Charts

FamilyFacts.org Charts highlight empirical data related to family and religious practice.

 
  • Detailed children’s living arrangements Despite recent decline, two-thirds of children live with married parents About 60 percent of all children live with two married biological or adoptive parents. More than a quarter live with only one parent.
  • Total welfare spending, by program type Since the Total federal and state welfare spending has increased more than 16-fold since 1964. Even since the 1996 welfare reform replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, spending has increased by 76 percent and by more than 20 percent since 2008.
  • Heavy and binge drinking among adults College-age young adults are most likely to abuse alcohol Two in five young adults between 18 and 25 binge drink, and one in seven reports heavy alcohol use. Men are about three times as likely as women to engage in heavy alcohol use and twice as likely to binge drink.
  • Adults with recent serious psychological distress Women are more likely than men to experience serious psychological distress About 3 percent of adults have experienced serious psychological distress in the preceding month. Women are one-third more likely to experience recent distress than men.
  • Low birthweight, by race One in 12 infants is born with a low birthweight Since 1981, the proportion of low-birthweight babies among all infants has increased by 20 percent. African American newborns are more likely to have low birthweight compared to other infants.
  • Percent of children with asthma Children in married-parent families are less likely to have asthma Children living in single-mother homes or homes in which neither parent is present are twice as likely to have been diagnosed with or still have asthma compared to peers living with fathers only or married parents.
  • Teens cigarette smoking, by grade Teen smoking has declined Fewer than one in two 12th graders has ever smoked a cigarette, compared to three in four 35 years ago, a drop of 46 percent. In the past two decades, the decline is the most dramatic among younger teens.
  • Teen alcohol use, by grade Overall teen alcohol use has decreased Though teen alcohol use has decreased in the past two decades—especially among younger teens—it remains high. Currently, about seven in 10 high school seniors have ever used alcohol, and one-half have ever been drunk.
  • Recent teen alcohol use, by grade Recent teen alcohol use has declined, most significantly among younger teens While teen alcohol use has declined, today two in five high school seniors say they have recently used alcohol, and one in four reports having been drunk in the previous month.
  • Teen illicit drug use, by grade One in two 12th graders has used an illicit drug Illicit drug use declined among 12th graders in the 1980s. In the early 1990s, drug use increased among younger and older teens, but it has generally declined in the past decade.
  • Teens who had a major depressive episode Among adolescents, older teens and girls are most likely to experience depression One in 10 adolescents age 16–17 experienced at least one major depressive episode in the past year. With a current rate of more than one in eight, teen girls are about three times more likely to experience depression than boys.
  • Per-pupil expenditures Per-pupil education spending has steadily increased The amount spent per pupil on education in the United States has increased by over 30 percent since the mid-1990s. Today the U.S. spends approximately $10,000 annually per K-12 student.
  • Average public high school freshman graduation rate The average public high school graduation rate has remained relatively flat The average graduation rate of public high-school freshmen—an estimate of on-time graduating—decreased slightly in the 1970s and since that time has remained between 70 percent and 76 percent.
  • High school graduates among 17-year-olds Since 1970, the high school graduation rate for 17-year-olds has remained flat During the first half of the 20th century, the high-school graduation rate of 17-year-olds increased significantly. In the last 40 years, however, that rate has remained about the same. Today, just over three-quarters of 17-year-olds graduate from high school.
  • High school dropouts, by race and gender Among young adults, fewer than one in 10 is a high school dropout Since the early 1970s, the percentage of high school dropouts has declined by nearly 50 percent. The decline is the most dramatic among African Americans (over 60 percent) and among women (58 percent).
  • Percent of high-school graduates The majority of adults in the United States have high school degrees Nearly nine in 10 adults have a high school education, a significant increase of more than 75 percent since the mid-1960s, when nearly one in two adults was high school educated. The rise has been the most dramatic among African Americans.
  • Percent of high-school graduates, by gender and race For all races, the share of high school graduates is similar for men and women The share of African American men and women with at least a high school degree is smaller than that of white men and women. The share of Hispanic men and women with a high-school degree is smaller still.
  • Percent of female college students The majority of college students are women In 1920, women comprised nearly one-half of all college students. While that figure dropped in the ensuing decades, it rose again beginning in the late 1940s. Since 1979, female college students have outnumbered their male peers.
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