course experiences, schooling, training, and employment of a birth cohort from youth into middle adulthood

Fertility outcomes and relationship event histories for marriage and cohabitation; fertility expectations and desires, and family attitudes; linked to cohort study of all children born to women of the NLSY79 Fertility outcomes; relationship event histories for marriage and cohabitation (including transitions between survey waves); detailed rosters for the household, partner, and children; partner characteristics

National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) www.bls.gov/nls/nlsy97.htm

Longitudinal panel survey that began in 1997; examines the transitions of youth from school to work and into young adulthood

National Survey of Adoptive Parents (NSAP) www.cdc.gov/nchs/slaits/nsap.htm

Nationally representative cross-sectional survey Demographic characteristics; child well-being on the nations adopted children, aged 0-17, and and mental health; child relationships with adoptheir adoptive families tive parents and siblings; parents motivations for adoption An annual survey providing information on the Household composition and demographics; prevalence of and trends in drug use in the pregnancy information; marital status and hisUnited States, including illicit drugs, alcohol, and tory; social support tobacco use; illegal activities and gang involvement; and substance abuse education Periodic cross-sectional survey on the nations fertility and family experiences Retrospective information on marriage, cohabitation, and sexual histories; information on pregnancies, births, contraception, infertility, and intendedness; fathering activities; family background Life history information on living arrangements, marriage and cohabitation, and fertility

Link adopted childrens health and school performance with family relationships in conjunction with parents participation in adoption support services Link household composition, marital histories, and social support with substance abuse and health issues

National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) nsduhweb.rti.org

National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg.htm

Examine fertility, contraceptive, and relationship experiences for women and men

National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) www.ssc.wisc.edu/nsfh/

Periodic cross-sectional survey on family experiences, formation and change, and living arrangements A 4-decade household panel survey that collects information from families on employment, wages, wealth and debt, housing characteristics, and expenditures A series of cross-sectional panels on the demographic characteristics of inmates and their deviant and criminal behaviors, offenses and sentences, and criminal histories

Study family transitions and experiences across 3 decades

Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) psidonline.isr.umich.edu

Marital status and fertility information; measures on development and well-being

Examine how household and family composition vary across a spectrum of economic characteristics

Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities (SISFCF) www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/content /NACJD/guides/sisfcf.html

Family background characteristics; relationship and contact with children; support to children prior to incarceration; childrens living arrangements during incarceration

Examine linkages between incarceration and family composition, family criminal history, and contact with children

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Appendix Table B.

Margins of Error1 for Table 1 EstimatesHouseholds by Type and Selected Characteristics: ACS 2011
Family households Other families Characteristic All households 179,541 44,095 60,479 48,364 50,700 51,095 61,226 118,696 98,050 46,747 15,555 24,448 4,921 29,836 34,711 56,416 114,173 115,300 75,552 58,958 46,062 26,971 22,103 Z 158,791 78,916 66,375 58,604 38,142 27,581 150,547 78,715 69,573 64,326 60,155 28,518 230,440 103,548 24,889 Married couple 157,000 16,653 50,969 43,877 49,924 39,463 36,620 125,980 108,566 28,426 9,620 22,537 3,586 20,595 18,811 46,407 X 96,421 62,889 54,558 41,067 22,729 17,257 Z 105,172 79,567 53,963 50,259 32,435 22,520 103,385 79,059 69,063 57,802 52,559 25,614 155,085 51,534 13,557 Male householder 40,784 10,947 18,757 22,735 19,136 12,748 12,401 30,176 28,408 19,534 3,996 8,622 1,937 11,654 6,313 19,710 X 25,130 21,701 18,652 12,556 7,706 7,337 0.02 24,512 31,495 23,351 15,381 12,046 7,345 28,792 31,162 26,392 21,391 13,696 9,162 26,946 32,473 6,772 Female householder 60,980 15,489 33,370 33,365 30,544 22,847 18,139 52,104 44,111 25,469 6,083 11,703 1,876 14,250 10,142 28,267 X 37,668 40,438 28,853 23,168 12,733 11,487 0.01 31,644 55,947 34,750 31,049 22,965 15,958 39,614 52,337 43,782 34,547 25,029 11,673 42,706 51,732 8,305 Male householder 62,091 20,917 29,160 27,324 26,750 27,635 22,323 55,192 49,123 27,560 5,897 14,549 2,236 12,974 11,062 23,670 61,645 32,156 14,840 7,916 4,056 2,845 1,436 0.01 62,091 X X X X X 62,091 X X X X X 50,979 51,634 11,656 Female householder 81,015 16,989 28,221 21,187 25,118 27,814 42,214 63,430 57,908 30,655 5,510 11,769 2,479 10,296 10,628 23,059 76,918 31,850 8,482 5,209 3,084 1,523 921 Z 81,015 X X X X X 81,015 X X X X X 68,258 52,312 10,691 Nonfamily households

Total 144,469 25,425 57,610 44,834 52,643 45,268 42,173 106,665 92,017 37,848 12,176 19,133 4,028 22,566 25,162 44,881 X 109,137 77,037 60,910 46,223 26,969 21,986 0.01 106,937 78,916 66,375 58,604 38,142 27,581 103,135 78,715 69,573 64,326 60,155 28,518 169,066 81,408 16,940

Total 111,894 30,043 40,148 34,197 41,426 39,553 55,337 93,305 85,449 42,789 8,839 17,737 3,435 17,430 17,605 38,068 114,173 42,852 16,542 10,005 4,693 3,219 1,551 Z 111,894 X X X X X 111,894 X X X X X 99,922 77,063 17,035

All households . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Age of Householder 15 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 years and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Race and Hispanic Origin of Householder White alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Non-Hispanic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Black or African American alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American Indian and Alaska Native alone . . . . . . . . . . Asian alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone . . . . Some Other Race alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Two or More Races. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hispanic (any race). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Size of Household 1 person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 or more people. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Average size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number of Related Children Under 18 No related children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . With related children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 or more children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Presence of Own Children Under 18 No own children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . With own children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . With own children under 12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . With own children under 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . With own children under 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . With own children under 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tenure Owned home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rented home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Occupied without payment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

X Not applicable. Z Rounds to zero. 1 This number, when added to or subtracted from the corresponding estimate in Table 1, represents the 90 percent confidence interval around the estimate. Note: See <www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of_Data_2011.pdf> for further information on the accuracy of the data. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2011.

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U.S. Census Bureau