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More than half of women born in 1980–84 had a child in the household at age 27

September 01, 2015

At age 27, more than half of women born in 1980–84 lived with their own or a partner’s child, compared with 29 percent of men. Among single women, 41 percent had a child in their household, compared with 5 percent of single men. More than three-fifths of married women and men had a child in their household. Among women and men who cohabited—that is, lived with a partner but were not married—a little less than half had a child in their household.

Percent of men and women born in 1980–84 who lived with their own or a partner's child at age 27
Characteristic Total Single Married Cohabiting
Child No child Child No child Child No child Child No child

Total

               

Men

29.4 70.6 5.2 94.8 62.8 37.2 45.6 54.4

Women

52.4 47.6 40.5 59.5 67.1 33.0 49.2 50.8

White, non-Hispanic

               

Men

29.2 70.8 4.8 95.2 59.4 40.6 39.1 60.9

Women

48.7 51.3 31.6 68.4 64.8 35.2 41.3 58.7

Black, non-Hispanic

               

Men

30.0 70.0 7.5 92.5 77.3 22.7 64.8 35.2

Women

66.1 33.9 62.3 37.7 82.3 17.7 69.8 30.2

Hispanic or Latino

               

Men

35.3 64.7 3.9 96.1 73.0 27.0 60.2 39.8

Women

59.9 40.1 40.6 59.4 74.8 25.2 72.2 27.8

The presence of children in the household varied by gender and race or ethnicity. Black women, regardless of partner status, were the most likely to have a child in their household (66 percent) at age 27, followed by Hispanic or Latino women (60 percent) and White women (49 percent).

Single Black women were about twice as likely to have a child (62 percent) in their household as single White women (32 percent). About 41 percent of single Hispanic or Latino women lived with their own or a partner’s child at age 27. Regardless of race or ethnicity, a small percentage of single men lived with a child at age 27.

About 82 percent of married Black women lived with a child at age 27, as did 75 percent of married Hispanic or Latino women and 65 percent of married White women. Among married men, 77 percent of Black men lived with their own or a partner’s child at age 27. That compares with 73 percent of married Hispanic or Latino men and 59 percent of married White men.

Among cohabiting women and men, 41 percent of White women and 39 percent of White men lived with their own or a partner’s child at age 27. Among cohabiting Hispanics or Latinos, 72 percent of women and 60 percent of men had a child in their household at age 27. Among cohabiting Blacks, 70 percent of women and 65 percent of men had a child in their household at age 27.

These data are from the National Longitudinal Surveys program. For more information, see "America's Young Adults at 27: Labor Market Activity, Education, and Household Composition: Results from a Longitudinal Survey" (HTML) (PDF).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, More than half of women born in 1980–84 had a child in the household at age 27 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/more-than-half-of-women-born-in-1980-84-had-a-child-in-the-household-at-age-27.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

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