Household Structure – Families with Children
This indicator reports the percentage of all occupied households that are family households occupied by one or more child(ren) under the age of 18. As defined by the US Census Bureau, a family household is any housing unit in which the householder is living with one or more individuals related to him or her by birth, marriage, or adoption. A non-family household is any household occupied by the householder alone, or by the householder and one or more unrelated individuals.
Source
Source Description
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey designed to provide communities with reliable and timely social, economic, housing, and demographic data every year. The ACS has an annual sample size of about 3.5 million addresses, with survey information collected nearly every day of the year. Data are pooled across a calendar year to produce estimates for that year. As a result, ACS estimates reflect data that have been collected over a period of time rather than for a single point in time as in the decennial census, which is conducted every 10 years and provides population counts as of April 1. The Census Bureau combines 5 consecutive years of ACS data to produce estimates for geographic areas with fewer than 65,000 residents. These 5-year estimates represent data collected over a period of 60 months. Because the ACS is based on a sample, rather than all housing units and people, ACS estimates have a degree of uncertainty associated with them, called sampling error. In general, the larger the sample, the smaller the level of sampling error. Data users should be careful in drawing conclusions about small differences between two ACS estimates because they may not be statistically different.
For more information about this source, including data collection methodology and definitions, refer to the American Community Survey data user’s website.
Methodology
Population counts by household type are acquired from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Data represent estimates for the 5-year period 2019-2023. Mapped data are summarized to 2023 census tract boundaries.
A household includes all the people who occupy a housing unit. (People not living in households are classified as living in group quarters.) Households are classified by type according to the sex of the householder and the presence of relatives. Two types of householders are distinguished: a family householder and a nonfamily householder. A family householder is a householder living with one or more individuals related to him or her by birth, marriage*, or adoption. The householder and all people in the household related to him or her are family members. A nonfamily householder is a householder living alone or with non-relatives only. Figures for this indicator are measured as a percentage of total population based on the following formula:
For more information on the data reported in the American Community Survey, please see the complete American Community Survey 2023 Subject Definitions.
*Note: In Census Bureau tabulations, beginning in 2023, unless otherwise specified, the terms “spouse”, “married couple” and “marriage” include same-sex couples and marriages.
Data Breakouts Available
- Family Households with Children by Race, Total
- Family Households with Children by Race Alone, Percent
- Family Households with Children by Ethnicity Alone