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.
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.
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
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.
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
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
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
By November 2016, for the first time more unmarried women than married women will be eligible to vote—meaning they could decide the election.
But only if they register and vote—and as of 2014, 22.4 million unmarried women (almost 40%) weren’t registered, including almost 10 million unmarried women under the age of 30.
Here’s a race/ethnicity and age breakdown of unregistered unmarried women:
| Group | # Unregistered |
| Unmarried White Women | 13,145,524 |
| Unmarried African-American Women | 3,913,991 |
| Unmarried Latinas | 3,722,100 |
| Unmarried Women 18-30 | 9,875,219 |
| Unmarried Women 30-50 | 5,405,848 |
| Unmarried Women 50+ | 7,155,603 |
In our last post, we focused on the massive numbers of unmarried women who are not registered to vote in key 2016 states. But unmarried women are just one part of the Rising American Electorate (RAE), which also includes people of color and Millennials. Together they make up well over the majority—close to 57 percent—of the U.S. population eligible to vote, but in the 2014 general election they only cast 44% of the votes.
As this interactive map makes very clear, if even a small percentage of unregistered RAE voters register and vote in 2016, it would have an enormous impact on national, state and local elections.
Data Source: Current Population Survey: Voting and Registration Supplement, 2014. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census
An astonishing number of single women aren’t yet registered to vote. If we help even a small percentage more of unmarried women register and vote, we’d likely see different results up and down the ballot in key 2016 states.
(Click on a state name in the table to view our demographic profile of unmarried women for that state.)
| State | Unmarried Women | % of Vote-Eligible Population | Registered to Vote | Not Registered to Vote |
| Colorado | 830,224 | 22% | 546,725 (66%) | 283,499 (34%) |
| Florida | 3,637,949 | 26% | 2,184,986 (60%) | 1,452,963 (40%) |
| Iowa | 524,096 | 23% | 325,929 (62%) | 198,167 (38%) |
| Missouri | 1,010,097 | 23% | 665,390 (66%) | 344,707 (34%) |
| Nevada | 482,278 | 26% | 266,875 (55%) | 215,404 (45%) |
| New Hampshire | 239,332 | 24% | 146,705 (61%) | 92,627 (39%) |
| North Carolina | 1,803,826 | 26% | 1,147,794 (64%) | 656,032 (36%) |
| Ohio | 2,171,933 | 26% | 1,341,439 (62%) | 830,495 (38%) |
| Pennsylvania | 2,296,628 | 24% | 1,404,064 (61%) | 892,563 (39%) |
| Virginia | 1,399,995 | 24% | 831,891 (59%) | 568,104 (41%) |
| Wisconsin | 1,007,304 | 24% | 637,094 (63%) | 370,210 (37%) |
Data Source: Current Population Survey: Voting and Registration Supplement, 2014. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.
