Family Marital Status and Living Arrangements - Marital Status

In March 2000 approximately 116 million Americans (age fifteen years and older) were married, up from ninety-five million in 1970 and 104.6 million in 1980. (See Table 2.1.) This figure includes both those who do and those who do not live with their spouses. However, the proportion of married people age eighteen years and over has continued to decrease. In 1970, 72 percent of this population was married, dropping to 65.5 percent in 1980. In 1998 the U.S. Bureau of the Census (which counted married couples age fifteen years and over instead of age eighteen and over as it did in previous years) reported their proportion at 56.4 percent. In March 2000 that number was 54.2 percent. The number of married African-Americans decreased from 64 percent in 1970 to 51 percent in 1980 to 34.2 percent in March 2000. Likewise, the proportion of married whites and Hispanics declined from 73 percent and 72 percent, respectively, in 1970, to 67 percent and 66 percent, respectively, in 1980 to 57 percent and 52.1 percent, respectively, in March 2000. Among Asians and Pacific Islanders (APIs), 57 percent of the population was married as of March 2000. (See Table 2.1.)

Never Married

Racial differences among never-married people are significant. Among those over age fifteen, African-Americans are far more likely than whites, Hispanics, or APIs to have never married. In March 2000, 43.5 percent of African-Americans had never been married, compared to 25.5 percent of whites, 33.2 percent of Hispanics, and 33.1 percent of APIs. (See Table 2.1.)

The proportions of men and women in their twenties and thirties who have never married have grown substantially for all races since the 1970s. Between 1970 and 2000 the proportion of never-married African-American women ages twenty to twenty-four more than doubled from 43.5 percent to 88.6 percent. The proportion that remained never-married at ages twenty-five to twenty-nine more than tripled from 19 percent to 62.9 percent, while the proportion of those who were never-married at ages thirty to thirty-four years almost quadrupled from 11 percent in 1970 to 43.6 percent in March 2000. Although the proportion of young white women who never married also rose quite sharply, only 17.8 percent of white women had never been married by ages thirty to thirty-four years, compared to 43.6 percent of same-age African-American women. The proportion of white women never married by ages thirty to thirty-four years was similar to that of Hispanic women (17.9 percent). The proportion of API women who had not married by ages thirty to thirty-four was a little higher, at 22.6 percent. (See Table 2.1.)

For both African-Americans and whites, there is a significantly higher number of women than men. Since most marriages are between same-race partners, these gender inequalities might affect the number of marriages occurring. In March 2000 there were 91.1 million white

TABLE 2.1
Marital status of people 15 years and over, by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin, March 2000

	Total	Married spouse present	Married spouse absent	Widowed	Divorced	Separated	Never married	Total	Married spouse present	Married spouse absent	Widowed	Divorced	Separated	Never married
All races	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Both sexes
Total 15+	213,773	113,002	2,730	13,665	19,881	4,479	60,016	100.0	52.9	1.3	6.4	9.3	2.1	28.1
15-19 years	20,102	345	36	13	64	103	19,542	100.0	1.7	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.5	97.2
20-24 years	18,441	3,362	134	11	269	235	14,430	100.0	18.2	0.7	0.1	1.5	1.3	78.2
25-29 years	18,268	8,334	280	26	917	459	8,252	100.0	45.6	1.5	0.1	5.0	2.5	45.2
30-34 years	19,518	11,930	278	78	1,615	546	5,071	100.0	61.1	1.4	0.4	8.3	2.8	26.0
35-39 years	22,320	14,426	377	173	2,794	698	3,852	100.0	64.6	1.7	0.8	12.5	3.1	17.3
40-44 years	22,485	14,927	340	226	3,174	737	3,081	100.0	66.4	1.5	1.0	14.1	3.3	13.7
45-49 years	19,748	13,440	279	362	2,996	508	2,164	100.0	68.1	1.4	1.8	15.2	2.6	11.0
50-54 years	16,882	12,020	214	521	2,600	390	1,139	100.0	71.2	1.3	3.1	15.4	2.3	6.7
55-59 years	12,868	9,018	161	736	1,971	258	724	100.0	70.1	1.2	5.7	15.3	2.0	5.6
60-64 years	10,519	7,375	146	1,034	1,287	183	494	100.0	70.1	1.4	9.8	12.2	1.7	4.7
65-69 years	9,352	6,204	152	1,562	896	136	402	100.0	66.3	1.6	16.7	9.6	1.5	4.3
70-74 years	8,444	5,122	96	2,160	635	122	309	100.0	60.7	1.1	25.6	7.5	1.4	3.7
75+ years	14,825	6,500	236	6,762	663	104	558	100.0	43.8	1.6	45.6	4.5	0.7	3.8
15-17 years	12,011	70	7	10	53	67	11,804	100.0	0.6	0.1	0.1	0.4	0.6	98.3
18+ years	201,762	112,932	2,723	13,655	19,828	4,412	48,213	100.0	56.0	1.3	6.8	9.8	2.2	23.9
15-64 years	181,152	95,175	2,245	3,180	17,688	4,117	58,747	100.0	52.5	1.2	1.8	9.8	2.3	32.4
65+ years	32,621	17,827	485	10,485	2,193	361	1,269	100.0	54.6	1.5	32.1	6.7	1.1	3.9
Male
Total 15+	103,114	56,501	1,365	2,604	8,572	1,818	32,253	100.0	54.8	1.3	2.5	8.3	1.8	31.3
15-19 years	10,295	69	3	3	29	51	10,140	100.0	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.5	98.5
20-24 years	9,208	1,252	75	-	101	70	7,710	100.0	13.6	0.8	-	1.1	0.8	83.7
25-29 years	8,942	3,658	139	9	342	170	4,625	100.0	40.9	1.6	0.1	3.8	1.9	51.7
30-34 years	9,621	5,640	151	15	712	205	2,899	100.0	58.6	1.6	0.2	7.4	2.1	30.1
35-39 years	11,032	6,945	226	42	1,308	269	2,241	100.0	63.0	2.0	0.4	11.9	2.4	20.3
40-44 years	11,103	7,365	161	54	1,467	316	1,740	100.0	66.3	1.4	0.5	13.2	2.8	15.7
45-49 years	9,654	6,675	161	53	1,381	230	1,156	100.0	69.1	1.7	0.5	14.3	2.4	12.0
50-54 years	8,235	6,352	94	104	996	148	541	100.0	77.1	1.1	1.3	12.1	1.8	6.6
55-59 years	6,105	4,567	85	158	838	110	347	100.0	74.8	1.4	2.6	13.7	1.8	5.7
60-64 years	5,032	3,896	73	171	549	78	265	100.0	77.4	1.4	3.4	10.9	1.6	5.3
65-69 years	4,376	3,350	62	285	376	77	227	100.0	76.6	1.4	6.5	8.6	1.8	5.2
70-74 years	3,673	2,821	39	382	249	62	121	100.0	76.8	1.1	10.4	6.8	1.7	3.3
75+ years	5,837	3,914	97	1,327	225	33	242	100.0	67.1	1.7	22.7	3.9	0.6	4.1
15-17 years	6,212	16	-	3	28	37	6,129	100.0	0.3	-	0.0	0.4	0.6	98.7
18+ years	96,901	56,485	1,365	2,601	8,544	1,781	26,124	100.0	58.3	1.4	2.7	8.8	1.8	27.0
15-64 years	89,228	46,417	1,168	609	7,723	1,647	31,664	100.0	52.0	1.3	0.7	8.7	1.8	35.5
65+ years	13,886	10,084	197	1,994	849	171	590	100.0	72.6	1.4	14.4	6.1	1.2	4.2
Female
Total 15+	110,660	56,501	1,365	11,061	11,309	2,661	27,763	100.0	51.1	1.2	10.0	10.2	2.4	25.1
15-19 years	9,807	276	33	10	35	52	9,401	100.0	2.8	0.3	0.1	0.4	0.5	95.9
20-24 years	9,233	2,110	59	11	168	164	6,720	100.0	22.9	0.6	0.1	1.8	1.8	72.8
25-29 years	9,326	4,676	141	18	575	289	3,627	100.0	50.1	1.5	0.2	6.2	3.1	38.9
30-34 years	9,896	6,290	127	63	904	341	2,172	100.0	63.6	1.3	0.6	9.1	3.4	21.9
35-39 years	11,288	7,481	151	131	1,486	429	1,610	100.0	66.3	1.3	1.2	13.2	3.8	14.3
40-44 years	11,382	7,562	179	172	1,706	422	1,341	100.0	66.4	1.6	1.5	15.0	3.7	11.8
45-49 years	10,094	6,765	118	309	1,616	279	1,008	100.0	67.0	1.2	3.1	16.0	2.8	10.0
50-54 years	8,647	5,668	119	416	1,604	242	598	100.0	65.6	1.4	4.8	18.5	2.8	6.9
55-59 years	6,763	4,451	76	578	1,133	148	377	100.0	65.8	1.1	8.5	16.8	2.2	5.6
60-64 years	5,487	3,479	74	863	738	105	229	100.0	63.4	1.3	15.7	13.5	1.9	4.2
65-69 years	4,976	2,855	90	1,277	520	59	175	100.0	57.4	1.8	25.7	10.4	1.2	3.5
70-74 years	4,771	2,302	58	1,778	386	60	188	100.0	48.2	1.2	37.3	8.1	1.3	3.9
75+ years	8,988	2,587	140	5,435	438	72	317	100.0	28.8	1.6	60.5	4.9	0.8	3.5
15-17 years	5,798	54	7	8	25	30	5,674	100.0	0.9	0.1	0.1	0.4	0.5	97.9
18+ years	104,861	56,447	1,358	11,054	11,284	2,631	22,089	100.0	53.8	1.3	10.5	10.8	2.5	21.1
15-64 years	91,924	48,758	1,077	2,571	9,965	2,470	27,083	100.0	53.0	1.2	2.8	10.8	2.7	29.5
65+ years	18,735	7,743	288	8,490	1,344	190	680	100.0	41.3	1.5	45.3	7.2	1.0	3.6

women age fifteen years and older, compared to 86.4 million white men age fifteen years and older. Likewise, there were 14.2 million African-American women age fifteen years and older, compared to 11.7 million African-American men ages fifteen and over. The numbers are more favorable for marriage among Hispanics as well as APIs. In March 2000 there were 11.5 million Hispanic women age fifteen years and older, compared to 11.3 million Hispanic men age fifteen years and older. Likewise, there were 4.4 million API women age fifteen years and older, compared to four million API men in the same age group. (See Table 2.1.)

In 1970, 9.2 percent of both African-American men and white men and 11 percent of Hispanic men ages thirty to thirty-four years were never married. By March 2000, however, the percentage of African-American men who had

TABLE 2.1
Marital status of people 15 years and over, by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin, March 2000
(Numbers in thousands, except for percentages.)

	Total	Married spouse present	Married spouse absent	Widowed	Divorced	Separated	Never married	Total	Married spouse present	Married spouse absent	Widowed	Divorced	Separated	Never married
White	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Both sexes
Total 15+	177,581	99,258	1,971	11,532	16,547	2,976	45,297	100.0	55.9	1.1	6.5	9.3	1.7	25.5
15-19 years	15,842	315	32	5	51	74	15,364	100.0	2.0	0.2	0.0	0.3	0.5	97.0
20-24 years	14,671	3,003	101	5	233	194	11,136	100.0	20.5	0.7	0.0	1.6	1.3	75.9
25-29 years	14,556	7,215	199	17	758	352	6,016	100.0	49.6	1.4	0.1	5.2	2.4	41.3
30-34 years	15,764	10,282	170	61	1,321	333	3,597	100.0	65.2	1.1	0.4	8.4	2.1	22.8
35-39 years	18,324	12,444	258	137	2,290	471	2,724	100.0	67.9	1.4	0.7	12.5	2.6	14.9
40-44 years	18,591	12,901	227	184	2,631	487	2,162	100.0	69.4	1.2	1.0	14.2	2.6	11.6
45-49 years	16,476	11,743	209	264	2,449	312	1,499	100.0	71.3	1.3	1.6	14.9	1.9	9.1
50-54 years	14,314	10,509	158	396	2,169	257	826	100.0	73.4	1.1	2.8	15.1	1.8	5.8
55-59 years	11,079	7,977	121	585	1,704	143	548	100.0	72.0	1.1	5.3	15.4	1.3	4.9
60-64 years	9,084	6,610	120	818	1,023	132	382	100.0	72.8	1.3	9.0	11.3	1.5	4.2
65-69 years	8,099	5,595	90	1,279	764	66	306	100.0	69.1	1.1	15.8	9.4	0.8	3.8
70-74 years	7,428	4,655	83	1,797	558	82	253	100.0	62.7	1.1	24.2	7.5	1.1	3.4
75+ years	13,352	6,009	204	5,984	597	73	485	100.0	45.0	1.5	44.8	4.5	0.5	3.6
15-17 years	9,441	63	7	3	41	48	9,280	100.0	0.7	0.1	0.0	0.4	0.5	98.3
18+ years	168,140	99,195	1,964	11,529	16,507	2,928	36,017	100.0	59.0	1.2	6.9	9.8	1.7	21.4
15-64 years	148,702	82,999	1,595	2,472	14,628	2,755	44,254	100.0	55.8	1.1	1.7	9.8	1.9	29.8
65+ years	28,880	16,259	376	9,060	1,920	221	1,043	100.0	56.3	1.3	31.4	6.6	0.8	3.6
Male
Total 15+	86,443	49,672	979	2,196	7,246	1,237	25,113	100.0	57.5	1.1	2.5	8.4	1.4	29.1
15-19 years	8,118	68	3	3	23	35	7,986	100.0	0.8	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.4	98.4
20-24 years	7,424	1,112	54	-	93	46	6,119	100.0	15.0	0.7	-	1.2	0.6	82.4
25-29 years	7,274	3,204	95	9	282	128	3,556	100.0	44.0	1.3	0.1	3.9	1.8	48.9
30-34 years	7,870	4,877	88	13	577	126	2,188	100.0	62.0	1.1	0.2	7.3	1.6	27.8
35-39 years	9,189	6,021	153	31	1,104	187	1,693	100.0	65.5	1.7	0.3	12.0	2.0	18.4
40-44 years	9,305	6,362	114	45	1,239	216	1,330	100.0	68.4	1.2	0.5	13.3	2.3	14.3
45-49 years	8,172	5,846	122	40	1,147	152	865	100.0	71.5	1.5	0.5	14.0	1.9	10.6
50-54 years	7,032	5,501	82	83	852	112	402	100.0	78.2	1.2	1.2	12.1	1.6	5.7
55-59 years	5,309	4,024	69	125	734	69	287	100.0	75.8	1.3	2.4	13.8	1.3	5.4
60-64 years	4,415	3,488	59	135	455	63	214	100.0	79.0	1.3	3.1	10.3	1.4	4.9
65-69 years	3,818	3,013	27	246	324	33	175	100.0	78.9	0.7	6.4	8.5	0.9	4.6
70-74 years	3,275	2,570	30	315	214	48	98	100.0	78.5	0.9	9.6	6.5	1.5	3.0
75+ years	5,242	3,586	82	1,153	203	21	198	100.0	68.4	1.6	22.0	3.9	0.4	3.8
15-17 years	4,861	15	-	3	22	23	4,798	100.0	0.3	-	0.1	0.4	0.5	98.7
18+ years	81,582	49,657	979	2,194	7,224	1,213	20,315	100.0	60.9	1.2	2.7	8.9	1.5	24.9
15-64 years	74,108	40,503	840	483	6,505	1,135	24,641	100.0	54.7	1.1	0.7	8.8	1.5	33.3
65+ years	12,335	9,169	139	1,713	741	102	472	100.0	74.3	1.1	13.9	6.0	0.8	3.8
Female
Total 15+	91,138	49,586	992	9,336	9,301	1,739	20,184	100.0	54.4	1.1	10.2	10.2	1.9	22.1
15-19 years	7,724	247	29	3	28	40	7,378	100.0	3.2	0.4	0.0	0.4	0.5	95.5
20-24 years	7,247	1,892	46	5	140	148	5,016	100.0	26.1	0.6	0.1	1.9	2.0	69.2
25-29 years	7,282	4,011	104	9	476	223	2,460	100.0	55.1	1.4	0.1	6.5	3.1	33.8
30-34 years	7,894	5,405	82	48	744	207	1,408	100.0	68.5	1.0	0.6	9.4	2.6	17.8
35-39 years	9,135	6,423	105	106	1,186	284	1,031	100.0	70.3	1.1	1.2	13.0	3.1	11.3
40-44 years	9,286	6,539	113	139	1,392	271	833	100.0	70.4	1.2	1.5	15.0	2.9	9.0
45-49 years	8,303	5,897	87	224	1,302	160	634	100.0	71.0	1.0	2.7	15.7	1.9	7.6
50-54 years	7,282	5,007	76	313	1,317	145	425	100.0	68.8	1.0	4.3	18.1	2.0	5.8
55-59 years	5,770	3,953	52	460	970	73	261	100.0	68.5	0.9	8.0	16.8	1.3	4.5
60-64 years	4,670	3,121	61	683	568	69	167	100.0	66.8	1.3	14.6	12.2	1.5	3.6
65-69 years	4,282	2,582	63	1,033	441	33	130	100.0	60.3	1.5	24.1	10.3	0.8	3.0
70-74 years	4,153	2,085	53	1,482	344	34	155	100.0	50.2	1.3	35.7	8.3	0.8	3.7
75+ years	8,109	2,423	122	4,832	394	52	287	100.0	29.9	1.5	59.6	4.9	0.6	3.5
15-17 years	4,580	48	7	-	19	25	4,482	100.0	1.0	0.1	-	0.4	0.5	97.9
18+ years	86,558	49,538	985	9,336	9,282	1,715	15,702	100.0	57.2	1.1	10.8	10.7	2.0	18.1
15-64 years	74,594	42,495	755	1,989	8,123	1,620	19,612	100.0	57.0	1.0	2.7	10.9	2.2	26.3
65+ years	16,545	7,090	237	7,347	1,179	119	572	100.0	42.9	1.4	44.4	7.1	0.7	3.5

never been married had increased nearly fivefold to 46.1 percent, compared to a threefold increase to 27.8 percent for white men and 28.7 percent for Hispanic men. Approximately 29.5 percent of API men ages thirty to thirty-four years had never married. (See Table 2.1.)

Interracial Marriage

Drawing on Census data, researchers at the University of Michigan reported in 1997 that the percentage of inter-racial marriages had quadrupled between the 1940s and 1990. For example, about 8 percent of African-American men were married to a partner of a different race in 1990, compared with less than 2 percent before 1950. A further study by University of Michigan researchers David Harris and Hiromi Ono indicated that the number of interracial couples who were cohabiting without marriage had also increased significantly. However, the vast majority of marriages in the United States remain between partners of

TABLE 2.1
Marital status of people 15 years and over, by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin, March 2000
(Numbers in thousands, except for percentages.)

	Total	Married spouse present	Married spouse absent	Widowed	Divorced	Separated	Never married	Total	Married spouse present	Married spouse absent	Widowed	Divorced	Separated	Never married
Black	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Both sexes
Total 15+	25,855	8,391	430	1,695	2,778	1,307	11,253	100.0	32.5	1.7	6.6	10.7	5.1	43.5
15-19 years	3,057	14	4	3	13	23	3,001	100.0	0.4	0.1	0.1	0.4	0.7	98.2
20-24 years	2,762	215	15	2	16	37	2,476	100.0	7.8	0.5	0.1	0.6	1.4	89.6
25-29 years	2,521	672	39	9	120	89	1,591	100.0	26.7	1.5	0.4	4.8	3.5	63.1
30-34 years	2,642	948	64	14	243	191	1,182	100.0	35.9	2.4	0.5	9.2	7.2	44.7
35-39 years	2,901	1,271	79	24	422	190	916	100.0	43.8	2.7	0.8	14.5	6.5	31.6
40-44 years	2,798	1,246	56	37	448	215	797	100.0	44.5	2.0	1.3	16.0	7.7	28.5
45-49 years	2,336	992	47	84	468	178	567	100.0	42.5	2.0	3.6	20.0	7.6	24.3
50-54 years	1,767	894	29	92	357	120	276	100.0	50.6	1.6	5.2	20.2	6.8	15.6
55-59 years	1,288	643	27	122	241	104	151	100.0	49.9	2.1	9.5	18.7	8.1	11.7
60-64 years	1,028	492	14	171	211	41	99	100.0	47.9	1.3	16.6	20.5	3.9	9.7
65-69 years	869	354	30	214	120	59	92	100.0	40.8	3.4	24.6	13.8	6.8	10.6
70-74 years	755	316	4	290	59	37	48	100.0	41.9	0.5	38.5	7.9	4.9	6.3
75+ years	1,130	334	23	632	60	23	58	100.0	29.5	2.0	55.9	5.3	2.1	5.1
15-17 years	1,839	4	-	3	13	16	1,803	100.0	0.2	-	0.2	0.7	0.9	98.0
18+ years	24,016	8,388	430	1,692	2,765	1,290	9,451	100.0	34.9	1.8	7.0	11.5	5.4	39.4
15-64 years	23,100	7,387	373	559	2,538	1,187	11,055	100.0	32.0	1.6	2.4	11.0	5.1	47.9
65+ years	2,754	1,004	57	1,137	239	119	198	100.0	36.5	2.1	41.3	8.7	4.3	7.2
Male
Total 15+	11,687	4,294	207	328	1,108	504	5,246	100.0	36.7	1.8	2.8	9.5	4.3	44.9
15-19 years	1,534	1	-	-	6	16	1,511	100.0	0.1	-	-	0.4	1.0	98.5
20-24 years	1,274	81	9	-	3	24	1,158	100.0	6.4	0.7	-	0.2	1.9	90.8
25-29 years	1,102	302	21	-	49	33	698	100.0	27.4	1.9	-	4.4	3.0	63.4
30-34 years	1,203	436	33	-	110	70	554	100.0	36.2	2.8	-	9.1	5.8	46.1
35-39 years	1,337	630	42	9	170	69	416	100.0	47.2	3.2	0.6	12.7	5.2	31.1
40-44 years	1,290	639	28	10	189	85	338	100.0	49.6	2.2	0.8	14.6	6.6	26.2
45-49 years	1,065	495	20	13	211	73	253	100.0	46.5	1.8	1.3	19.9	6.8	23.7
50-54 years	806	508	7	18	116	35	123	100.0	63.0	0.8	2.2	14.3	4.3	15.3
55-59 years	556	336	14	28	92	34	53	100.0	60.4	2.5	5.0	16.5	6.1	9.5
60-64 years	424	275	7	21	71	9	42	100.0	64.7	1.7	4.9	16.8	2.1	9.9
65-69 years	376	198	15	30	44	38	49	100.0	52.8	4.1	8.0	11.7	10.2	13.1
70-74 years	285	170	2	54	28	14	17	100.0	59.7	0.5	19.0	9.8	4.8	6.1
75+ years	434	221	10	146	20	4	33	100.0	50.9	2.3	33.6	4.6	1.0	7.6
15-17 years	950	1	-	-	6	14	930	100.0	0.1	-	-	0.6	1.4	97.8
18+ years	10,737	4,293	207	328	1,102	490	4,316	100.0	40.0	1.9	3.1	10.3	4.6	40.2
15-64 years	10,592	3,704	181	98	1,016	447	5,146	100.0	35.0	1.7	0.9	9.6	4.2	48.6
65+ years	1,095	590	27	230	92	57	100	100.0	53.9	2.5	21.0	8.4	5.2	9.1
Female
Total 15+	14,167	4,097	223	1,367	1,670	803	6,008	100.0	28.9	1.6	9.6	11.8	5.7	42.4
15-19 years	1,522	13	4	3	7	7	1,489	100.0	0.8	0.3	0.2	0.4	0.4	97.8
20-24 years	1,488	134	6	2	13	14	1,318	100.0	9.0	0.4	0.2	0.9	0.9	88.6
25-29 years	1,418	371	18	9	71	57	892	100.0	26.1	1.3	0.6	5.0	4.0	62.9
30-34 years	1,439	512	31	14	133	121	627	100.0	35.5	2.2	1.0	9.3	8.4	43.6
35-39 years	1,565	641	36	16	252	120	500	100.0	41.0	2.3	1.0	16.1	7.7	31.9
40-44 years	1,508	607	27	27	259	130	459	100.0	40.2	1.8	1.8	17.2	8.6	30.4
45-49 years	1,271	496	28	71	256	105	314	100.0	39.1	2.2	5.6	20.2	8.3	24.7
50-54 years	961	386	22	74	241	85	153	100.0	40.2	2.3	7.7	25.1	8.9	15.9
55-59 years	732	307	13	94	149	70	98	100.0	42.0	1.8	12.9	20.4	9.5	13.4
60-64 years	603	217	7	150	140	31	58	100.0	36.0	1.1	24.9	23.2	5.2	9.6
65-69 years	493	156	15	184	76	20	43	100.0	31.6	2.9	37.3	15.4	4.1	8.7
70-74 years	469	146	2	236	31	23	31	100.0	31.1	0.5	50.3	6.7	4.9	6.5
75+ years	697	113	13	486	40	19	25	100.0	16.2	1.9	69.8	5.7	2.8	3.6
15-17 years	889	3	-	3	7	3	873	100.0	0.3	-	0.4	0.7	0.3	98.2
18+ years	13,279	4,095	223	1,364	1,663	800	5,135	100.0	30.8	1.7	10.3	12.5	6.0	38.7
15-64 years	12,508	3,683	193	461	1,522	740	5,909	100.0	29.4	1.5	3.7	12.2	5.9	47.2
65+ years	1,659	414	30	906	147	63	99	100.0	25.0	1.8	54.6	8.9	3.8	5.9

the same race—whites marry whites, African-Americans marry African-Americans, and so on. In March 2000, 97.4 percent of married couples were members of the same race. Interracial couples consisting of one white person and one African-American made up 0.6 percent of married couples. Interracial couples consisting of one white person and one Asian or Pacific Islander made up 1.2 percent of married couples. Approximately 3.1 percent of married couples were made up of one Hispanic and one non-Hispanic. (See Table 2.2.)

MIXED-RACE CHILDREN.

Not surprisingly, the number of births of mixed-racial parentage has kept pace with increases in interracial marriage and cohabitation. The change in the question of race for Census 2000, which enabled people to identify themselves by multiple races,

TABLE 2.1
Marital status of people 15 years and over, by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin, March 2000
(Numbers in thousands, except for percentages.)

	Total	Married spouse present	Married spouse absent	Widowed	Divorced	Separated	Never married	Total	Married spouse present	Married spouse absent	Widowed	Divorced	Separated	Never married
Asians and Pacific Islanders	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Both sexes
Total 15+	8,415	4,511	284	337	360	137	2,787	100.0	53.6	3.4	4.0	4.3	1.6	33.1
15-19 years	938	13	-	4	-	6	914	100.0	1.4	-	0.5	-	0.6	97.5
20-24 years	810	105	12	-	3	-	690	100.0	13.0	1.5	-	0.4	-	85.2
25-29 years	987	390	39	-	20	10	529	100.0	39.5	3.9	-	2.1	1.0	53.6
30-34 years	908	590	35	3	29	15	236	100.0	65.0	3.9	0.3	3.2	1.6	26.0
35-39 years	937	625	37	12	58	33	172	100.0	66.7	4.0	1.3	6.2	3.5	18.4
40-44 years	897	654	46	5	73	17	101	100.0	73.0	5.1	0.6	8.2	1.9	11.3
45-49 years	770	587	22	13	58	15	76	100.0	76.3	2.8	1.6	7.5	1.9	9.9
50-54 years	662	528	21	20	53	13	25	100.0	79.8	3.2	3.1	8.1	2.0	3.8
55-59 years	378	318	12	19	9	8	10	100.0	84.2	3.3	5.1	2.5	2.2	2.7
60-64 years	328	223	13	33	41	6	13	100.0	68.1	3.9	10.1	12.4	1.7	3.8
65-69 years	312	212	29	53	6	8	4	100.0	68.1	9.2	17.1	1.9	2.5	1.2
70-74 years	203	132	7	51	5	-	6	100.0	65.2	3.6	25.4	2.7	-	3.1
75+ years	286	132	10	122	4	7	11	100.0	46.2	3.4	42.6	1.3	2.6	3.9
15-17 years	556	3	-	4	-	2	546	100.0	0.6	-	0.8	-	0.4	98.3
18+ years	7,859	4,508	284	332	360	135	2,241	100.0	57.4	3.6	4.2	4.6	1.7	28.5
15-64 years	7,614	4,034	238	110	345	122	2,766	100.0	53.0	3.1	1.4	4.5	1.6	36.3
65+ years	800	477	46	227	15	15	21	100.0	59.5	5.7	28.3	1.9	1.9	2.6
Male
Total 15+	4,041	2,118	163	49	130	53	1,528	100.0	52.4	4.0	1.2	3.2	1.3	37.8
15-19 years	483	-	-	-	-	-	483	100.0	-	-	-	-	-	100.0
20-24 years	419	38	9	-	-	-	372	100.0	9.0	2.2	-	-	-	88.8
25-29 years	475	126	20	-	11	3	315	100.0	26.5	4.1	-	2.3	0.7	66.4
30-34 years	457	276	26	2	11	8	135	100.0	60.4	5.7	0.4	2.4	1.7	29.5
35-39 years	434	261	31	3	29	11	100	100.0	60.1	7.1	0.6	6.6	2.4	23.1
40-44 years	394	288	16	-	23	8	58	100.0	73.1	4.1	-	5.9	2.1	14.8
45-49 years	339	279	18	-	9	4	29	100.0	82.3	5.4	-	2.8	1.1	8.5
50-54 years	339	300	5	-	20	2	11	100.0	88.7	1.5	-	6.0	0.6	3.3
55-59 years	177	162	2	-	6	5	3	100.0	91.3	1.1	-	3.3	2.6	1.6
60-64 years	146	104	6	9	16	1	9	100.0	71.7	4.4	6.2	10.8	0.8	6.1
65-69 years	147	116	17	5	3	4	2	100.0	78.6	11.9	3.6	2.2	2.5	1.2
70-74 years	93	76	7	6	-	-	4	100.0	81.8	8.0	6.0	-	-	4.3
75+ years	139	92	5	25	2	7	8	100.0	66.0	3.6	17.8	1.2	5.3	6.0
15-17 years	287	-	-	-	-	-	287	100.0	-	-	-	-	-	100.0
18+ years	3,753	2,118	163	49	130	53	1,241	100.0	56.4	4.3	1.3	3.5	1.4	33.1
15-64 years	3,662	1,835	133	14	125	42	1,514	100.0	50.1	3.6	0.4	3.4	1.1	41.3
65+ years	379	283	30	36	5	11	14	100.0	74.8	7.9	9.4	1.3	2.9	3.7
Female
Total 15+	4,374	2,393	120	287	230	84	1,259	100.0	54.7	2.8	6.6	5.3	1.9	28.8
15-19 years	456	13	-	4	-	6	432	100.0	3.0	-	1.0	-	1.3	94.8
20-24 years	391	67	3	-	3	-	318	100.0	17.2	0.7	-	0.7	-	81.4
25-29 years	513	264	19	-	10	6	214	100.0	51.5	3.7	-	1.9	1.3	41.7
30-34 years	451	314	9	1	18	7	102	100.0	69.6	2.1	0.2	4.0	1.5	22.6
35-39 years	502	363	7	9	29	22	72	100.0	72.3	1.3	1.8	5.9	4.4	14.3
40-44 years	503	366	30	5	50	9	43	100.0	72.8	5.9	1.1	9.9	1.7	8.5
45-49 years	431	308	3	13	48	11	47	100.0	71.5	0.8	2.9	11.2	2.6	11.0
50-54 years	323	228	16	20	33	11	14	100.0	70.5	5.1	6.3	10.3	3.5	4.3
55-59 years	201	156	11	19	3	4	7	100.0	77.9	5.3	9.6	1.7	1.8	3.7
60-64 years	183	119	7	24	25	4	4	100.0	65.2	3.6	13.2	13.7	2.4	2.0
65-69 years	165	97	11	48	3	4	2	100.0	58.7	6.8	29.2	1.6	2.6	1.2
70-74 years	110	57	-	46	5	-	2	100.0	51.3	-	41.7	4.9	-	2.0
75+ years	146	40	5	97	2	-	3	100.0	27.3	3.2	66.2	1.4	-	1.8
15-17 years	268	3	-	4	-	2	259	100.0	1.2	-	1.6	-	0.8	96.4
18+ years	4,106	2,390	120	283	230	82	1,000	100.0	58.2	2.9	6.9	5.6	2.0	24.4
15-64 years	3,953	2,199	105	96	220	80	1,252	100.0	55.6	2.6	2.4	5.6	2.0	31.7
65+ years	421	193	16	191	10	4	7	100.0	45.9	3.8	45.3	2.4	1.0	1.6

makes it easier to track mixed-race Americans. According to Census 2000, 6,826,228 Americans—or 2.4 percent of the total population—identified themselves as belonging to two or more races. (See Table 2.3.)

Approximately 54.4 percent of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders reported being of mixed race. Approximately 39.9 percent of Native Americans and Alaska Natives claimed to be multiracial. Among Asian-Americans, 13.9 percent reported being of multiracial heritage. The groups with the smallest number claiming multiracial heritage in Census 2000 were African-Americans with 4.8 percent and whites with 2.5 percent. (See Table 2.4.)

Divorced

The Bureau of the Census reported in America's Families and Living Arrangements (Washington, DC, 2000) that in March 2000, 19.9 million (9.3 percent) of all adults (age fifteen and older) who had ever been married were

TABLE 2.1
Marital status of people 15 years and over, by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin, March 2000
(Numbers in thousands, except for percentages.)

	Total	Married spouse present	Married spouse absent	Widowed	Divorced	Separated	Never married	Total	Married spouse present	Married spouse absent	Widowed	Divorced	Separated	Never married
Hispanic*	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Both sexes
Total 15+	22,793	11,221	666	881	1,623	845	7,558	100.0	49.2	2.9	3.9	7.1	3.7	33.2
15-19 years	2,888	103	10	3	10	18	2,744	100.0	3.6	0.4	0.1	0.4	0.6	95.0
20-24 years	2,755	780	55	5	27	63	1,826	100.0	28.3	2.0	0.2	1.0	2.3	66.3
25-29 years	2,831	1,491	83	6	81	104	1,066	100.0	52.7	2.9	0.2	2.9	3.7	37.7
30-34 years	2,829	1,785	91	16	160	116	662	100.0	63.1	3.2	0.6	5.7	4.1	23.4
35-39 years	2,810	1,817	109	29	253	119	484	100.0	64.7	3.9	1.0	9.0	4.2	17.2
40-44 years	2,164	1,412	82	35	270	101	263	100.0	65.3	3.8	1.6	12.5	4.7	12.2
45-49 years	1,580	996	58	45	205	85	192	100.0	63.0	3.6	2.8	12.9	5.4	12.1
50-54 years	1,438	915	63	51	208	78	124	100.0	63.6	4.4	3.5	14.5	5.4	8.6
55-59 years	990	599	41	83	149	49	69	100.0	60.5	4.1	8.4	15.1	5.0	7.0
60-64 years	755	445	32	95	85	56	42	100.0	58.9	4.2	12.6	11.3	7.4	5.5
65-69 years	646	362	13	133	86	24	28	100.0	56.0	2.1	20.6	13.2	3.8	4.3
70-74 years	486	246	14	118	53	21	34	100.0	50.7	2.8	24.4	10.8	4.3	7.0
75+ years	621	270	16	263	37	11	24	100.0	43.5	2.6	42.3	5.9	1.8	3.8
15-17 years	1,685	21	2	-	4	7	1,651	100.0	1.3	0.1	-	0.2	0.4	98.0
18+ years	21,109	11,200	664	881	1,619	838	5,907	100.0	53.1	3.1	4.2	7.7	4.0	28.0
15-64 years	21,041	10,343	623	366	1,448	789	7,472	100.0	49.2	3.0	1.7	6.9	3.7	35.5
65+ years	1,752	878	43	514	175	57	85	100.0	50.1	2.4	29.4	10.0	3.2	4.9
Male
Total 15+	11,327	5,550	402	170	669	288	4,249	100.0	49.0	3.5	1.5	5.9	2.5	37.5
15-19 years	1,509	21	-	-	4	6	1,478	100.0	1.4	-	-	0.3	0.4	97.9
20-24 years	1,453	287	32	-	8	22	1,105	100.0	19.7	2.2	-	0.6	1.5	76.0
25-29 years	1,416	696	50	-	42	35	594	100.0	49.1	3.5	-	3.0	2.5	41.9
30-34 years	1,439	857	63	4	60	41	414	100.0	59.6	4.4	0.3	4.1	2.9	28.7
35-39 years	1,422	904	74	6	110	29	298	100.0	63.6	5.2	0.5	7.7	2.0	21.0
40-44 years	1,058	734	56	3	104	28	134	100.0	69.3	5.3	0.3	9.8	2.6	12.7
45-49 years	810	537	42	4	83	36	107	100.0	66.4	5.2	0.4	10.3	4.4	13.3
50-54 years	679	481	29	5	83	38	43	100.0	70.8	4.2	0.8	12.3	5.6	6.4
55-59 years	461	302	23	23	75	11	27	100.0	65.6	5.1	4.9	16.3	2.3	5.8
60-64 years	359	244	15	16	40	22	21	100.0	68.0	4.3	4.6	11.1	6.2	5.8
65-69 years	273	193	6	21	31	12	11	100.0	70.5	2.3	7.7	11.2	4.4	3.9
70-74 years	196	129	5	24	20	8	9	100.0	65.9	2.7	12.5	10.2	4.1	4.7
75+ years	251	165	6	62	10	2	7	100.0	65.6	2.2	24.8	3.8	0.7	2.9
15-17 years	884	1	-	-	2	2	878	100.0	0.1	-	-	0.3	0.2	99.4
18+ years	10,443	5,549	402	170	667	286	3,370	100.0	53.1	3.8	1.6	6.4	2.7	32.3
15-64 years	10,607	5,063	385	62	609	267	4,221	100.0	47.7	3.6	0.6	5.7	2.5	39.8
65+ years	720	487	17	108	60	22	27	100.0	67.5	2.4	15.0	8.4	3.0	3.8
Female
Total 15+	11,466	5,671	264	711	954	557	3,309	100.0	49.5	2.3	6.2	8.3	4.9	28.9
15-19 years	1,379	82	10	3	7	12	1,266	100.0	5.9	0.7	0.2	0.5	0.9	91.8
20-24 years	1,302	493	23	5	19	41	721	100.0	37.9	1.8	0.4	1.5	3.2	55.4
25-29 years	1,415	795	33	6	39	69	473	100.0	56.2	2.3	0.4	2.7	4.9	33.4
30-34 years	1,390	927	27	11	101	75	248	100.0	66.7	2.0	0.8	7.3	5.4	17.9
35-39 years	1,388	913	34	22	143	90	186	100.0	65.8	2.5	1.6	10.3	6.5	13.4
40-44 years	1,105	679	26	32	166	73	129	100.0	61.4	2.4	2.9	15.0	6.6	11.7
45-49 years	771	459	16	41	121	49	84	100.0	59.5	2.0	5.4	15.7	6.4	10.9
50-54 years	759	434	34	45	125	40	81	100.0	57.2	4.5	6.0	16.4	5.3	10.6
55-59 years	529	296	17	60	74	39	43	100.0	56.0	3.3	11.4	14.0	7.3	8.0
60-64 years	396	201	17	79	46	34	21	100.0	50.7	4.2	19.9	11.6	8.5	5.2
65-69 years	373	169	7	112	55	13	17	100.0	45.4	1.9	30.1	14.7	3.4	4.6
70-74 years	290	117	8	94	33	13	25	100.0	40.4	2.9	32.4	11.2	4.5	8.5
75+ years	370	106	10	201	27	10	16	100.0	28.6	2.8	54.3	7.3	2.6	4.4
15-17 years	801	20	2	-	1	5	772	100.0	2.5	0.2	-	0.2	0.7	96.4
18+ years	10,665	5,651	262	711	952	552	2,537	100.0	53.0	2.5	6.7	8.9	5.2	23.8
15-64 years	10,434	5,279	238	304	839	522	3,251	100.0	50.6	2.3	2.9	8.0	5.0	31.2
65+ years	1,032	392	26	407	114	35	58	100.0	38.0	2.5	39.4	11.1	3.4	5.6
-Represents zero or rounds to zero
*Hispanics may be of any race.
N = Number.
SOURCE: Adapted from "Table A1. Marital Status of People 15 Years and over, by Age, Sex, Personal Earnings, Race, and Hispanic Origin, March 2000," in America's Families and Living Arrangements, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 2000

divorced. This is not the proportion of all adults who had ever been divorced, but the proportion of adults who were divorced at the time of the survey. A somewhat larger pro portion of African-Americans (10.7 percent) than whites (9.3 percent) and Hispanics (7.1 percent) were divorced. Divorce for all of those groups was up sharply from 1970,

TABLE 2.2
Characteristics of unmarried and married male-female couples, March 2000
(In thousands)

	Number		Percent
Characteristic	Unmarried couples	Married couples	Unmarried couples	Married couples
Number of couples
Total	3,822	56,497	100.0	100.0
Age difference
Male 6 or more years older than female	944	11,049	24.7	19.6
Male 2 to 5 years older than female	1,093	20,515	28.6	36.3
Within 1 year of each other	975	17,982	25.5	31.8
Female 2 to 5 years older than male	460	5,086	12.0	9.0
Female 6 or more years older than male	349	1,864	9.1	3.3
Race difference1
Same race couples	3,614	55,029	94.6	97.4
Both white	3,040	48,917	79.5	86.6
Both black	480	3,989	12.6	7.1
Both Asian and Pacific Islander	45	1,914	1.2	3.4
Interracial couples	165	1,047	4.3	1.9
Black/white	88	363	2.3	0.6
Black/Asian and Pacific Islander	9	25	-	-
White/Asian and Pacific Islander	67	655	1.8	1.2
Hispanic origin difference2
Both Hispanic	332	4,739	8.7	8.4
Neither Hispanic	3,268	50,015	85.5	88.5
One Hispanic and one non-Hispanic	222	1,743	5.8	3.1
Education
Male more education than female	885	13,843	23.2	24.5
Male and female same education	1,871	30,590	49.0	54.1
Female more education than male	1,065	12,064	27.9	21.4
Employment status
Male only employed	695	12,642	18.2	22.4
Female only employed	410	3,855	10.7	6.8
Neither employed	230	9,787	6.0	17.3
Both employed	2,484	30,212	65.0	53.5
Earnings difference3
Male $30,000 or more higher than female	546	16,679	14.3	29.5
Male $5,000 to $29,999 higher than female	1,553	16,549	40.6	29.3
Within $4,999 of each other	902	14,860	23.6	26.3
Female $5,000 to $29,999 higher than male	667	6,256	17.5	11.1
Female $30,000 or more higher than male	154	2,152	4.0	3.8
-Represents zero or rounds to zero.
1This race comparison is regardless of Hispanic origin.
2This difference does not consider race. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
3Includes people with no earnings or loss.
Note: Data are not shown separately for the American Indian and Alaska Native population because of the small sample size in the Current Population Survey in March 2000.
SOURCE: Jason Fields and Lynne M. Casper, "Table 8. Characteristics of Unmarried and Married Male-Female Couples: March 2000," in America's Families and Living Arrangements, Current Population Reports P20-537, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 2000

when 4.4 percent of African-Americans, 3.1 percent of whites, and 3.9 percent of Hispanics were divorced. Bucking the trend, the percentage of APIs who were divorced as of March 2000 was 4.3 percent. (See Table 2.1.)

Because men are considerably more likely than women to remarry following divorce, there are significantly higher proportions of divorced women than men. The Census Bureau reported in March 2000 that 9.5 percent of African-American males and 11.8 percent of African-American females age fifteen years and over were divorced, while 8.4 percent of white males and 10.2 percent of white females were also divorced. Among those of Hispanic origin, 5.9 percent of men and 8.3 percent of women were divorced. In the API community, 3.2 percent of men and 5.3 percent of women age fifteen years and older were divorced. (See Table 2.1.)

Widowed

In March 2000, 6.4 percent of the U.S. adult population reported being widowed. This included 9.6 percent of African-American women and 2.8 percent of African-American men age fifteen years and over, compared to 6.2 percent of Hispanic women and 1.5 percent of Hispanic men. Among APIs, 6.6 percent of women age fifteen and older were widowed, compared to 1.2 percent of men. The comparable rates for white women and white men were 10.2 and 2.5 percent, respectively. (See Table 2.1.)