CB01-FF.12
To mark the celebration of Grandparent's Day, the Census Bureau has culled from recently released census and survey data the following facts pertaining to grandparents:
Radio Soundbites
Multi-generational families
(The data in this section come from Census 2000.)
3.9 million
The number of multigenerational family households in the United States in
2000; these are families where grandparents lived under the same roof with
two or more generations of descendants. These households represented
4 percent of all households. Of these families:
- The largest group were those where the
grandparent was the householder and lived with both their children and
grandchildren. There were 2.6 million such households, comprising 65
percent of multigenerational family households.
- In the next-largest group, the grandparents lived in the home of their children (or son- or daughter-in-law) along with their children's children. There were 1.3 million such households, comprising one-third of all multigenerational family households.
- Another form of multigenerational family household included both grandparents and great-grandparents. In these households, the grandparents lived with their parents (or parents-in-law), along with their children and their grandchildren. There were 78,000 such households, comprising 2 percent of multigenerational family households.
8.2%
The percentage of households in Hawaii that
contained multigenerational families, the highest in the nation. California
(5.6 percent) and Mississippi (5.2 percent) were the only other states
where the proportion exceeded 5 percent.
1.1%
The percentage of households in North Dakota that contained a
multigenerational family, the smallest percentage of any state in the nation. The
other states with fewer than 2 percent were Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, South
Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
For more information on data in this section, go to http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01cn182.html.
Grandparents as Caregivers
(The data in this section come from the Census 2000 Supplementary Survey, a
survey of 700,000 households designed to test the feasibility of collecting
census long form-like data throughout the decade.)
5.6 million
Number of grandparents whose grandchildren under 18 lived with them in 2000.
2.4 million
The number of these grandparents who were responsible for caring for their grandchildren. Of
these
grandparents --
- 1.5 million were grandmothers.
- 840,000 had been responsible for caring for their
grandchildren for five or more years.
- 1.7 million were married.
- 1.3 million were in the labor force.
- 442,000 were poor.
The data from the Census 2000 Supplementary Survey are subject to sampling variability and other sources of error. Previous 2001 Census Bureau Facts for Features: African American History Month (February), Valentine's Day (Feb. 14), Women's History Month (March), Census Day, 2000: One Year Later (April 1), Mother's Day (May 13), Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (May), Older Americans Month (May), Father's Day (June 17), the Fourth of July, Americans with Disabilities Act Anniversary (July 26) and Back to School (August). Questions or comments should be directed to the Census Bureau's Public Information Office (Tel: 301-457-3030; Fax: 301-457-3670; E-mail: <pio@census.gov>).