Single mothers are much more likely to be poor than married couples. The poverty rate for single-mother families in 2018 was 34%, nearly five times more than the rate (6%) for married-couple families. Among children living with their mother only, 40% lived in poverty. In contrast, only 12% of children in two-parent families were counted as poor.
Families headed by women of color fared even worse. Nearly two in five (38%) of Black female-headed families lived in poverty, Hispanic (38%), White (28%), and Asian (29%).
Among all other ethnic groups, Native American female-headed families with children had the highest poverty rate. More than two in five (43%) lived in poverty.
38%
BLACK FAMILIES WERE POOR
43%
NATIVE FAMILIES WERE POOR
28%
WHITE FAMILIES WERE POOR