As family structures change in U.S., a growing share of Americans say it makes no difference
45% of Americans don’t think it makes a difference that there is growing variety in the types of family arrangements people live in.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
45% of Americans don’t think it makes a difference that there is growing variety in the types of family arrangements people live in.
The landscape of relationships in America has shifted dramatically in recent decades. Read eight facts about love and marriage in the country.
The share of U.S. children living with an unmarried parent has more than doubled since 1968, jumping from 13% to 32% in 2017.
Among U.S. adults ages 50 and older, the divorce rate has roughly doubled since the 1990s.
In the past 10 years, the share of U.S. adults living without a spouse or partner has climbed to 42%, up from 39% in 2007.
Roughly half of U.S. cohabiters are younger than 35. But an increasing number of Americans ages 50 and older are in cohabiting relationships.
Under pressure from academics and advocates, the U.S. Census Bureau has abandoned plans to delete a series of questions about marriage and divorce from its largest household survey.
In 2014, just 14% of children younger than 18 lived with a stay-at-home mother and a working father who were in their first marriage. In 1960, half of children were living in this arrangement.
College-educated women have an almost eight-in-ten chance of still being married after two decades.
The U.S. Census Bureau has proposed dropping a series of questions about marriage and divorce from its largest household survey of Americans, touching off a debate about the usefulness of such data.
1615 L St. NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
USA
(+1) 202-419-4300 | Main
(+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax
(+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries
ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
© 2024 Pew Research Center