Population Characteristics
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Household Composition
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In 2005, 52.8 percent of women aged 18
years and older were married and living with a spouse; this
includes married couples living with other people, such
as parents. Just over 12 percent of women over age 18 were
the heads of their households, meaning that they have children
or other family members, but no spouse, living with them
in a house that they own or rent. Women who are heads of
households include single mothers, single women with a parent
or other close relative in their house, and women with other
household compositions. The remaining women lived alone
(15.4 percent), with parents or other relatives (12.4 percent),
or with non-relatives (7.0 percent).
Women in households with no spouse present
are more likely than women in married couple families to
have incomes below the poverty level (see “Women and
Poverty” on the next page). In 2005, Black women were
most likely to be single heads of households (28.5 percent)
while Asian women were least likely (7.0 percent). Hispanic
women and women of other races were also more likely than
non-Hispanic White and Asian women to be heads of households
(16.7 and 17.1 percent, respectively).
> Pie
Chart: Adult Women, by Household Composition, 2005
> Vertical
Bar chart: Women Who Are Heads of Households, by
Race/Ethnicity, 2005 |
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