Fewer children than ever live in a household with two married parents

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published 28 December 2015

Fewer children than ever are living in a household with two married parents, an ominous sign due to the strong link between parents' marital status and a child's likelihood of living in poverty. According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, only 62 percent of children under 18 lived in a household with two married parents in 2014, a "historic low." Twenty-six percent of children under 18 were living with only one parent, while 7 percent lived with two unmarried, cohabiting parents.

However, Pew noted that "the economic outcomes for these different types of families vary dramatically." In 2014, 31 percent of single-parent households and 21 percent of two cohabiting parent households were living below the poverty line. By comparison, only one in 10 children with two married parents were living in a similar economic situation; 57 percent, in fact, lived with parents whose incomes were at least 200 percent above the poverty line.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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