Unmarried Women and Poverty

October 7, 2015

Single women are having a harder time making ends meet than married women in America. Over the next several weeks, we’re going to document the different economic realities that define the lives and needs of the one out of every two U.S. women who are widowed, divorced, separated or have never been married. Our goal is to use data from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, and other sources to make the case for a policy agenda that speaks to and improves the lives of half of all American women.

More than one in five unmarried women (22.7 percent) live in poverty. Single women are more than three times as likely than married women (6.3 percent) or married men (6.3 percent) to live in poverty.

2014 Population and Poverty Rates for U.S. Women, by Marital Status

Marital Status	Total	# in Poverty	% in Poverty
Married, Spouse Present	62,219,000	3,910,000	6.3%
Widowed	11,333,000	2,013,000	17.8%
Divorced	14,861,000	3,227,000	21.7%
Separated	3,103,000	1,056,000	34.0%
Never Married	31,871,000	7,610,000	23.9%

Data Source
U.S. Census Bureau: Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2015.

What We're Reading

U.S. Census: Unmarried and Single Americans Week

To commemorate Unmarried and Single Americans Week (September 17-23), the U.S. Census has produced a “Facts for Features” profile (PDF) of 2016 census data about unmarried Americans. Here are some of the highlights:

There are 110.6 unmarried people 18 or older in America, making up 45.2% of the U.S. adult population.
35.4 million Americans lived alone in 2016, representing 28.1% of all US households — up from 17.1% in 1970.
Despite unmarried people being 45.2% of the U.S. adult population, only 39.6% of voters in the 2016 presidential election were unmarried.

Read the rest of the U.S. Census Bureau’s “Facts for Features” profile (PDF) on unmarried Americans.

Millennials to pass baby boomers as largest voter-eligible age group, and what it means

For the first time, millennials next year will pass baby boomers as the largest generation of Americans eligible to vote.

By Ronald Brownstein, CNN Senior Political Analyst

July 25, 2017

(CNN)In 2018, the American electorate will cross a historic threshold that could reshape the political balance of power-or leave Democrats fuming in frustration at continued Republican dominance of Washington.

For the first time, millennials next year will pass baby boomers as the largest generation of Americans eligible to vote, according to the well-respected demographic forecasts from the States of Change project at the Center for American Progress, a liberal advocacy group. That transition will end a remarkable four decades of dominance for the baby boomers, who have been the largest generation of eligible voters since 1978, when they surpassed what’s been popularly referred to as the Greatest Generation (or G.I. Generation) raised during the Depression. Read more here.

How Votes Have Shifted: Changes in Partisan Performance 2000-2016

Demographic change is slowly, but inevitably, moving Western states to the left.

By Reid Wilson

The 11th story in The Hill’s Changing America series, in which they investigate the demographic and economic trends shaping the nation’s politics. Nevada’s booming growth underscores the two trends working most in Democrats’ favor: the rising power of cities that are acting more reliably liberal, and the expanding influence of Hispanic-Americans who are becoming the nation’s largest minority community. Read more here.

Unmarried Women and Poverty

2014 Population and Poverty Rates for U.S. Women, by Marital Status

Share this Post

Related Items