FAM1.A Family structure and children's living arrangements: Percentage of children ages 0–17 by presence of parents in household and race and Hispanic origin, 1980–2022

excel icon FAM1A Excel Table
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Race and Hispanic origin, and family structure 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001b 2002b 2003b 2004b 2005b 2006b 2007b 2008b 2009b 2010b 2011b 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019c 2020 2021d 2022
Total
Two parents 70.7 69.9 69.8 69.4 68.9 68.1 68.5 68.7 69.2 68.7 68.9 69.1 70.1 70.4 69.7 70.2
Two married parents 77.0 76.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 74.0 74.0 73.0 73.0 73.0 73.0 72.0 71.0 71.0 69.0 69.0 68.0 68.0 68.0 68.0 69.0 69.0 69.0 68.4 67.8 67.3 67.4 67.8 66.7 66.8 65.7 65.0 64.1 64.4 64.4 64.7 64.7 65.0 65.0 65.8 66.6 65.1 65.4
Mother only 18.0 18.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 21.0 21.0 21.0 21.0 22.0 22.0 22.0 23.0 23.0 23.0 23.0 24.0 24.0 23.0 23.0 22.0 22.0 23.0 23.0 23.3 23.4 23.3 22.6 22.8 22.8 23.1 23.6 24.4 23.7 23.6 23.1 23.4 22.7 22.2 21.4 21.0 21.5 21.5
Father only 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 4.6 4.6 4.8 4.7 3.2 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.5 4.0 4.1 3.9 3.7 4.1 4.3 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.9 4.7
No parent 4.0 4.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.3 4.5 4.6 3.5 3.8 4.0 4.1 3.9 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.8 4.0 4.3 4.0 4.1 3.9 3.6
White, non-Hispanic
Two married parents 81.0 80.0 79.0 79.0 79.0 78.0 77.0 77.0 76.0 77.0 77.0 78.0 77.0
Mother only 15.0 15.0 16.0 16.0 16.0 16.0 16.0 17.0 16.0 16.0 16.0 16.0 16.0
Father only 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0
No parent 2.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.0 3.0
White-alone, non-Hispanic
Two parents 78.6 77.8 78.1 77.5 77.2 76.5 77.4 77.3 77.5 76.5 76.7 77.2 78.2 78.6 77.6 78.5
Two married parents 76.9 76.9 75.9 75.9 76.2 75.4 75.8 75.0 74.6 73.7 74.4 74.5 74.5 73.9 73.6 73.9 75.1 75.5 74.2 74.8
Mother only 15.9 15.9 16.4 16.0 15.3 15.5 15.3 15.5 15.9 16.4 15.3 15.5 15.5 15.9 15.7 14.7 14.0 13.4 14.0 13.7
Father only 4.3 4.3 4.8 4.8 3.6 4.1 3.8 3.8 4.0 4.3 4.4 4.3 4.1 4.4 4.5 4.7 4.5 4.7 5.1 4.8
No parent 2.9 2.9 2.9 3.2 2.5 2.6 2.8 3.1 3.0 2.8 3.0 3.0 2.9 3.2 3.1 3.4 3.3 3.2 3.3 2.9
Black
Two married parents 42.0 43.0 42.0 41.0 41.0 39.0 41.0 40.0 39.0 38.0 38.0 36.0 36.0 36.0 33.0 33.0 33.0 35.0 36.0 35.0 38.0 38.0 38.0
Mother only 44.0 43.0 47.0 51.0 50.0 51.0 51.0 50.0 51.0 51.0 51.0 54.0 54.0 54.0 53.0 52.0 53.0 52.0 51.0 52.0 49.0 48.0 48.0
Father only 2.0 3.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 5.0
No parent 12.0 11.0 8.0 6.0 6.0 7.0 6.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 8.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 10.0 11.0 9.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 9.0 10.0 8.0
Black-alone
Two parents 39.8 37.5 38.7 39.7 37.7 38.1 38.8 39.0 38.7 38.7 39.7 39.7 42.2 41.2 42.6 43.0
Two married parents 36.0 35.0 35.0 34.6 36.8 34.5 35.4 35.1 33.0 33.4 34.4 34.4 34.0 34.1 36.1 35.9 37.7 37.9 38.3 37.8
Mother only 51.0 50.0 50.2 51.2 49.8 51.1 49.8 49.3 51.2 50.9 50.5 50.8 49.4 51.5 48.5 48.1 45.7 46.8 44.8 45.6
Father only 5.0 6.0 5.0 4.8 3.5 3.3 3.3 3.6 3.5 4.2 4.6 4.2 4.2 3.9 4.4 5.0 5.1 4.5 5.8 5.6
No parent 9.0 9.0 9.8 9.4 6.8 8.1 8.2 7.4 7.6 6.7 6.1 6.1 7.7 5.8 7.5 7.1 7.0 8.1 6.8 5.9
Hispanic
Two parents 69.8 69.7 68.7 67.0 66.9 65.7 65.1 64.9 67.0 67.2 66.9 67.0 68.0 67.9 67.5 67.5
Two married parents 75.0 70.0 69.0 68.0 70.0 68.0 66.0 66.0 66.0 67.0 67.0 66.0 65.0 65.0 63.0 63.0 62.0 64.0 64.0 63.0 65.0 65.0 65.0 64.6 64.6 64.7 65.9 65.5 64.2 63.7 60.9 60.2 59.0 58.2 57.8 59.8 60.3 61.2 61.1 60.9 61.9 59.9 60.0
Mother only 20.0 23.0 25.0 27.0 25.0 27.0 28.0 28.0 27.0 28.0 27.0 27.0 28.0 28.0 28.0 28.0 29.0 27.0 27.0 27.0 25.0 25.0 25.0 24.5 25.4 25.4 25.0 24.5 24.1 24.9 26.3 26.5 28.0 27.9 27.5 25.9 25.3 24.7 24.9 24.3 24.0 24.8 24.5
Father only 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 4.0 5.0 5.0 5.5 5.3 4.8 4.1 2.1 2.4 2.5 2.7 2.7 3.1 3.2 3.1 3.0 3.8 4.4 4.0 4.2 4.1 4.3 4.3
No parent 3.0 4.0 4.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 4.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 6.0 5.0 5.3 4.7 5.1 5.0 3.6 3.9 3.9 4.0 3.9 3.2 3.9 4.4 4.1 3.7 4.0 4.2 3.6 3.9 3.4 3.7
— Not available.
a From 1980 to 2002, following the 1977 U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) standards for collecting and presenting data on race, the Current Population Survey (CPS) asked respondents to choose one race from the following: White, Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander. The U.S. Census Bureau also offered an "Other" category. Beginning in 2003, following the 1997 OMB standards for collecting and presenting data on race, the CPS asked respondents to choose one or more races from the following: White, Black or African American, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. All race groups discussed in this table from 2003 onward refer to people who indicated only one racial identity within the racial categories presented. People who responded to the question on race by indicating only one race are referred to as the race-alone population. The use of the race-alone population in this table does not imply that it is the preferred method of presenting or analyzing data. Data from 2003 onward are not directly comparable with data from earlier years. Data on race and Hispanic origin are collected separately. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
b Data are from the expanded CPS sample and use population controls based on Census 2000.
c In 2019, data collection and processing changes resulted in shifts in estimates of the number of parents with whom children live and the type of relationship (biological, step, or adoptive) between children and their parent(s). Users should exercise caution when making direct comparisons between 2019 data and data from previous years. For more information about the changes, please see the user note at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/technical-documentation/user-notes/geographic-mobility-user-notes/2019-06.html.
d Estimates use population controls based on the most recent preceding Census.
NOTE: Some estimates have been revised since previous publication in America's Children. Data for 2022 exclude about 160,900 household residents under age 18 who were listed as family reference persons or spouses. The 2014 Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) of the CPS included redesigned questions for income and health insurance coverage. All of the approximately 98,000 addresses were selected to receive the improved set of health insurance coverage items. The improved income questions were implemented using a split panel design. Approximately 68,000 addresses were selected to receive a set of income questions similar to those used in the 2013 CPS ASEC. The remaining 30,000 addresses were selected to receive the redesigned income questions. The source of the 2014 data for this table is the CPS ASEC sample of 98,000 addresses. Prior to 2007, CPS data identified only one parent on the child's record. This meant that a second parent could only be identified if he or she were married to the first parent. In 2007, a second parent identifier was added to the CPS. This permits identification of two coresident parents, even if the parents are not married to each other. In this table, "two parents" reflects all children who have two parents identified in the household, including biological, step, and adoptive parents. Before 2007, "mother only" and "father only" included some children who lived with two unmarried parents. Beginning in 2007, "mother only" and "father only" refer to children for whom only one parent in the household has been identified, whether biological, step, or adoptive. U.S. Census Bureau, Families and Living Arrangements reports and detailed tables (from 1978) are available on the U.S. Census Bureau website at https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2019/demo/families/cps-2019.html. More information on confidentiality protection, methodology, sampling and nonsampling error, and definitions is available at www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar22.pdf.
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement.