Unmarried Women and Poverty
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
Voter Registration by Snail Mail?! Yes, Snail Mail!
We have to admit it: In an age of Facebook, online forms, and email, “snail mail” is a little old-school.
But when you’re talking about voter registration, mail is what works with the Rising American Electorate (unmarried women, people of color, and millennials). Mail was the second most popular means for the RAE to register to vote in 2014, second only to the DMV (thanks, Motor Voter!).
That’s why we put such a heavy emphasis on mail outreach in our voter registration programs, even while we also work to help people register to vote online.
Registering the Rising American Electorate: Now is the Time
As part of our year-round voter registration program, the Voter Participation Center is helping to register unmarried women, people of color, and young voters—the groups that make up the Rising American Electorate (RAE)—for the 2016 election. VPC is mailing voter registration forms to 1.4 million RAE members in 8 states. (You can read more about our mail program here.)
The chart below shows the huge number of unregistered members of the RAE—particularly unmarried women—and the opportunity to reshape the electorate in these eight states.
Rising American Electorate | Unmarried Women | |||||||||
State
![]() ![]() |
% of VEP
![]() ![]() |
Registered
![]() ![]() |
%
![]() ![]() |
Unreg.
![]() ![]() |
%
![]() ![]() |
% of VEP
![]() ![]() |
Registered
![]() ![]() |
%
![]() ![]() |
Unreg.
![]() ![]() |
%
![]() ![]() |
Colorado | 49% | 1,149,895 | 62% | 695,784 | 38% | 22% | 546,725 | 66% | 283,499 | 34% |
Florida | 58% | 4,818,782 | 60% | 3,269,845 | 40% | 26% | 2,184,986 | 60% | 1,452,963 | 40% |
Iowa | 45% | 601,659 | 59% | 413,038 | 41% | 23% | 325,929 | 62% | 198,167 | 38% |
North Carolina | 56% | 2,439,168 | 63% | 1,406,290 | 37% | 26% | 1,147,794 | 64% | 656,032 | 36% |
Nevada | 62% | 616,901 | 53% | 543,057 | 47% | 26% | 266,875 | 55% | 215,404 | 45% |
Pennsylvania | 47% | 2,531,540 | 57% | 1,947,017 | 43% | 24% | 1,404,064 | 61% | 892,563 | 39% |
Virginia | 56% | 1,941,775 | 59% | 1,328,439 | 41% | 24% | 831,891 | 59% | 568,104 | 41% |
Wisconsin | 45% | 1,137,583 | 60% | 759,954 | 40% | 24% | 637,094 | 63% | 370,210 | 37% |
(VEP: Vote-Eligible Population)
Data Source: Current Population Survey: Voting and Registration Supplement, 2014. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.
Unmarried and Single Americans By the Numbers: A Potential Electoral Powerhouse
This is National Unmarried and Single Americans Week and all this week we have been highlighting new U.S. Census Bureau data documenting the size and power of this fast-growing demographic group —focused particularly on unmarried women. We want to end this week with data derived from Census figures about unmarried women, their potential to make up a quarter of the national 2016 electorate and their power to decide next year’s elections.
Percentage of U.S. women eligible to vote in 2016 who will be unmarried, according to projections—the first time in U.S. history when the majority of vote-eligible U.S. women have been unmarried.
Data Sources:
1. Lake Research Partners/The Voter Participation Center: “Gearing Up for 2016: How Population and Electoral Trends among the RAE Inform the 2016 Cycle,” Slide 7
See our previous Unmarried and Single Americans Week posts:
Monday: Some Stunning Stats
Wednesday: Singlehood is Becoming the New Norm for American Households
Thursday: The Changing American Family
Gearing Up for 2016
In the 2016 election, for the first time ever, unmarried women will make up the majority of voting-eligible women.
That’s just one of the many data points in “Gearing Up for 2016: How Population and Electoral Trends Among the RAE Inform the 2016 Cycle,” the newest report from The Voter Participation Center and Lake Research Partners.
The trend is impossible to ignore: the Rising American Electorate continues to increase in numbers and proportion of the total voting-eligible population, making their needs and concerns more and more difficult for elected officials, candidates, and political parties to ignore.
Update September 25, 2015: This report has been updated with new Census 2014 data.
Downloads
Associated Posts
RAE Spotlight: African-American Voters

Voter Registration by Snail Mail?! Yes, Snail Mail!
Unmarried Women: An Electoral Profile
The Rising American Electorate: A Population on the Move
How the Rising American Electorate Register and Vote
The Rising American Electorate: A Profile
Unmarried Women: A Demographic and Economic Profile
Unmarried Americans By the Numbers: The Changing American Family
This is National Unmarried and Single Americans Week and all week we will be highlighting new U.S. Census Bureau data documenting the size and power of this fast-growing demographic group—focusing particularly on unmarried women. The number of people living alone has close to doubled in less than two generations.
Number of U.S. residents 18+ who lived alone in 2014. They comprised 28% of all households, up from 17% in 1970.
Number of U.S. unmarried-partner households in 2013. Of this number, 573,530 were same-sex households.
Number of U.S. unmarried opposite-sex couples living with children under 18 as of 2014, up from 1 million in 1996.
Data Sources:
1. U.S. Census Bureau: America’s Families and Living Arrangements 2014, Table A2
2. U.S. Census Bureau: 2013 American Community Survey, Table B11009
3. US Census Bureau: Unmarried Couples of the Opposite Sex
See our previous Unmarried and Single Americans Week posts:
Monday: Some Stunning Stats
Wednesday: Singlehood is Becoming the New Norm for American Households
Unmarried Americans By the Numbers: Singlehood is Becoming the New Norm for American Households
This is National Unmarried and Single Americans Week and all week we will be highlighting new U.S. Census Bureau data documenting the size and power of this fast-growing demographic group—focusing particularly on unmarried women. Almost half the households in America are headed by single people.
Number of U.S. households maintained by unmarried men and women in 2014, which is 47% of households nationwide.
Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau: America’s Families and Living Arrangements 2014, Table A2
See our previous Unmarried and Single Americans Week posts:
Monday: Some Stunning Stats
National Voter Registration Day: The Unregistered, but Rising, American Electorate
Today is National Voter Registration Day, and perhaps the most important National Voter Registration Day ever because of the decisive role the Rising American Electorate (RAE)—unmarried women, people of color, and millennials—will have in the 2016 election.
In 2016, the RAE will make up 57% of Americans eligible to vote and they’re poised to make up the majority of the electorate. That’s why many now call them the New American Majority. But that can only happen if they’re registered to vote—and as this map we posted a few weeks ago makes clear, there are a lot of states where huge numbers of the RAE aren’t registered to vote, including in states key to the outcome of the 2016 presidential election:
Rising American Electorate Voter Registration by State

Unregistered RAE By State
Data Source: Current Population Survey: Voting and Registration Supplement, 2014. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census
That’s why our ongoing mail and online registration programs, which focus on the Rising American Electorate, are such an important part of our mission—because we believe our nation is stronger when every eligible American can cast a ballot and make their voice heard on Election Day.
And if you’re not registered to vote yet, make sure you’re registered!
Unmarried Americans By the Numbers: Some Stunning Stats
This is National Unmarried and Single Americans Week and all week we will be highlighting new U.S. Census Bureau data documenting the size and power of this fast-growing demographic group —focusing particularly on unmarried women. In 2016, for the first time ever there will be more unmarried women than married women eligible to vote.
Number of U.S. residents 18 and older who were unmarried in 2014, which is 45% of the total U.S. population 18 and older.
Percentage of 2014 unmarried U.S. residents 18 and older who are women.
Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau: America’s Families and Living Arrangements 2014, Table A1
Webinar: Gearing Up for 2016
Highlights from the most recent U.S. Census figures illustrate the decisive role unmarried women and the rest of the Rising American Electorate will play in the 2016 elections.
The video of our September 16 webinar features VPC president and founder Page Gardner and nationally-prominent pollster Celinda Lake, discussing how population and electoral trends among theRising American Electorate in 2014 inform the 2016 cycle .
To view the slide deck from the webinar, click here (PDF).