The American public is closely divided on the question of whether gays and lesbians should be allowed to marry legally, with 46% opposing same-sex marriage and 45% supporting it. Those divisions extend to groups within the Republican and Democratic coalitions.

A majority (55%) of Americans say the government is almost always wasteful and inefficient; half prefer a smaller government that provides fewer services.

The number and share of Americans living in multi-generational households rose for all age groups from 2007 to 2009, but the sharpest growth was for adults ages 25 to 34. Their numbers increased from 7.4 million to 8.7 million during that period.

During this decade of sustained warfare, only about 0.5% of the American public has been on active duty at any given time.

Two-thirds (67%) of post-9/11 combat veterans who had traumatic wartime experiences say their readjustment to civilian life was difficult.

Large numbers of Americans enacted their own anti-poverty program in the depths of the Great Recession: 51.4 million Americans lived with relatives in 2009, an increase over the 46.5 million who did so in 2007.

More Latino children are living in poverty — 6.1 million in 2010 — than children of any other racial or ethnic group. This marks the first time in U.S. history that the single largest group of poor children is not white.

The number of Latino eligible voters increased in 2010, from 13.2 million in 2000 to 21.3 million, but only 6.6 million actually voted in that year’s elections.