NOV. 21, 2023 — Newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual America’s Families and Living Arrangements show that living with two parents was more common for children at younger ages than older ages.

In 2023, 75% of children under the age of 6 lived with two parents, compared to 68% of children between the ages of 12 and 17 who lived with two parents.

Among children who lived with two parents, the majority lived with married parents. However, about 3.2 million children under age 18 lived with cohabiting parents in 2023, a significant increase from the 2.2 million children who lived with cohabiting parents in 2007.

This year, the release is accompanied by interactive data visualizations on living arrangements of parents, living arrangements of children, family groups and parent/child family groups. The tools include drop-down menus to compare arrangements across race and Hispanic origin status, and over time.

Other highlights:

Households

• In 2023, there were 38.1 million one-person households, which was 29% of all households. In 1960, single-person households represented only 13% of all households.

Families

• The percentage of families with their own children under age 18 in the household declined from 2003 to 2023. In 2003, 48% of all families lived with their own children under age 18, compared to 43% in 2013 and 39% in 2023.

Marriage

• In 2023, 34% of adults age 15 and over had never been married, up from 23% in 1950.
• The estimated median age to marry for the first time was 30.2 for men and 28.4 for women, up from ages 23.7 and 20.5, respectively, in 1947.
• Almost one-quarter (23%) of children under age 15 living in opposite-sex married-couple families had a stay-at-home mother, compared to only 1% with a stay-at-home father.

Living Arrangements

• More than half (56%) of adults ages 18 to 24 lived in their parental home, compared to 16% of adults ages 25 to 34.

These statistics come from the 2023 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement, which has collected statistics on families for more than 60 years. The data show characteristics of households, living arrangements, married/unmarried couples, and children.

For more data on families and living arrangements, visit Families and Living Arrangements at census.gov. 

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