Two-parent households are on the rise

WASHINGTON (SBG) - For the first time in years, the number of two-parent homes hit 70%, according to the U.S. Census. As family structures have changed and become more inclusive, the number of two-parent households has been decreasing over time, but the slight reversal may be tied to a downturn in the economy.

It’s expensive to raise a child. According to the USDA, a middle-income married couple is expected to spend $233,610 to raise a child up to 17 years old. Many parents can’t afford to do it alone.

“There has been a slight reversal in recent years, towards more kids being raised in two-parent families,” said Professor Brad Wilcox, a sociologist from the University of Virginia.

According to Wilcox, the upward trend in two-parent households started during the Great Recession.

“Americans have kind of realized at some level that having a stable family and having a marriage as an anchor for them and for their kids is particularly crucial in a day and age when there’s so much financial instability,” said Wilcox.

In 1968, 85% of children under 18 lived with two parents, regardless of marital status. By 2005 that number dipped to 67%. Wilcox says the largest increase was among African American families.

“There is a narrative out there that Black families are more fragile at times, and that’s certainly the case, but they are trending now more rapidly than other families in the direction of family stability, which I think is both striking and encouraging,” said Wilcox.

Researchers are not sure if this is a trend, or a reaction to the Great Recession and now the pandemic. But Wilcox says the impact of two-parent households could be far-reaching.

“For both Black and for white kids, they are less likely to live in poverty, they are less likely to end up in prison, and they’re markedly more likely to graduate from college when they’re raised in intact, two-parent families,” said Wilcox.