# Presentation: 662091

## Grandparents Living With  Grandchildren: 2000

**Grandparents**** *****Living ******With***** **** ****Grandchildren: 2000**

**Notes:**
Census 2000 enumerated 158.9 million people aged 30 and over living in households in the United States, of whom 5.8 million (or 3.6 percent) were coresident grandparents, defined in this report as living with grandchildren younger than 18.
Among these coresident grandparents, 2.4 million (42 percent) were also “grandparent caregivers,” defined in this presentation as people who had primary responsibility for their coresident grandchildren younger than 18.
Among grandparent caregivers, 39 percent had cared for their grandchildren for 5 or more years.
This presentation presents data on the population aged 30 and over living in households with grandchildren; describes population characteristics for regions, states, counties, and the ten largest cities in the United States; details the geographic distribution of coresident grandparents; of grandparent caregivers, and of the length of time that they have cared for their grandchildren. Differences in these grandparent-grandchild indicators are shown by race and Hispanic origin. The proportion living in poverty and the proportion of grandparent caregivers who were in households where the grandchild’s parents were absent are also shown.

SPEAKER NOTES: This presentation is based on the Census 2000 Brief, Grandparents Living With Grandchildren: 2000, issued October 2003, and was developed by A. Emmy Warwick of the Census Bureau’s Marketing Services Office <amparo.emmy.warwick@census.gov>.
6-23-04

## Census 2000 was the first time that questions on grandparental caregiving were included in the decennial census. 

**Notes:**
Census 2000 was the first time that questions on grandparental caregiving were included in the decennial census. The first question asked if the person was the grandparent of any grandchildren under 18 who were living in the same house. Those who answered “Yes” were then asked if they were “currently responsible for most of the basic needs of one or more of these grandchildren.” Grandparents who answered “yes” were further asked how long they had had this responsibility.

## The percentage of grandparents living with grandchildren varied sharply by race and Hispanic origin.

**Notes:**
The percentage of grandparents living with grandchildren varied sharply by race and Hispanic origin.

** **

- Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000, Summary File 4

**Notes:**
While 3.6 percent of all people aged  30 and over lived with their grandchildren, only 2 percent of non-Hispanic Whites did so. 
Higher proportions were found among other racial and ethnic groups: 6 percent of people who were Asian, 8 percent of people who were American Indian and Alaska Native, 8 percent of people who were Black, 8 percent of people who were Hispanic, and 10 percent of people who were Pacific Islanders.

## More than half of American Indian and Alaska Native and Black grandparents who lived with grandchildren were responsible for them.

**Notes:**
More than half of American Indian and Alaska Native and Black grandparents who lived with their grandchildren were responsible for them.

** **

- Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000, Summary File 4

**Notes:**
While 8 percent each of the Black or African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Hispanic populations aged 30 and over lived with grandchildren, Hispanics were less likely than Blacks or American Indians and Alaska Natives to be caregivers for these grandchildren: 35 percent compared with 52 percent and 56 percent, respectively. Asian coresident grandparent were least likely to be responsible for their grandchildren (20 percent).
These statistics suggest that while residential or cultural patterns may account for large proportions of Asians and Hispanics living in multigenerational households, Asian and Hispanic grandparents were less likely to be responsible for their grandchildren and in some cases may have been dependent themselves.
Among grandparent caregivers, 12 percent had cared for grandchildren for fewer than 6 months; 11 percent for 6 to 11 months; 23 percent for 1 to 2 years; 15 percent for 3 to 4 years; and 39 percent for 5 or more years.
The percent distribution of the duration of time responsible varied by race and ethnicity. Black, Pacific Islander, and American Indian and Alaska Native grandparent caregivers had the highest percentages responsible for their grandchildren for 5 years or more, all about 40 percent or higher, contrasting with only about 33 percent each for Asian and Hispanic grandparent caregivers.

## Younger grandparents were more likely to be responsible for their grandchildren.

**Notes:**
Younger grandparents were more likely to be responsible for their grandchildren.

## Slide 8

**Notes:**
In 2000, 3.5 million coresident grandparents were younger than 60, while 2.3 million were aged 60 and over. Coresident grandparents who were under 60 years were more likely to be responsible for their grandchildren (50 percent) than coresident grandparents who were aged 60 and over (31 percent).
Among grandparent caregivers, a greater percentage of those aged 60 and over had cared for their grandchildren for 5 years or more (55 percent), compared with those younger than 60 (32 percent).

## The West had the highest percentage of grandparents living with grandchildren.

**Notes:**
The West had the highest percentage of coresident grandparents.

** **

- Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000, Summary File 3, special tabulations

**Notes:**
The proportion of people aged 30 and over in the United States who were co-resident grandparents ranged from a high of 4.3 percent in the West to a low of 2.7 percent in the Midwest.

## At the state level, Hawaii had the highest percentage of grandparents living with grandchildren (7 percent), while North Dakota had the lowest (1.3 percent).

**Notes:**
At the state level, Hawaii had the highest percentage of grandparents living with grandchildren (7 percent), while North Dakota had the lowest (1.3 percent).

**SOUTH**
**48.3%**

**MIDWEST**
**44.4%**

**NORTHEAST**
**34.3%**

**WEST**
**36.0%**

- Grandparents as Caregivers
- By Regions and States: 2000

**OK**
**58.5%**

**WY**
**58.6%**

**AL**
**55.9%**

**AK**
**52.0%**

**AZ**
**45.4%**

**AK**
**58.1%**

**CA**
**31.8%**

**CO**
**42.6%**

**CT**
**34.1%**

**DE**
**43.2%**

**MI**
**42.0%**

**GA**
**47.6%**

**FL**
**42.7%**

**KY**
**51.5%**

**HI**
**28.5%**

**ID**
**46.5%**

**IL**
**40.2%**

**IN**
**50.1%**

**IA**
**46.4%**

**KS**
**50.7%**

**LA**
**54.9%**

**ME**
**38.9%**

**MD**
**40.6%**

**MA**
**28.4%**

**MN**
**39.1%**

**MO**
**48.7%**

**MS**
**57.1%**

**MT**
**54.5%**

**NE**
**48.6%**

**NV**
**41.3%**

**NH**
**30.9%**

**NJ **
**31.6%**

**NM**
**52.2%**

**NY**
**34.7%**

**NC**
**49.7%**

**SC**
**52.0%**

**ND**
**54.8%**

**OH**
**46.4%**

**OR**
**43.2%**

**PA**
**39.2%**

**RI**
**29.8%**

**SD**
**57.8%**

**TN**
**51.1%**

**TX**
**46.7%**

**UT**
**40.4%**

**VT**
**36.3%**

**VA**
**42.5%**

**WA**
**41.8%**

**WI**
**42.3%**

**WV**
**52.4%**

- Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000, Summary File 3, special tabulations

**Notes:**
The South had the highest percentage of grandparent caregivers (48 percent), while the Northeast had the lowest (34 percent).
At the state level, this highest percentages of grandparent caregivers were about 55 to 59 percent, with Oklahoma and Wyoming among the highest.
The lowest percentages of grandparent caregivers among states ranged from about 28 to 31 percent, with Hawaii and Massachusetts among the lowest. 

## In 2000, 39 percent of grandparent caregivers had been responsible for their grandchildren for 5 or more years.

**Notes:**
In 2000, 39 percent of grandparent caregivers had been responsible for their grandchildren for 5 or more years. 
Regionally, the South and the Northeast had the highest percentages responsible for 5 or more years (about 40 percent), while the West had the lowest (35 percent). A large percentage of grandparent caregivers were responsible for 5 or more years in the District of Columbia (53 percent).
At the other end of the spectrum, 23 percent of grandparents caregivers in the United States had been responsible for their grandchildren for less than a year.
Regionally, the West and the Midwest were most likely to have such grandparents (about 24 percent each), while the Northeast had the lowest percentage (21 percent).

## Slide 14

**Notes:**
Counties in the Midwest and the upper Northeast generally had the lowest percentages of co-resident grandparents, while counties in the South and the Southwest had the highest percentages. These differences are probably related to the fact that higher proportions of non-Hispanic Whites reside in the Midwest. Non-Hispanic Whites had the lowest percentage of coresident grandparents (2 percent). 

## San Diego, California, had the lowest percentage of coresident grandparents among the ten largest cities in the United States.

**Notes:**
San Diego, California, had the lowest percentage of coresident grandparents among the ten largest cities in the United States.

## Slide 16

**Notes:**
The proportion of coresident grandparents among the ten largest cities in the United States ranged from 4 percent in San Diego, California, to 8 percent in Detroit, Michigan.
San Diego also had one of the highest percentages of non-Hispanic Whites among the ten largest cities (49 percent), and nationally, non-Hispanic Whites (aged 30 and over) had the lowest percentage of coresident grandparents.
Los Angeles, which had one of the lowest percentages of grandparent caregivers, also had one of the highest percentages of Asians among the ten larges cities (10 percent), and nationally, Asians (aged 30 and over) were less likely to be primarily responsible for coresident grandchildren. The percentage of grandparent caregivers responsible for their grandchildren for 5 or more years ranged from 33 percent to 43 percent among the cities.

## Of the 5.8 million coresident grandparent in 2000, 64 percent were women.

**Notes:**
Of the 5.8 million coresident grandparent in 2000, 64 percent were women. This percentage did not differ much by whether a grandparent was a caregiver or how long they had been a caregiver, ranging from 61 percent to 66 percent.

## Slide 18

**Notes:**
Only 5 percent of coresident grandparents were aged 30 to 39, reflecting the low probability of being a grandparent at this early age, while the highest percentage was those aged 50 to 59  (32 percent). Those aged 80 and over made up only 4 percent of coresident grandparents.

## Thirty-four percent of grandparent caregivers were householders or spouses who were living with their grandchildren without the presence of the parents of their grandchildren. These households are often designated as “skipped generation households.”

**Notes:**
The vast majority (84 percent) of grandparent caregivers were either the householder or the spouse of the householder. Further, 34 percent of grandparent caregivers were householders or spouses who were living with their grandchildren without the presence of the parents of their grandchildren. These households are often designated as “skipped generation households.” 

SPEAKER NOTES: In Census 2000, a householder was defined as the person, or one of the people, in whose name the home was owned or rented.

| Selected Characteristics of Grandparents Living With
Grandchildren for the Regions:  2000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Area | Grandparents living
 with grandchildren |  |  | Grandparents responsible for 
coresident grandchildren |  |  |  |
|  | Number | Percent of population
30 years and over | Percent responsible | Percent who were . . . |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  | Householder or  spouse |  | Aged 60 and over | In poverty in 1999 |
|  |  |  |  | Total | And with no parent present |  |  |
| United States. . . . . . .

Region
Northeast  . . . . . . . . .   
Midwest . . . . . . . . . . .
South . . . . . . . . . . . . .
West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 5,771,671

1,006,496
991,295
2,302,754
1,471,126 | 3.6

3.2
2.7
4.1
4.3 | 42.0

34.3
44.4
48.3
36.0 | 93.8

91.7
95.2
95.1
91.1 | 34.0

30.8
35.4
36.8
28.7 | 29.1

32.8
27.0
28.0
30.9 | 18.8

19.4
15.0
21.4
15.9 |

** **

- Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000, Summary File 3, special tabulations

**Notes:**
Grandparent caregivers in the South and Midwest regions were slightly more likely to be the householder or spouse (95 percent) than grandparent caregivers in the Northeast (92 percent) and the West (91 percent).
Among grandparent caregivers who were householders or spouses, the proportion who were in skipped-generation households was greater in the South (37 percent) and the Midwest (35 percent) than in the Northeast (31 percent) and the West (29 percent). 

## Census 2000 showed that, on average, 19 percent of grandparent caregivers had incomes below the poverty level in the United States in 1999.

**Notes:**
Census 2000 showed that, on average, 19 percent of grandparent caregivers had incomes below the poverty level in the United States in 1999.

| Selected Characteristics of Grandparents Living With Grandchildren for the Regions: 2000 |  |  |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Area | Grandparents responsible for 
coresident grandchildren |  |  |  |
|  | Percent who were . . . |  |  |  |
|  | Householder or  spouse |  | Aged 60 and over | In poverty in 1999 |
|  | Total | And with no parent present |  |  |
| United States. . . . . . .

Region
Northeast  . . . . . . . . .   
Midwest . . . . . . . . . . .
South . . . . . . . . . . . . .
West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 93.8

91.7
95.2
95.1
91.1 | 34.0

30.8
35.4
36.8
28.7 | 29.1

32.8
27.0
28.0
30.9 | 18.8

19.4
15.0
21.4
15.9 |

** **

- Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000, Summary File 3, special tabulations

**Notes:**
The proportion of grandparent caregivers living in poverty was highest in the South (21 percent), and in some states it was as high as 30 percent.

## For More Information Visit:					www.census.gov

- _For More Information Visit_:**	****	****	****	****	***www.census.gov*

- _Or Contact our Customer Services Center at:_*301-763-INFO (4636)**          *