The factor most likely to unite Americans in their lives may be the very aspect that currently divides them the most.
This is the relationship between people and traditional families, composed of a mother, a father, and children.
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released a report on the living arrangements of American mothers when they gave birth to their first child. The picture painted in the report is not optimistic.
The report states, “Over the past few decades, there have been monumental changes in marriage and family structures in America. Birth rates have dropped to historic lows, marriage rates have declined, and cohabitation has become increasingly common. With changes in laws and cultural norms, out-of-wedlock births have also become more prevalent.”
The analysis from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that since the early 1990s, the proportion of married mothers giving birth to their first child has remained fairly stable. However, this proportion has consistently been above 60%, meaning that nearly 40% of first-born children are living in non-traditional family settings.
According to the data from the U.S. Census Bureau, between 1990 and 1994, only 62.2% of first-born babies were born to married couples. Another 20.4% of babies were born to unmarried mothers who were not cohabiting with a partner. Additionally, 17.4% of babies were born to mothers cohabiting with unmarried partners.
From 1995 to 1999, the proportion of first-born babies born to married mothers slightly increased to 63.8%. This proportion rose again to 66.3% between 2000 and 2004.
However, this proportion began to decline afterwards.
From 2005 to 2009, it was 62.9%; from 2010 to 2014, it was 60.0%; from 2015 to 2019, it was 60.7%; and from 2020 to 2024, it was 60.8%.
While the proportion of first-born babies born to married mothers decreased between 1990-1994 and 2020-2024, the proportion of first-born babies born to unmarried cohabiting mothers increased from 17.4% to 23.9%.
During the period of 2020-2024, 15.3% of first-born babies’ mothers were neither married nor cohabiting.
The report from the U.S. Census Bureau also notes significant differences between trends for women with and without college education.
The report states, “For women giving birth for the first time with at least a bachelor’s degree, marriage has become a more common living arrangement, increasing from 74.4% in 1990-1994 to 84.5% in 2020-2024.”
Furthermore, “In contrast, the proportion of mothers without a bachelor’s degree giving birth after marriage decreased from 58.6% in 1990-1994 to 40.6% in 2020-2024; while the proportion of cohabiting women giving birth for the first time rose from 19.2% to 34.8%.”
In other words, during 2020-2024, the majority (59.4%) of babies born to mothers without a college degree were not born into the traditional married couple household.
The report from the U.S. Census Bureau acknowledges that babies born outside traditional family structures often are born into economically disadvantaged environments. The report states, “On average, children born to married parents have more economic resources.”
The 2024 family income data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that two factors (as previously mentioned in this article) apparently significantly impact income: family structure and educational attainment.
In 2024, among households, the median income for families headed by single women is $60,440; for families headed by single men, it is $83,260; while for families headed by married couples, the median income is as high as $128,700.
This means that the median income of married couple families is approximately 113% higher than that of single mother households.
Similarly, the median income for families with a household head holding a high school diploma but no college degree is $58,410, while for those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, the median income is $132,700.
The data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that traditional families and good education contribute to a more prosperous life for people.
In the coming decades, the leaders of this country should strive to defend and support the traditional values of traditional families to help our country and our children grow and prosper.