About the Data
Data Sets
Download Center
Maps
Tools and References
Biological children, adopted children, and stepchildren are identified in Census 2000 by the answer to the question, "How is this person related to person 1?" Person 1 is always the householder: someone who owns or rents the home. People under age 18 living in households are referred to as children. About two-thirds of children lived in married-couple family groups in 2000. A family group consists of related members, regardless of whether the householder is part of that "family." Twenty-seven percent of children lived in a single-parent family group, and 5 percent lived in a household with neither parent present. Grandchildren of the householder were most likely to be living in single-parent, mother-only family groups (40 percent). Another 36 percent of grandchildren of the householder were living with no parent present.
Overall, the population under 18 grew by 13 percent, from 63.6 million in 1990 to 72.1 million in 2000. Children under 18 represented 26 percent of the population in households in 2000. Ninety percent (64.7 million) of children in the United States were sons or daughters of the householder in 2000. Among children, 59.8 million (83 percent) were biological sons and daughters of the householder, 3.3 million were stepchildren, and 1.6 million were adopted children.
The 4.4 million grandchildren of the householder represented 6 percent of all children in households. Nine percent of those under 6 years, 6 percent of those aged 6 to 11, and 4 percent of children aged 12 to 17 were listed as grandchildren of the householder.
Census 2000 included "adopted son/daughter" for the first time in the decennial census as a category of relationship to the householder separate from "natural born son/daughter" and "stepson/stepdaughter". The adoption category includes various types of adoption, such as: adoption of biologically related and unrelated children, adoption of stepchildren, adoption through private and public agencies, domestic and international adoptions, and independent and informal adoptions. Together, these children represented approximately 8 percent of the 84 million sons and daughters of householders in 2000.
Nearly 2 percent of children were not relatives of the householder. Foster children made up 23 percent of the non-relative population under 18 years. Among all children in households, just 0.4 percent (292,000) were foster children. The majority of foster children were under 12 years (67 percent).
Of the 45.5 million households in 2000 that contained householders' children of any age, most (89 percent) contained biological children only; about 3 percent of these households contained stepchildren only; and another 4 percent contained both biological and stepchildren. Another 2 percent contained only adopted children of the householder and an additional 2 percent contained both adopted and biological children. Only 0.1 percent of all households with children of the householder included biological children, adopted children, and stepchildren.
Informal adoptions are more common among some cultural groups than others, as people differ widely in the way they view family relationships and the process of adoption. For example, a qualitative study prepared for the U.S. Census Bureau found that informal adoption of biological grandchildren was common in Inupiaq communities in Alaska. Informal adoptions are also more common among Blacks and Hispanics.
In 2000, 1.6 million adopted children of the householder were under age 18, making up 2.5 percent of all children of the householder under 18. An additional 473,000 adopted children of the householder were aged 18 and over, again representing 2.5 percent of all children of the householder of that age group. In 2000, there were more than twice as many stepchildren (4.4 million) as adopted children (2.1 million), with stepchildren representing 5 percent of children of the householder.
Adopted children appear to be in households which were economically more advantaged than those of stepchildren and biological children, since a higher percentage lived with householders who owned rather than rented their homes. While 78 percent of adopted children under 18 years old lived with householders who owned their homes, the corresponding percentage for both biological and stepchildren under 18 was 67 percent.
Among the 1.7 million households containing adopted children of the householder, 82 percent had just one adopted child, while 15 percent had two adopted children. Just 3 percent of these households had three or more adopted children.
More girls than boys are adopted, for several reasons. First, women in general express a preference for adopting girls, and single women more frequently have adopted girls than boys. Also, a majority of the children available for adoption from other countries that are leading sources for adopted children are girls.
Of the 1.7 million households containing adopted children about 308,000 (18 percent) contained members of different races. The adoption of foreign-born children by U.S. residents played a large role in creating these households. Of the 43.8 million households, which did not contain adopted children, 4.1 million (9 percent) included people of different race groups.
For children, the distribution by race and ethnicity varies widely by relationship to the householder. Although Blacks represented 15 percent of all children, they represented approximately 32 percent of all grandchildren, 35 percent of foster children, and 29 percent of relatives of the householder other than their sons, daughters, and grandchildren. The 17 percent of children who were Hispanic (of any race) were over-represented among grandchildren (21 percent), other relatives (38 percent), and other non-relatives of the householder (24 percent). This finding suggests that Hispanic children may more frequently live in extended families. Hispanics also accounted for 28 percent of children aged 15 to 17 who were householders or spouses, which might indicate early marriage patterns. Above-average proportions of married teenagers were found in Texas and Arizona, where Hispanics constitute large portions of the population.
Overall, 4 percent of children were foreign born, but they represented 20 percent of householders or spouses aged 15 to 17 and 21 percent of other relatives under age 18. Just 3 percent of foster children were foreign born. Foster children were almost twice as likely to live in an unmarried partner household (9 percent) as children who were sons or daughters of the householder (5 percent).
The percentage of those speaking English at home differs greatly by householder-nativity status. Less than one-quarter (23 percent) of children living with a foreign-born householder but 93 percent of those living with a native householder spoke only English at home. Children living with a foreign-born householder were more likely to live with a householder who did not have a high school diploma (46 percent) than were children living with a native householder (14 percent). Children living with a foreign-born householder were also more likely to be in poverty than those living with a native householder (23 percent and 14 percent, respectively).
indicate a document is in the