Youth Indicators 1996 / Indicator 10, Chart 1

Indicator 10. Families with Children

Percent of families with own children under 18 years old, by family type: 1950 to 1994

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P-20, Household and Family Characteristics, various years.

The proportion of families with children under 18 who were headed by single parents more than doubled between 1970 and 1994.

Family structures differ significantly among racial/ethnic groups. In 1994, 60 percent of black families with children were single-parent families, compared with 31 percent of Hispanic families and 21 percent of white families. Moreover, about 64 percent of Hispanic families had children under 18, compared with 60 percent of black families and 48 percent of white families.