Single Mothers and Poverty Statistics

If you're a single mother it can frequently feel like you're unique and no person truly knows your feelings; however, as soon as you have a review of some basic single mother poverty statistics, you'll see for yourself that there are plenty of additional people out there much like you. If you are not a single mother and you have always had a certain opinion of them, you might end up being surprised that most one parent homes are much different than you have imagined when you view statistics on single moms.

The following paragraphs will present you with a few major stats on the subject to hopefully offer you a better picture. Approximately, 41% of single-mother families that children under the age of 18 in 2010, were living below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Census data. One of the more common misconceptions about single mother statistics concerns the marital status of the average mother. Some people seem to believe that they're generally not married, the truth of the matter is that only about 36% of all births in the year 2004 ended up to unmarried women.

The age of these parents is also of interest as over 50% of these mothers were in their early 20's. Additionally, roughly 30% of females who are aged 25 to 29 who had babies were unmarried. Even though most women who give birth tend to be married, the quantity of unwed moms continues to be increasing according to current single mom statistics. In 2004, there was a record high rate of forty-six births per every 1,000 women who were unmarried, within the age range of 15 to forty-four.

When compared with prior figures on single moms, it could be determined that this rate is continuously growing. Between 1980 and 1994, unmarried women ages 15 to 44, had a birthrate that increased from 29 to 46 per every 1,000 moms. However, these numbers have stayed relatively constant throughout the years of 1994 to 2004, with the birth rate fluctuating between 43 and forty-five per 1,000 women.

According to Single Parent Statistics, Who is the "Typical" Single Parent?

According to Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2007, released by the U.S. Census Bureau in November, 2009, there are approximately 13.7 million single parents in the United States today, and those parents are responsible for raising 21.8 million children (approximately 26% of children under 21 in the U.S. today).

However, the majority of individuals raising children alone started out in committed relationships and never expected to be single parents. According to the U.S. Census Bureau: The Typical Single Parent is a Mother: Approximately 84% of custodial parents are mothers, and 16% of custodial parents are fathers She is Divorced or Separated: Of the mothers who are custodial parents: 45% are currently divorced or separated 34.2% have never been married 19% are married (In most cases, these numbers represent women who have remarried.) 1.7% were widowed Of the fathers who are custodial parents: 57.8% are divorced or separated 20.9% have never married 20% are currently married (In most cases, these numbers represent men who have remarried.)

Fewer than 1% were widowed She is Employed: 79.5% of custodial single mothers are gainfully employed 49.8% work full time, year round 29.7% work part-time or part-year 90% of custodial single fathers are gainfully employed 71.7% work full time, year round 18.4% work part-time or part-year She and Her Children Do Not Live in Poverty: 27% of custodial single mothers and their children live in poverty 12.9% of custodial single fathers and their children live in poverty She Does Not Receive Public Assistance.

Among custodial single mothers: 22% receive Medicaid 23.5% receive food stamps 12% receive some form of public housing or rent subsidy 5% receive receive TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) She is 40 Years Old or Older: 39.1% of custodial single mothers are 40 years old or older She is Raising One Child: 54% of custodial mothers are raising one child from the absent parent 46% have two or more children living with them For more single mother statistics visit About.com website.