Questions

Table A.1. Custodial Parents: Demographic Estimates, Projections, and Characteristics

	1988	1998	2004	2009
Total Number	11,574,000	14,667,000	16,142,000	16,786,000
Sex
Male	13%	16%	18%	19%
Female	87%	84%	82%	81%
Race/ethnicity
White	59%	59%	57%	56%
Black	27%	25%	23%	22%
Hispanic	12%	14%	16%	18%
American Indian and other	2%	3%	4%	4%
Asian and Pacific Islander	1%	2%	3%	3%
Region
Midwest	24%	23%	23%	23%
Northeast	18%	17%	16%	16%
South	38%	38%	38%	38%
West	20%	22%	23%	24%
Type of area
Central city	38%	34%	31%	29%
Other part of metro	37%	42%	46%	49%
Outside a metro	25%	24%	23%	22%
Number of children age 17 or less
One	47%	48%	48%	48%
Two	33%	32%	32%	31%
Three	14%	14%	14%	15%
Four or more	7%	6%	6%	6%
Average	1.84	1.82	1.81	1.81
Current Marital Status
Divorced/Separated	48%	42%	39%	37%
Married	25%	24%	25%	24%
Never married	27%	34%	36%	39%
Widowed	1%	a	a	a
Note a = less than 0.5% The race/ethnic group "Other" consists primarily of American Indians, Eskimos, and Aleuts. Married includes married living separately.

Table A.2. Custodial Parents: Economic Estimates, Projections, and Characteristics

	1988	1998	2004	2009
Total Number	11,574,000	14,667,000	16,142,000	16,786,000
Poverty Level
Below poverty	34%	30%	26%	24%
1.00-1.24 times pov.	6%	7%	8%	8%
1.25-1.50 times pov.	5%	6%	6%	6%
1.50+ times pov.	54%	57%	60%	62%
Public Assistance
Yes	25%	15%	13%	13%
No	75%	84%	87%	87%
Labor Force Status
Employed	63%	72%	76%	78%
Unemployed	8%	7%	6%	6%
Not in labor force	29%	21%	18%	16%
Unemployment rate	11%	9%	7%	7%
Education
Less than h.s.	26%	19%	17%	16%
High school	45%	38%	37%	36%
Some college	19%	31%	32%	33%
College graduate	10%	12%	13%	15%

Note a = less than 0.5% Labor force status is among those eligible (persons aged 16 and over). Public assistance includes AFDC and "other assistance" and is determined at the family level for receipt in the year prior to the survey.

Table A.3. Nonparent Custodians: Demographic Estimates, Projections, and Characteristics

	1988	1998	2004	2009
Total	1,574,000	2,387,000	2,666,000	2,934,000
Sex
Male	48%	53%	51%	52%
Female	52%	47%	49%	48%
Race/ethnicity
White	47%	47%	46%	45%
Black	35%	31%	28%	26%
Hispanic	15%	18%	21%	23%
American Indian and other	4%	4%	5%	6%
Asian and Pacific Islander	2%	3%	4%	5%
Current Marital Status
Divorced/Separated	15%	20%	23%	25%
Married	51%	44%	41%	39%
Never married	22%	27%	28%	29%
Widowed	13%	9%	8%	7%
Public Assistance
Yes	16%	13%	9%	9%
No	84%	87%	91%	91%
Education
Less than high school	54%	43%	38%	33%
High school graduate or GED	30%	33%	31%	31%
Some college	10%	17%	23%	27%
College graduate	6%	6%	8%	8%
Labor Force Status
Employed	54%	56%	56%	56%
Unemployed	6%	6%	6%	6%
Not in the labor force	40%	39%	38%	38%
Unemployment rate	10%	9%	9%	9%
Poverty Level
Below poverty level	35%	30%	27%	26%
1.00-1.24 times poverty	6%	7%	8%	8%
1.25-1.50 times poverty	7%	6%	7%	7%
Above 1.50 times poverty	52%	56%	58%	59%
Type of area
Central city of a metropolitan area	39%	35%	34%	33%
Other part of a metropolitan area	34%	36%	38%	39%
Outside a metropolitan area	27%	29%	28%	27%
Number of children age 17 or less
One	47%	55%	61%	65%
Two	29%	29%	27%	26%
Three	14%	9%	7%	4%
Four or more	10%	7%	6%	5%
Average	1.98	1.75	1.63	1.54
Note a = less than 0.5%. Some custodians are both custodial parents and other custodians. They are included in this table and the custodial parent table. Married includes married living separately.Labor force status is among those eligible (persons aged 16 and over). Public assistance includes AFDC and "other assistance" and is determined at the family level for receipt in the year prior to the survey.

Appendix A. Detailed Tables