Cohabitation and the Measurement of Child Poverty Tables
Table 1. Number and Percent of Persons in Poverty, by Demographic Group,
with Separate and Combined Income of Cohabiting Couples
Census Procedure, Income of Cohabitors Change:
Number Separate Units Combined Poverty Rate
of Persons Number Poverty Number Poverty Number Percentage
(millions) Poor Rate Poor Rate Poor Points Percent
All persons 240.7 31.3 13.0 30.0 12.5 -1.3 -0.5 -4.2
All children 62.9 11.7 18.7 11.4 18.1 -0.4 -0.6 -3.0
Children in single-
parent families 15.4 7.2 46.6 6.8 44.3 -0.4 -2.3 -5.0
Children in cohabi-
ting parent families 2.0 0.9 44.4 0.5 26.9 -0.4 -17.5 -39.4
Note: Cohabitors are those where the head of the household reported living with an unmarried partner.
Living arrangements are reported for April 1990; income, for calendar year 1989.
Table 2. Transitions into and out of Poverty for Children in Cohabiting Unions
Children Living with Mean Income-to-Needs
Cohabiting Parents Ratio
Number
(millions) Percent Separate Combined
(1) Poor as separate, poor as combined 0.519 25.5 0.39 0.55
(2) Poor as separate, not poor as combined 0.385 18.9 0.57 1.75
(3) Not poor as separate, poor as combined 0.029 1.4 1.08 0.91
(4) Not poor as separate, not poor as combine 1.104 54.2 2.46 3.17
All children in cohabiting unions 2.037 100.0 1.55 2.20
Net reduction in poor children 0.357
Note: The net reduction in the number of poor children is the difference between rows (2)
and (3). The income-to-needs ratio is defined as family income divided by the poverty line.
Table 3. Descriptive Statistics for Cohabiting Families with Children
Poor Separate, Poor Separate, Not Poor SeparatNot Poor Separate,
Poor Combined Not Poor CombinedPoor Combined Not Poor Combined
(N=228,103) (N=201,239) (N=14,009) (N=697,027)
(1) (2) (3) (4)
Parent:
Received welfare income
in previous year 38.9 31.3 13.8 6.4
Was unemployed or not in
labor force in survey 59.9 53.2 24.6 11.7
Had no earnings in
previous year 47.5 35.8 13.4 3.9
Mean earnings $2,279 $3,465 $8,915 $21,818
Education
Less than H.S. 55.1 42.5 47.2 24.3
High school 29.5 32.9 29.2 36.2
More than H.S. 15.4 24.5 23.7 39.5
Percent ever-married 43.6 50.2 47.7 64.9
Percent female 60.3 75.5 29.9 45.8
Cohabitor:
Was unemployed or not in
labor force in survey 59.1 19.7 83.4 29.0
Had no earnings in
previous year 46.3 5.7 77.0 17.3
Mean earnings $2,294 $15,615 $268 $13,380
Education
Less than H.S. 58.4 39.5 59.5 28.9
High school 28.7 36.0 26.9 38.7
More than H.S. 12.9 24.5 13.6 32.4
Table 4. Number and Percent of Children Living with Single Parents and Cohabiting Parents
who Receive Welfare Income, Classified by their Poverty Status when Separate and Combined
***Final table shown below***
Children Living with Children Living with
Single Parents Cohabiting Parents
Number with Number with
Total Wefare Income Percent Total Wefare Income Percent
(millions) (millions) (of row) (millions) (millions) (of row)
(1) Poor as separate,
poor as combined 6,774,179 3,577,331 52.8 519,412 223,339 43.0
(2) Poor as separate,
not poor as combined 385,411 133,528 34.6 385,411 133,528 34.6
(3) Not poor as separate,
poor as combined 28,749 5,440 18.9 28,749 5,440 18.9
(4) Not poor as separate,
not poor as combined 8,162,733 1,146,337 14.0 1,103,696 87,758 8.0
Total 15,351,072 4,862,636 31.7 2,037,268 450,065 22.1
Note: Welfare income includes any cash assistance from AFDC, Supplemental Security
Income or General Assistance. The numbers in rows (2) and (3) are identical for
children living with single parents and cohabiting parents, because only children
with cohabiting parents can change poverty status when income is combined.
Table 4. Number and Percent of Children Living with Single Parents and Cohabiting Parents
who Receive Welfare Income, Classified by their Poverty Status when Separate and Combined
Children Living with Children Living with
Single Parents Cohabiting Parents
Number with Number with
Total Wefare Income Percent Total Wefare Income Percent
(millions) (millions) (of row) (millions) (millions) (of row)
(1) Poor as separate,
poor as combined 6.77 3.58 52.8 0.52 0.22 43.0
(2) Poor as separate,
not poor as combined 0.39 0.13 34.6 0.39 0.13 34.6
(3) Not poor as separate,
poor as combined 0.03 0.01 18.9 0.03 0.01 18.9
(4) Not poor as separate,
not poor as combined 8.16 1.15 14.0 1.10 0.09 8.0
Total 15.4 4.9 31.7 2.0 0.5 22.1
Note: Welfare income includes any cash assistance from AFDC, Supplemental Security
Income or General Assistance. The numbers in rows (2) and (3) are identical for
children living with single parents and cohabiting parents, because only children
with cohabiting parents can change poverty status when income is combined.
Table 5. Estimated Coefficients of Logistic Regression Models: Likelihood that Poor Families
with Children Will Be Reclassified as Non-Poor When a Cohabitor's Income Is Counted
Model 1 Model 2
B SE Exp(B) B SE Exp(B)
Race/ethnic origin of parent
White, non-Hispanic (excluded) (excluded)
Black, non-Hispanic 0.0634 0.1916 1.0654 0.2379 0.2134 1.2686
Puerto Rican 0.5459 0.3353 1.7262 0.6387a 0.3733 1.8940
Mexican 0.0415 0.2179 1.0424 0.1029 0.2390 1.1084
Other Hispanic -0.2031 0.2765 0.8162 -0.2643 0.3040 0.7677
Other non-Hispanic -0.4320b 0.2106 0.6492 -0.5014b 0.2317 0.6057
Race/ethnic origin of cohabitor
White, non-Hispanic (excluded) (excluded)
Black, non-Hispanic -0.5490c 0.1876 0.5775 -0.5529c 0.2085 0.5753
Puerto Rican -1.0176c 0.3586 0.3614 -0.9577b 0.3996 0.3838
Mexican -0.0587 0.2148 0.9429 -0.2432 0.2339 0.7841
Other Hispanic -0.1421 0.2623 0.8675 -0.2464 0.2864 0.7816
Other non-Hispanic -0.4408b 0.2131 0.6435 -0.4956b 0.2336 0.6092
Marital status of parent
Never-married (excluded) (excluded)
Ever-married 0.2079b 0.0828 1.2311 0.1571a 0.0916 1.1701
Age of parent -0.0283 0.0214 0.9721 -0.0294 0.0240 0.9711
Age of parent (squared) 0.0002 0.0003 1.0002 0.0003 0.0003 1.0003
Age of cohabitor 0.0928c 0.0219 1.0973 0.0773c 0.0251 1.0804
Age of cohabitor (squared) -0.0009 0.0003 0.9991 -0.0005 0.0003 0.9995
Education of parent
Less than H.S. (excluded) (excluded)
High school 0.1275 0.0810 1.1360 0.0758 0.0902 1.0787
More than H.S. 0.3325c 0.0982 1.3944 0.2621b 0.1093 1.2996
Education of cohabitor
Less than H.S. (excluded) (excluded)
High school 0.6874c 0.0801 1.9885 0.5645c 0.0890 1.7586
More than H.S. 0.9189c 0.1011 2.5066 0.6641c 0.1109 1.9428
Sex of parent
Male (excluded) (excluded)
Female 0.7631c 0.0801 2.1450 0.5310c 0.0967 1.7007
SMSA
Non-metro area (excluded) (excluded)
Metro area 0.3360c 0.0773 1.3993 0.3856c 0.0854 1.4705
ap<.1 b p<.05c p<.01>
Table 5 (continued). Estimated Coefficients of Logistic Regression Models: Likelihood that Poor Families
with Children Will Be Reclassified as Non-Poor When a Cohabitor's Income Is Counted
Model 1 Model 2
B SE Exp(B) B SE Exp(B)
Region
Northeast (excluded) (excluded)
Midwest -0.2399b 0.1095 0.7867 -0.2711b 0.1246 0.7626
South -0.2796c 0.1055 0.7561 -0.5786c 0.1199 0.5607
West 0.0040 0.1148 1.0040 -0.0824 0.1291 0.9209
Number of children less than -0.3041c 0.0317 0.7378 -0.2782c 0.0349 0.7572
Parent received welfare income
None (excluded)
Some -0.2299b 0.0921 0.7946
Earnings of parent
Negative/none (excluded)
Positive 0.4791c 0.0855 1.6147
Earnings of cohabitor
Negative/none (excluded)
Positive 2.5808c 0.1190 13.2081
ap<.1 bp<.05 cp<.01
Note: 'Parent' refers to the partner with child(ren) when the cohabiting partners are treated
units. 'Cohabitor' refers to the partner whose income is combined when the couple is counted as a single
household unit. Only families that are counted as poor by the Census are included in the regressions; each
family is counted once.
Table 6. Predicted Probabilities that a Poor Single-Mother Family Will Be
Reclassified as Non-Poor when a Cohabitor's Income Is Counted
Model 1
A. Mother is Ever-Married
White mother with no HS degree and
white cohabitor with no HS degree 0.62
Black mother with no HS degree and
black cohabitor with no HS degree 0.50
Mexican mother with no HS degree and
Mexican cohabitor with no HS degree 0.61
White mother with a HS degree and
white cohabitor with a HS degree 0.79
B. Mother is Never-Married
Black mother with no HS degree and
black cohabitor with no HS degree 0.45
Model 2
C. White mother and cohabitor; both have
no HS degree; mother is on welfare
Cohabitor has no earnings 0.13
Cohabitor has some earnings 0.66
D. White mother and cohabitor; both have
no HS degree; mother is not on welfare
Mother has no earnings; cohabitor
has some earnings 0.71
Both mother and cohabitor have
some earnings 0.80
Note: All predictions assume the child's mother is age 30, she has two children, she lives in a
metropolitan area in the Northeast region, and she cohabits with a man who is age 35.
The mother is assumed to have been previously married, except in Panel B.
Appendix Table. Characteristics of Unweighted Sample of Cohabiting
Families with Children Who are Poor When Income is Counted Separately
(In percent)
(N=4,001)
Race/ethnic origin of parent
White, non-Hispanic 58.1
Black, non-Hispanic 24.2
Puerto Rican 2.4
Mexican 7.0
Other Hispanic 3.2
Other non-Hispanic 5.0
Race/ethnic origin of cohabitor
White, non-Hispanic 57.0
Black, non-Hispanic 25.4
Puerto Rican 2.1
Mexican 7.2
Other Hispanic 3.5
Other non-Hispanic 4.8
Marital status of parent
Never-married 51.3
Ever-married 48.7
Sex of parent
Male 33.9
Female 66.1
Age of parent (mean) 30.8
Age of cohabitor (mean) 30.9
Education of parent
Less than H.S. 49.3
High school 31.4
More than H.S. 19.2
Education of cohabitor
Less than H.S. 49.8
High school 32.4
More than H.S. 17.7
Appendix Table (continued). Characteristics of Unweighted Sample of Cohabiting
Families with Children Who are Poor When Income is Counted Separately
(In percent)
(N=4,001)
Non-metro area 32.8
Metro area 67.2
Region
Northeast 18.6
Midwest 22.9
South 33.6
West 24.9
Total number of children (combined)
One 36.2
Two 32.6
Three 18.7
Four or more 12.5
Parent received welfare income
None 65.5
Some 34.5
Earnings of parent
Negative/none 41.5
Positive 58.5
Earnings of cohabitor
Negative/none 26.9
Positive 73.1
Note: 'Parent' refers to the partner with child(ren) when the cohabiting partners
are treated as two separate households. 'Cohabitor' refers to the partner whose
income is combined when the couple is counted as a single household unit.
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