Children living at home with both parents grow up with more financial and educational advantages than youngsters raised by one parent, as U.S. Census Bureau statistics have long shown. But even for those children living in single-parent homes, the marital status of the parent can affect the quality of life.

More than a quarter of America's children now live with one parent. This Brief provides a few glimpses of the living situations of such children.

Children living with a divorced parent typically have a big edge over those living with a parent who has never married—an even bigger edge if that parent is the father.

Never-married parents are significantly younger than divorced parents and on average tend to have fewer years of school completed and lower levels of income. Nonetheless, although age does have an effect, the differences remain.