Children’s Family Structure, 2025

Family Profile No. 6, 2026
Author: Jaycob Applegate

Minor children’s family structure has remained relatively stable in recent decades, a pattern documented in prior Family Profiles and related research (Eickmeyer, 2017; Manning et al., 2014; Payne, 2013, 2019; Westrick-Payne & Wiborg, 2021). Despite this relative stability, monitoring children’s family structure over time remains important. Using data from the 2025 Current Population Survey, ASEC (IPUMS CPS), this profile updates FP-21-26 (Westrick-Payne & Wiborg, 2021). We visualize variation in the family structure of minor children (under age 18) in the U.S. in 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2025, as well as by race/ethnicity. We also present state-level variation in the share of children living with two married biological parents.

Children’s Family Structure, 2019 & 2025

  • In 2025 the majority of children were living with two biological parents (65%). This share is nearly the same as in 2019 (64%).
    • Among children living with two biological parents, most lived with married parents rather than cohabiting parents (94% vs. 6%), a pattern that remained unchanged from 2019.
  • The second most common family type was single parent families (21%). In 2025, this percentage was slightly lower than what was observed in 2019 (22%).
    • A majority of children living with single parents lived with a single mother (86%) rather than a single father (14%), a pattern that was the same in 2019.
  • One in ten children lived in stepfamilies (10%), up slightly from 9% in 2019.
    • Among children in stepfamilies, a majority lived with married parents (60%), an increase from 56% in 2019, while 40% lived with step-cohabiting parents.

Figure 1. Family Structure of Minor Children, 2019 & 2025

Stacked bar chart showing children’s family structure in 2019 and 2025. Most children lived with two biological married parents in both years, followed by single-mother families, with little change over time.
Source: NCFMR analyses of the U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, ASEC, 2019 & 2025 (IPUMS CPS) Note. Due to small sample sizes, children in same-sex families are excluded. The category of “two biological” also includes children living with two adoptive parents. Categories may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

Children’s Family Structure by Race/Ethnicity, 2025

  • Two biological parent families were most common among Asian (86%) and White children (73%), while Black children had the smallest share (37%).
  • Cohabiting parent families were most prevalent among Hispanic (11%) and those in the Other/2+ races category (10%).
  • Stepparent families were most common among Hispanic children (12%), followed by White and children Other/2+ races children (10% each).      
  • Single-mother families were most prevalent among Black children (41%). Similar shares of children in the Other/2+ races category (23%) and Hispanic children (21%) lived in single-mother families.

Figure 2. Family Structure of Minor Children by Race/Ethnicity, 2025

Stacked horizontal bar chart showing children’s family structure by race and ethnicity in 2025. Two biological married-parent families were most common among Asian, White, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic Other/2+ race children, while single-mother families were most common among Black children.
Source: NCFMR analyses of the U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, ASEC, 2019 & 2025 (IPUMS CPS) Note. NH = Non-Hispanic. “NH Asian” includes Non-Hispanic individuals identifying as Asian or Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. “Other/2+ Races” includes Non-Hispanic individuals identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native alone, some other race alone, or two or more races. Categories may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

Geographic Variation in the Percentage of Children Living with Two Married Biological Parents

Figure 3. Geographic Variation in the Percentage of Children living with Two Biological Married Parents, 2025

Choropleth map showing state variation in the percentage of children living with two married biological parents in 2025. Higher shares were concentrated in many Western and Northern states, while lower shares were concentrated in many Southern states.
Source: NCFMR analyses of the U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, ASEC, 2019 & 2025 (IPUMS CPS)
  • Large variation existed in the share of children living with two biological married parents across states. Twenty-nine states had at least 60% of children with two biological married parents.
  • Similar to 2019, several states with the highest shares of children living with two married biological parents were located in the Western Region of the U.S. (Utah, Idaho, and Washington).
    • Utah took the number one spot in each year this profile has been updated, including 2013, 2019, 2021, and 2025.
  • In 2025, many states with the smallest share of children living with two married biological parents (bottom 25%) were located in the Southern Region of the U.S. (South Carolina, Delaware, D.C., Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana).
    • In both 2019 and 2025, Mississippi and Louisiana had among the lowest shares of children living with two married biological parents at 45% and 43%, respectively.

This Family Profile is an update of: FP-13-19; FP-19-25; FP-21-26

National Center for Family and Marriage Research
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Data Source:

Flood, S., King, M., Rodgers, R., Ruggles, S., Warren, J.R., & Westberry, M. (2025). Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Current Population Survey: Version 13.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS. https://doi.org/10.1828/D030.V13.0

References:

Eickmeyer, K. J. (2017). American children’s family structure: Two biological parent families. Family Profiles, FP-17-15. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://www.bgsu.edu/ncfmr/resources/data/family-profiles/eickmeyer-two-biological-parent-families-fp-17-15.html

Manning, W. D., Brown, S. L., & Stykes, J. B. (2014). Family complexity among children in the United States. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 654(1), 48-65. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0002716214524515

Payne, K. K. (2013). Children’s family structure, 2013. Family Profiles, FP-13-19. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://www.bgsu.edu/content/dam/BGSU/college-of-arts-and-sciences/NCFMR/documents/FP/FP-13-19.pdf

Payne, K. K. (2019). Children’s family structure, 2019. Family Profiles, FP-19-25. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-19-25

Westrick-Payne, K. K., & Wiborg, C. E. (2021). Children’s family structure, 2021. Family Profiles, FP-21-26. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-21-26

Suggested Citation:

Applegate, J. S. (2026). Children’s family structure, 2025. Family Profiles, FP-26-06. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-26-06

This project is supported with assistance from Bowling Green State University. From 2007 to 2013, support was also provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s) and should not be construed as representing the opinions or policy of any agency of the state or federal government.

National Center for Family and Marriage Research

Updated: 05/13/2026 01:20PM