Poverty status of children by family structure, 2021
| Percent of all children receiving | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Living arrangement | Children under 18* | Percent below poverty level | Food stamps | Public assistance | ||||||
| All Types | 72,568 | 16.0% | 20.9% | 2.8% | ||||||
| Two parents | 50,609 | 9.5% | 12.6% | 1.3% | ||||||
| Married | 47,235 | 7.5% | 11.2% | 1.2% | ||||||
| Unmarried | 3,374 | 37.5% | 32.6% | 2.7% | ||||||
| Single parent | 19,172 | 31.7% | 41.1% | 6.3% | ||||||
| Mother only | 15,607 | 35.0% | 45.5% | 7.3% | ||||||
| Father only | 3,565 | 17.4% | 21.8% | 2.0% | ||||||
| Neither parent** | 2,788 | 28.4% | 31.9% | 7.1% | ||||||
| * Data are in thousands. ** Includes children living with other relatives and those living with non-relatives. ***The Current Population Survey methodology changed to more accurately reflect children’s coresidence with their parents. This change is reflected in the estimates beginning in 2007, where two parent homes include all homes in which a child lives with both parents, married or unmarried (biological, step or adoptive). For more information please read: Improvements to Demographic Household Data in the Current Population Survey: 2007. In 2021, 9.5% of children living with two parents lived below the poverty level, compared to 31.7% of children living with a single parent.Children living with only their mothers in 2021 were more than twice as likely to live in poverty than those living with only their fathers (35.0% vs. 17.4%).Overall, 2.8% of children in 2021 lived in households receiving public assistance and 20.9% lived in households receiving food stamps, but the proportions were greater for children living in single-mother families. Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/statistical-briefing-book/population/faqs/QA01203. Released on 4/18/2022 Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, America’s Families and Living Arrangements: Table C-8: “Poverty Status, Food Stamp Receipt, and Public Assistance for Children Under 18 Years.” [Internet release date: November 2021]. Web-based data files available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/demo/tables/families/2021/cps-2021/. | ||||||||||
Article on Inequalities in Poverty and Income between Single Mothers and Fathers
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jan; 17(1): 135.
Published online 2019 Dec 24. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17010135
Abstract
Background: The American family structure has changed in the past few decades due to a rise in the divorce rate and unmarried women with children. Research suggests a salary disparity between men and women, especially for those women after pregnancy. However, these studies were confined to individuals within traditional families, and there is a lack of information of income disparity and poverty status between single mothers and fathers. The current study explored the disparities in single-parent families based on the household income and the poverty status using a set of nationwide censor data. Methods: The current study used data from the 2011 and 2013 Panel Study of Income Dynamics (N = 1135). Multivariate regression models were used in the analysis. Results: The demographic characteristics of the weighted population showed that taxable income, total income, and poverty status were higher for single fathers than mothers, while non-work income was higher for single mothers than fathers. Single mothers were much more likely to be at the crisis category than single fathers. Multivariate analyses showed that gender, age, marital status, years of experience, and geographic region had effects on taxable income, and only gender, marital status, and region had effects on poverty status. Conclusions: The results suggest that vulnerable group of single mothers was acknowledged according to income and poverty status. Age, marital status, years of experience, and region would be the critical factors for predicting the income and poverty status for single parenthood.