Indicator 3: Children's Living Arrangements
(Last Updated: February 2019)

In 2016, the percentage of children living with married parents was highest for Asian children (84 percent), followed by White children (73 percent); children of Two of more races, Pacific Islander children, and Hispanic children (57 percent each); and American Indian/Alaska Native children (45 percent). The percentage was lowest for Black children (33 percent).

In 2016, approximately 73.6 million children under age 18 lived in the United States. The living arrangements of these children varied: 63 percent lived with married parents, 27 percent lived with a female parent with no spouse present, and 8 percent lived with a male parent with no spouse present.¹ In addition, 2 percent of these children lived in other arrangements.² This indicator examines how children’s living arrangements varied across racial/ethnic groups.

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Figure 3.1. Percentage distribution of children under age 18, by race/ethnicity and living arrangement: 2016

¹ Includes foster children, children in unrelated subfamilies, children living in group quarters, and children who were reported as the householder or spouse of the householder.
² Includes all children who live either with their parent(s) or with a householder to whom they are related by birth, marriage, or adoption (except a child who is the spouse of the householder). Children are classified by their parents’ marital status or, if no parents are present in the household, by the marital status of the householder who is related to the children. Living arrangements with only a “female parent” or “male parent” are those in which the parent or the householder who is related to the child does not have a spouse living in the household. The householder is the person (or one of the people) who owns or rents (maintains) the housing unit.
NOTE: Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2016. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 102.20.

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In 2016, across racial/ethnic groups, the majority of children under age 18 lived with married parents, with the exception of Black (33 percent) and American Indian/Alaska Native (45 percent) children. The percentage of children living with married parents was highest for Asian children (84 percent), followed by White children (73 percent); children of Two of more races, Pacific Islander children, and Hispanic children (57 percent each); and American Indian/Alaska Native children (45 percent). The percentage was lowest for Black children (33 percent). The percentage of children living with a female parent with no spouse present was highest for Black children (56 percent), followed by children who were American Indian/Alaska Native (38 percent); of Two or more races (32 percent), Hispanic (31 percent), and Pacific Islander (30 percent); White (17 percent); and Asian (10 percent). Differences were statistically significant between the racial/ethnic groups for the percentages of children living with married parents or with a female parent and no spouse present, except for the differences among children of Two or more races, Hispanic children, and Pacific Islander children. The percentage of children living with a male parent with no spouse present was higher for American Indian/Alaska Native children (13 percent) than for children of all other racial/ethnic groups except Pacific Islander children (10 percent); conversely, the percentage was lowest for Asian children (4 percent).

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Figure 3.2. Percentage distribution of Hispanic children under age 18, by subgroup and living arrangement: 2016

¹ Includes Costa Rican, Guatemalan, Honduran, Nicaraguan, Panamanian, Salvadoran, and other Central American subgroups.
² Includes Chilean, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Peruvian, Venezuelan, and other South American subgroups.
³ Includes other Hispanic subgroups not separately shown.
⁴ Includes foster children, children in unrelated subfamilies, children living in group quarters, and children who were reported as the householder or spouse of the householder.
⁵ Includes all children who live either with their parent(s) or with a householder to whom they are related by birth, marriage, or adoption (except a child who is the spouse of the householder). Children are classified by their parents’ marital status or, if no parents are present in the household, by the marital status of the householder who is related to the children. Living arrangements with only a “female parent” or “male parent” are those in which the parent or the householder who is related to the child does not have a spouse living in the household. The householder is the person (or one of the people) who owns or rents (maintains) the housing unit.
NOTE: Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2016. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 102.20.

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Among Hispanic children under age 18 in 2016, about 57 percent lived with married parents, 31 percent lived with a female parent with no spouse present, 10 percent lived with a male parent with no spouse present, and 2 percent lived in other arrangements. However, the percentages for some Hispanic subgroups differed from the Hispanic average. For instance, the percentages of children living with married parents were below the Hispanic average of 57 percent for Dominican (45 percent) and Puerto Rican (44 percent) children. In contrast, the percentages of Spaniard (69 percent), South American³ (67 percent), and Mexican (59 percent) children living with married parents were higher than the Hispanic average. The percentages of children living with a female parent with no spouse present were below the Hispanic average of 31 percent for Mexican (30 percent), South American (24 percent), and Spaniard (22 percent) children, and were above the Hispanic average for Puerto Rican and Dominican children (45 percent each). The percentages of children living with a male parent with no spouse present were lower than the Hispanic average of 10 percent for South American (8 percent) and Spaniard (7 percent) children but were higher than the Hispanic average for Central American⁴ children (12 percent).

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Figure 3.3. Percentage distribution of Asian children under age 18, by subgroup and living arrangement: 2016

# Rounds to zero.
¹ Includes Taiwanese.
² Includes Asian Indian, Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Nepalese, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan subgroups.
³ Includes Burmese, Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, Thai, Vietnamese, and other Southeast Asian subgroups. Other Southeast Asian subgroups consist of Indonesian and Malaysian.
⁴ Includes other Asian subgroups not separately shown.
⁵ Includes foster children, children in unrelated subfamilies, children living in group quarters, and children who were reported as the householder or spouse of the householder.
⁶ Includes all children who live either with their parent(s) or with a householder to whom they are related by birth, marriage, or adoption (except a child who is the spouse of the householder). Children are classified by their parents’ marital status or, if no parents are present in the household, by the marital status of the householder who is related to the children. Living arrangements with only a “female parent” or “male parent” are those in which the parent or the householder who is related to the child does not have a spouse living in the household. The householder is the person (or one of the people) who owns or rents (maintains) the housing unit.
NOTE: Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2016. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 102.20.

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However, the percentages for some Asian subgroups differed from the Asian average. Overall, in 2016, about 84 percent of Asian children under age 18 lived with married parents, 10 percent lived with a female parent with no spouse present, 4 percent lived with a male parent with no spouse present, and 1 percent lived in other arrangements. The percentages of children living with married parents were below the Asian average of 84 percent for Filipino (77 percent) and Southeast Asian⁵ (73 percent) children. In contrast, the percentages of South Asian⁶ (93 percent) and Korean (87 percent) children living with married parents were higher than the Asian average. The percentages of children living with a female parent with no spouse present were below the Asian average of 10 percent for Japanese (7 percent) and South Asian (5 percent) children, and were above the Asian average for Southeast Asian (18 percent) and Filipino (15 percent) children. The percentages of children living with a male parent with no spouse present were lower than the Asian average of 4 percent for Korean (3 percent) and South Asian (2 percent) children but were higher than the Asian average for Southeast Asian (7 percent) and Filipino (6 percent) children.

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Endnotes:

¹ Includes all children who live either with their parent(s) or with a householder to whom they are related by birth, marriage, or adoption (except a child who is the spouse of the householder). Children are classified by their parents’ marital status or, if no parents are present in the household, by the marital status of the householder who is related to the children. Living arrangements with only a “female parent” or “male parent” are those in which the parent or the householder who is related to the child does not have a spouse living in the household. The householder is the person (or one of the people) who owns or rents (maintains) the housing unit.
² Includes foster children, children in unrelated subfamilies, children living in group quarters, and children who were reported as the householder or spouse of the householder. Due to the small percentage of children in this category, racial/ethnic differences are not discussed in the indicator.
³ Includes Chilean, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Peruvian, Venezuelan, and other South American subgroups.
⁴ Includes Costa Rican, Guatemalan, Honduran, Nicaraguan, Panamanian, Salvadoran, and other Central American subgroups.
⁵ Includes Burmese, Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, Thai, Vietnamese, and other Southeast Asian subgroups. Other Southeast Asian subgroups consist of Indonesian and Malaysian.
⁶ Includes Asian Indian, Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Nepalese, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan subgroups.

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