Marriage, Divorce, Childbirth, and Living Arrangements among African American or Black Populations
(Source, Census 2000, http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/atlas/censr01-106.pdf)
Table 1: States with largest Black or African American populations
(Source: Census 2000)
 |
Total Black or African American Population |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1. New York 3,014,385 2. Texas 2,404,566 3. Georgia 2,349,542 4. Florida 2,335,505 5. California 2,263,882 6. Illinois 1,876,875 7. North Carolina 1,737,545 8. Maryland 1,477,411 9. Louisiana 1,451,944 10. Michigan 1,412,742 |
11. Virginia 1,390,293 12. Ohio 1,301,307 13. Pennsylvania 1,224,612 14. South Carolina 1,185,216 15. Alabama 1,155,930 16. New Jersey 1,141,821 17. Mississippi 1,033,809 18. Tennessee 932,809 19. Missouri 629,391 20. Indiana 510,034 |
|
Statistics on Marriage, Divorce, and Living Arrangements
On the whole, Blacks or African Americans (hereafter called Blacks) have lower rates of marriage and marital stability than all other ethnic groups. They also have higher rates of single-headed families than other groups.
- Black males and females are more likely to be unmarried than Whites, Hispanics, or American Indian/Alaskan Natives (AIAN) (42.2% for males, 40.8% for females, compared to 27.5% and 21.2% respectively for Whites, 38.2% and 30.3% for Hispanics, and 35.7% ad 29.9% for AIAN ).(ACS 2002)
- Black individuals are far more likely than Whites and Hispanics to be divorced (in 2002, 9.4% of Black males were divorced, and 13.3% of Black females versus 9.1 % and 11.3% respectively for Whites and 5.9% and 9.3% for Hispanics). (ACS 2002)
- Among married Black individuals, a greater percentage is living apart from their spouses than among married White and AIAN individuals (15.7% for Black males, 24.1% for Black females, versus 5.3% and 6.3% respectively for Whites and 11.1% and 12.8% for AIAN). Only Hispanics have a higher rate of living apart from their spouse than do Blacks – 16.2% for males and 16.9% for females (in many cases this may be due to immigration complications). (ACS 2002)
- Black families are less likely to contain a married couple than all other groups (46.0% versus 81.0%). White families have an 81% chance of containing a married couple, AIAN families have a 67% chance, and Hispanics have a 67.4% chance. (Census 2000)
- Single male-headed families are slightly more likely in Black homes than in White family homes (about 8.5% versus 5.3% for whites.). Hispanics and AIANs have a higher rate of single male headed families (10.3% and 10.4% respectively). (Census 2000)
- Single female-headed families are far more likely in Black homes than in all other groups' homes (45.4% versus 13.7%). By contrast, Whites have a 13.7% rate, AIANs have a 28.8% rate, and Hispanics have a 22.3% rate of single female headed families. (Census 2000)
- Only 44.9% of Black householders in family households live with a spouse. This compares with 80.6% for Whites, 60.1% for AIAN, and 70.2% for Hispanics. (Census 2000)
Statistics on Childbearing
Unmarried Black women constitute a majority of childbearing
Black women and the rate of out-of-wedlock childbearing
is increasing. Furthermore, teenage childbearing among
Black women is high, although the rate is
declining faster than in any other group.
Table 2: Marital Status of Individuals over 15 years old, divided by sex. (Source: American Community Survey Summary Tables, 2002)
Total: |
All races |
Black |
White alone |
Hispanic/Latino |
AIAN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Male: |
|
|
|
|
|
Never married |
30.1% |
42.2% |
27.5% |
38.2% |
35.7% |
Now married |
58.7% |
45.4% |
60.9% |
54.7% |
49.7% |
Married, spouse present |
92.9% |
84.3% |
94.7% |
83.8% |
88.9% |
Married, spouse absent |
7.1% |
15.7% |
5.3% |
16.2% |
11.1% |
Separated |
42.8% |
57.7% |
44.5% |
28.6% |
54.3% |
Other |
57.2% |
42.3% |
55.5% |
71.4% |
45.7% |
Widowed |
2.4% |
2.9% |
2.5% |
1.1% |
3.1% |
Divorced |
8.8% |
9.4% |
9.1% |
5.9% |
11.5% |
Female: |
|
|
|
|
|
Never married |
24.5% |
40.8% |
21.2% |
30.3% |
29.9% |
Now married |
54.5% |
36.1% |
57.2% |
54.9% |
46.7% |
Married, spouse present |
91.4% |
75.9% |
93.7% |
83.1% |
87.2% |
Married, spouse absent |
8.6% |
24.1% |
6.3% |
16.9% |
12.8% |
Separated |
57.6% |
70.9% |
56.2% |
54.3% |
68.0% |
Other |
42.4% |
29.1% |
43.8% |
45.7% |
32.0% |
Widowed |
9.8% |
9.8% |
10.3% |
5.5% |
9.3% |
Divorced |
11.3% |
13.3% |
11.3% |
9.3% |
14.1% |
Table 3: Percent of All Births to Unmarried Mothers
| All races | 10.7 | 14.3 | 18.4 | 22.0 | 28.0 | 32.2 | 32.4 | 32.4 | 32.8 | 33.0 | 33.2 | 33.5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 5.5 | 7.1 | 11.2 | 14.7 | 20.4 | 25.3 | 25.7 | 25.8 | 26.3 | 26.8 | 27.1 | 27.7 |
| Black or African American | 37.5 | 49.5 | 56.1 | 61.2 | 66.5 | 69.9 | 69.8 | 69.2 | 69.1 | 68.8 | 68.5 | 68.4 |
| Asian or Pacific Islander | 22.4 | 32.7 | 39.2 | 46.8 | 53.6 | 57.2 | 58.0 | 58.7 | 59.3 | 58.9 | 58.4 | 59.7 |
| Chinese | --- | --- | 7.3 | 9.5 | 13.2 | 16.3 | 16.7 | 15.6 | 15.6 | 15.4 | 14.8 | 14.9 |
| Japanese | 3.0 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 7.9 | 9.2 | 6.5 | 6.4 | 6.9 | 7.6 | 8.4 |
| Filipino | 4.6 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 7.9 | 9.6 | 10.8 | 11.4 | 10.1 | 9.7 | 21.1 | 20.3 | 20.4 |
| Hawaiian | --- | --- | 32.9 | 37.3 | 45.0 | 49.0 | 49.9 | 49.1 | 51.1 | 50.4 | 50.0 | 50.6 |
| Other Asian or Pacific Islander | --- | --- | 5.4 | 8.5 | 12.6 | 16.2 | 16.5 | 15.6 | 15.2 | 14.5 | 13.8 | 13.7 |
| Hispanic or Latin | --- | --- | 23.6 | 29.5 | 36.7 | 40.8 | 40.7 | 40.9 | 41.6 | 42.2 | 42.7 | 42.5 |