The 2000 U.S. Census revealed a number of interesting statistics about single-parent families. I gleaned various figures related to single parent families from a U.S. Census Bureau report entitled, “Households and Families – 2000.”
To put the single-parent-family numbers into some context, I’ve also included figures related to the rest of the U.S. population.
If you’re curious as to where you fit in the “big picture” of the entire United States (population 281.4 million as of the 2000 Census), then read on.
Definitions
To make it easier to understand these numbers, here are the definitions of a few terms used by the U.S. Census Bureau:
Household – a person or group of people who occupy a housing unit.
Family household – consists of a householder and one or more people living together in the same household who are related to the householder by birth, marriage or adoption.
Family households are broken down into a) married-couple households; b) female householder, no husband present; and c) male householder, no wife present.
Non-family household – consists of a person living alone or a householder who shares the home with nonrelatives only.
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Total Households – 2000
In 2000, there were a total of 105.5 million households (both family and non-family) in the U.S.
Of these households:
68.1%, or 71.8 million households, were family households.
31.9%, or 33.7 million households, were non-family households.
Households with Children Under Age 18
32.8% of all households, or 34.6 million households, included children under age 18.
These households broke down as follows:
23.5% of all households, or 24.8 million households, consisted of married couples with children under 18.
7.2% of all households, or 7.6 million households, consisted of “female family households” (no husband present) with children under age 18.
2.1% of all households, or 2.2 million households, consisted of “male family households” (no wife present) with children under age 18.
Single Parent Households
Of the 34.6 million households with children under age 18:
72% were headed by married couples.
28% of households with children under age 18 were headed by a single parent.
These single parent households broke down as follows:
77.6% were headed by a female parent
22.4% were headed by a male parent
These numbers mean that, in 2000:
More than 1 in 4 families with children under age 18 were headed by a single parent.
More than 3 out of 4 single parent families were headed by a Mom.
Households Without Children Under Age 18
The remaining 67.2% of the 105.5 million U.S. households broke down as follows:
Family
28.2% of all households, or 29.7 million households, were married-couple households with no children under age 18.
5% of all households, or 5.3 million households, were female householder, no husband present, and no children under age 18.
2.1% of all households, or 2.2 million households, were male householder, no wife present, and no children under age 18.
Non-Family
25.8% of all households, or 27.2 million households, were one-person households.
6.1% of all households, or 6.5 million households, were two-or-more-person households.
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All this number-crunching is making me dizzy so I’m stopping now!