Living Arrangements

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Serving Children, Families, and Communities

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Living Arrangements

Q:	How has the proportion of children living in single-parent homes changed since 1970?
A:	The proportion of children living in single-parent homes more than doubled between 1970 and 2007 from 12% to 29%.

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In 2007, 68% of children were living in two-parent families – a level that has held since the mid-1990s. Most other children lived in single-parent households.
While most children in single-parent families lived with their mothers in 2007, an increasing proportion were living with their fathers. Between 1970 and 2007, the proportion of children in single-parent homes living with their fathers grew from 1% to 5%.
A never-married parent is becoming more common in single-parent homes. Between 1970 and 2007, the proportion of children living with a never-married parent increased from 7% to 42%.

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/population/qa01201.asp?qaDate=2007. Released on October 24, 2008.

Data Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. Current Population Survey - Families and Living Arrangements, Historical Tables. Table CH-1: "Living Arrangements of Children Under 18 Years Old: 1960 to Present." [Internet release date: July 2008]. Web-based data files available at: www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam.html#ht.