Marriage Greatly Reduces Child Poverty in D.C

Marriage:
Washington, D.C.’s No. 1
Weapon Against
Childhood Poverty
How the Collapse of Marriage Hurts Children
and Three Steps to Reverse the Damage
A Heritage Foundation Book of Charts • 2012

Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society

Growth of Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing in Washington, D.C., 1929–2010
Throughout most of the history PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK
of the District of Columbia, out-
of-wedlock childbearing was 80%
relatively uncommon.
When the federal government’s 70%
War on Poverty began in 1964,
around one in four children in 60%
Washington, D.C. were born out 54.8%
of wedlock. However, over the
next four decades, the number 50%
rose rapidly. By 2010, 54.8 percent
of births in Washington, D.C. 40%
occurred outside of marriage.
30%
Note: Initiated by President Lyndon
Johnson in 1964, the War on Poverty 20%
led to the creation of more than three
dozen welfare programs to aid poor
persons. Government has spent $16.7 10%
trillion on means-tested aid to the poor
since 1964.
0%
Sources: U.S. Government, U.S. Census
Bureau, and National Center for Health 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Statistics.

Chart 1 • Marriage and Poverty in Washington, D.C. heritage.org

Death of Marriage in Washington, D.C., 1929–2010
The marital birth rate — the PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN TO MARRIED COUPLES
percentage of all births that occur
100%
to married parents — is the ﬂip
side of the out-of-wedlock birth
rate. 90%
Through most of the 20th cen-
tury, marital births were the norm 80%
in Washington, D.C. In 1964, over
74 percent of births occurred to
70%
married couples.
However, in the mid-1960s, the
60%
marital birth rate began to fall
steadily. By 2010, only 45.2 per-
cent of births in Washington, D.C. 50%
occurred to married couples. 45.2%
40%

Note: In any given year, the sum of the
out-of-wedlock birth rate (Chart 1) 30%
and the marital birth rate (Chart 2)
equals 100 percent of all births.
20%
Statistics.


In Washington, D.C., Marriage Drops the Probability of Child Poverty
by 90 Percent
The rapid rise in out-of- PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN THAT ARE POOR
wedlock childbearing is a major 40%
cause of high levels of child pov- 36.0%
erty in Washington, D.C.
35%
Some 36 percent of single moth-
ers with children are poor com- 30%
pared to 3.5 percent of married
couples with children.
25%
Single-parent families with
children are more than ten times
20%
more likely to be poor than fami-
lies in which the parents are mar-
ried. 15%

The higher poverty rate among
10%
single-mother families is due both
to the lower education levels of
5% 3.5%
the mothers and the lower income
due to the absence of the father.
0%
Single-Parent, Married,Two-Parent
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Female-Headed Families
Community Survey, 2007–2009 data. Families


In Washington, D.C., Six in Ten Families with Children Are Not Married

Overall, married couples head
less than 40 percent of families
with children in Washington, D.C.
Over 60 percent are single-parent
families.

Married
Families
Unmarried 38.3%
Families
61.7%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American
Community Survey, 2007–2009 data.


In Washington, D.C., 94 Percent of Poor Families with Children
Are Not Married
Among poor families with Married
children in Washington, D.C., 94 Families
percent are not married. By
6.1%
contrast, only six percent of poor
families with children are headed
by married couples.

Unmarried
Families
93.9%



In Washington, D.C., Few Unwed Births Occur to Teenagers
Out-of-wedlock births are often PERCENTAGE OF OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS
confused erroneously with teen BY AGE OF MOTHER
births, but only 7.9 percent of
out-of-wedlock births in Washing- Under
ton, D.C. occur to girls under age Age 18:
18. 7.9%
By contrast, some 70 percent of
out-of-wedlock births occur to Age
young adult women between the 30–54: Age
ages of 18 and 29. 22.2% 18–19:
12.9%

Age Age
25–29: 20–24:
25.1% 31.9%

Note: Figures have been rounded.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS
data.


Less-Educated Women Are More Likely to Give Birth Outside
of Marriage
Unwed childbearing occurs most PERCENTAGE OF BIRTHS THAT ARE MARITAL
frequently among the women who OR OUT OF WEDLOCK
will have the greatest difﬁculty sup- 100%
porting children by themselves: those 8.1% Unmarried
with low levels of education. 90%
Mothers
In the U.S., among women who 42.0%
80%
are high school dropouts, about 65.2
percent of all births occur outside
54.5%
70%
marriage. Among women who have 65.2%
only a high school diploma, well over 60%
91.9% Married
half of all births occur outside mar- Mothers
riage. By contrast, among women 50%
with at least a college degree, only
40%
8.1 percent of births are out of wed- 58.0%
lock. 30%
45.5%
Note: Specific data on out-of-wedlock 20%
births and maternal education are not
34.8%
available in Washington, D.C. However, the 10%
pattern varies little between states. Wash-
ington, D.C. data will be very similar to the 0%
national data presented in this chart. High School High School Some College Mother’s
Dropout Graduate College Graduate education
Source: U.S. Department of Health and (0–11 (12 (13–15 (16+ level
Human Services, Centers for Disease Years) Years) Years) Years)
Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS data.


Both Marriage and Education Are Highly Effective in Reducing
Child Poverty in Washington, D.C.
The poverty rate of married PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES Poverty Rate of Families by
couples with children is dramati- WITH CHILDREN THAT Single
Education and Marital Status
cally lower than the rate for house- ARE POOR Married
of the Head of Household
holds headed by single parents.
70%
This is true even when the married
couple is compared to single par- 59.5%
60%
ents with the same education level.
For example, in Washington, 50%
D.C., the poverty rate for a single 42.5%
mother who has only a high 40%
school diploma is 42.5 percent,
31.3%
but the poverty rate for a married 30%
couple family headed by an indi-
vidual who, similarly, has only a 20%
high school degree is far lower at 14.6%
11.2% 9.2%
11.2 percent. 10% 7.2%
On average, marriage drops the 1.2%
poverty rate by about 78 percent 0%
among families with the same High School High School Some College
education level. Dropout Graduate College Graduate

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Note: Virtually none of the heads of families in the chart who are high school
Community Survey, 2005–2009 data. dropouts are minor teenagers.


Unwed Birth Rates Vary Strongly by Race in Washington, D.C.
Out-of-wedlock childbearing PERCENT OF BIRTHS THAT ARE OUT OF WEDLOCK
varies considerably by race.
In 2008, 57.8 percent of births 100%
in Washington D.C. occurred 8.3%
90%
outside marriage. The rate was
lowest among non-Hispanic 80%
79.1%
whites. Within that group about 72.6%
one in 15 births (7 percent) were 70%
non-marital.
60% 57.8%
Among Hispanics, nearly three
in four births were out of wedlock.
50%
Among blacks, nearly eight in ten
births were to unmarried women 40%
(79.1 percent).
30%

20%

10% 7.0%

Source: U.S. Department of Health and 0%
Human Services, Centers for Disease All Races White Hispanic Black
Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS Non- Non-
data. Hispanic Hispanic


Growth of Unwed Childbearing Among Blacks in Washington, D.C.,
1929–2008
PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK
Between 1929 and 1950, around
one in ﬁve black children in the 100%
District of Columbia were born
outside marriage. During the 90%
Black
1950s and early 1960s the rate rose (Includes
slowly. 80% Black
Hispanics)
Following the onset of the War
on Poverty in 1964, the rate 70%
Black
increased dramatically. Ten years Non-
later, in 1974, well over half the 60% Hispanics
black births in the District were
non-marital. 50%
By 1994, eight out of ten black
births in D.C. occurred outside 40%
marriage. The rate has remained at
or near that level up to the present. 30%

Note: Beginning in 1996, the govern- 20%
ment began counting black Hispanic
births separately. This made little
10%
difference in the black non-marital birth
rate in D.C.
0%
Statistics.


Growth of Unwed Childbearing Among Whites and Hispanics
in Washington, D.C., 1929–2008
Between 1929 and 1963, the unwed PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK
birth rate among whites (both Hispanic
and non-Hispanic) in Washington, D.C. 100%
was generally less than 5 percent. In the
mid-1960s the rate increased quickly, 90%
reaching 20 percent in 1968.
Beginning in 1996, the government
80%
began counting white Hispanic and
white non-Hispanic births separately. Hispanic
Since then, the Hispanic unwed birth 70%
rate has risen rapidly. In 1996, 55.3
percent of Hispanic births in the District 60%
were non-marital. In 2008, the figure
was 72.6 percent.
By contrast, the unwed birth rate 50%
among white non-Hispanic women has
actually fallen, from 12 percent of births 40% White
in 1996 to 7 percent in 2008. The (Includes
decline in unwed births among white 30% Hispanics)
non-Hispanic is unusual and reflects the
high socioeconomic status of most
white non-Hispanics living in D.C. 20%
During the same period, in the rest of
the nation, the unwed birth rate of white 10%
non-Hispanics has risen significantly. White
Non-Hispanics
0%
Statistics.


Racial Composition of All Births and Out-of-Wedlock Births
in Washington, D.C.
ALL BIRTHS OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS
In Washington, D.C. in 2008,
some 54.9 percent of all births
occurred to non-Hispanic blacks,
25.9 percent occurred to non-
Hispanic whites, and 16.5 percent
occurred to Hispanics.
Because blacks and Hispanics
are more likely to have children 54.9% Black Non- 75.1%
without being married, they Hispanic
account for nearly all out-of-
wedlock births in Washington,
D.C.
In Washington, D.C. in 2008,
75.1 percent of all non-marital
births were to non-Hispanic black 25.9%
women, 20.7 percent were to
Hispanic women, and only 3.1 White Non- 3.1%
percent were to white non- Hispanic
Hispanic women. 20.7%
16.5% Hispanic
Source: U.S. Department of Health and 2.7% Asian/Other 1.1%
Human Services, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS
data. Note: Figures have been rounded.


Non-Married Black Families Are Six Times More Likely to Be Poor
in Washington, D.C.
Marriage leads to lower poverty PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
rates for blacks, whites, and His-
panics.
35%
In 2009, the poverty rate for
married black couples in Washing- 29.8%
ton, D.C. was 5.3 percent, while 30%
the poverty rate for non-married
black families was about six times 25%
higher at 29.8 percent.
20%

15%

10%

5.3%
5%

0%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Married Families Non-Married Families


Non-Married White Families Are 13 Times More Likely to Be Poor
in Washington, D.C.
In 2009, the poverty rate for PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
married white families in Wash-
ington, D.C. was 0.7 percent. But 10%
the poverty rate for non-married
white families was nearly 13 times 9%
8.8%
higher at 8.8 percent.
8%

7%

6%

5%

4%

3%

2%

1% 0.7%

0%
Married Families Non-Married Families


Non-Married Hispanic Families Are Twice as Likely to Be Poor in
Washington, D.C.
In 2009, the poverty rate for PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
Hispanic married families in
Washington, D.C. was 9.3 percent,
25%
while the poverty rate among
non-married families was over two
times higher at 19.3 percent.
20% 19.3%

15%

10% 9.3%

5%

0%
Married Families Non-Married Families


Three Steps to Reduce Child Poverty through Marriage

1) Provide information on the benefits of marriage in reducing child poverty
and improving child well-being.

Marriage is a highly effective institution which greatly decreases parental and child
poverty while improving long-term outcomes for children. Conversely, the absence of
marriage greatly increases welfare costs and imposes added burdens on taxpayers.
Unfortunately, almost no information on these topics is available in low-income
communities. This information deficit should be corrected in the following manner:

• Explain the benefits of marriage in middle and high schools with a high
proportion of at-risk youth;
• Create public education campaigns in low-income communities on the
benefits of marriage; and,
• Require federally funded birth control clinics to provide information on the
benefits of marriage and the skills needed to develop stable families to
interested low-income clients.

2) Reduce anti-marriage penalties in means-tested welfare programs.

3) Promote life-goal-planning, marriage-strengthening, and divorce-reduction
programs to increase healthy marriages and reduce divorce and separation.

The Family & Religion Initiative is one of 10 Transformational Initiatives making up The Heritage
Foundation’s Leadership for America campaign. For more products and information related to this initiative
or to learn more about the Leadership for America campaign, please visit heritage.org.

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ernment, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.
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As policy entrepreneurs, we believe the most effective solutions are consistent with those ideas and values.

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Marriage Greatly Reduces Child Poverty in D.C

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