U.S. Census Bureau 1

Issued March 2000

2000

CENBR/00-1

Census Brief:

Women in the United States: A Profile

Current

Population

Reports

Figure 1.

More Women These Days Live Alone

Percent of people living alone by age and sex:

1970 and 1998.

Women outnumber men.

In March 1999, the civilian noninstitutional

population of the United States totaled

approximately 272 million—139 million were

female and 133 million were male. At the

younger ages (under 20 years), the malefemale ratio was 105 to 100, but for the

ages of 20 to 44, it was 98 to 100. This

ratio continues to decline with age, reaching

49 men to 100 women at the ages of 85 and

over. Women had a higher median age than

men, 35.8 years compared with 33.8 years.

Women are racially and ethnically

diverse.

Of the 139 million who were female–

• 71 percent were White;

• 13 percent were Black;

• 4 percent were Asian and

Pacific Islander;

• 1 percent were American Indian

and Alaska Native; and

• 11 percent were Hispanic

(of any race).

Women have almost achieved

parity in educational

attainment...

In 1999, the percentage of

women and men who had

completed high school or more

did not differ (83.4 percent).

However, the percentage with a

bachelor’s degree or more was

higher for men (27.5 percent)

than for women (23.1 percent).

These proportions are substantially higher than in earlier

decades. In 1970,

55.0 percent of men and

55.4 percent of women had

completed 4 years of high

school or more,1 and only

14.1 percent of men and

8.2 percent of women had

completed 4 years of college

or more. In 1980,

69.2 percent of men and 68.1 percent of

women had completed 4 years of high

school or more, while 20.9 percent of men

and 13.6 percent of women had completed

4 years of college or more.

...but not earnings equality.

The median earnings of women 25 years

and over who worked fulltime, year-round

in 1998 was $26,711, 73 percent of their

male counterparts’ median earnings

($36,679). Men working fulltime, yearround consistently earned more than

comparable women in each of the

education levels:

• The median earnings of women with a

high school diploma was $21,963,

compared with $30,868 for their male

counterparts.

• The median earnings of women with

a bachelor’s degree was $35,408,

compared with $49,982 for their male

counterparts.

• The median earnings of women with a

professional degree was $55,460,

compared with $90,653 for their male

counterparts.

 1The percentages of men and women who

had completed 4 years of high school or more

in 1970 did not differ statistically.

1998

1970

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 1970 and March 1998.

Men Women

75 years

and over

65 to 74

years

45 to 64

years

35 to 44

years

15 to 34

years

52.9%

37.0%

31.2%

31.6%

11.6%

11.3%

6.7%

2.6%

5.2%

2.0%

22.3%

19.1%

13.9%

11.3%

12.0%

5.7%

12.0%

3.5%

8.0%

2.6%

Demographic Programs

By

Renee E. Spraggins

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

Helping You Make Informed Decisions U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

U S C E N S U S B U R E A U
2 U.S. Census Bureau

Families maintained by a

woman with no husband

present have a lower median

income...

In 1998, the median income for

families maintained by a woman

with no husband present ($22,163)

was lower than for families maintained by a man with no wife

present ($35,681), and substantially

lower than for married-couple

families ($54,180).

...and are more likely

to be poor.

In 1998, the poverty rate for families

maintained by a woman with no

husband present was 29.9 percent,

compared with 12.0 percent for

families maintained by a man with

no wife present, and just 5.3 percent

for married-couple families.

Women are marrying later...

In 1998, the median age at first

marriage for women was 25.0 years.

Just a generation ago, in 1970, the

age at first marriage was 20.8 years.

The median age at first marriage for

men was 26.7 years in 1998, up

from 23.2 years in 1970.

...or not at all.

Between 1970 and 1998, the

proportion of people aged 30 to 34

who had never married tripled from

6.2 percent to 21.6 percent for

women and from 9.4 percent to

29.2 percent for men. For those

aged 35 to 39, the corresponding

increases were from 5.4 percent to

14.3 percent for women and from

7.2 percent to 21.6 percent for men.

These changes have

contributed to—

• More and more women living

alone: Between 1970 and 1998,

the number doubled from 7.3

million to 15.3 million. The

percentage of women who lived

alone rose for almost every age

group. The exception was those

aged 65 to 74, where the

percentage was statistically

unchanged, as shown in

Figure 1.

• More families being maintained

by women without a husband:

This proportion rose from

10.7 percent of all families in

1970 to 17.8 percent in 1998.

They constituted 46.7 percent

of all Black families and

14.0 percent of all White

families in 1998.

The marital status of women

varies with age.

In 1999, 51.0 percent of women

15 years and over were married

and living with their spouse,

25.1 percent had never married,

12.9 percent were divorced or

separated, and 10.0 percent were

widowed. Men 15 years and over

were more likely than women to be

married and living with their spouse

(54.7 percent), more likely to never

have been married (31.3 percent),

equally likely to be divorced or

separated (10.2 percent), and less

likely to be widowed (2.5 percent).

Among women 65 years and over,

the proportion who were widowed

was 44.9 percent, while

41.8 percent were married and

living with their spouse. By contrast, only 14.0 percent of men in

this age group were widowed, while

73.6 percent were married and living

with their spouse.

Most single female custodial

parents had child support

awards.

In the spring of 1996, 11.6 million

or 85 percent of the 13.7 million

custodial parents were women.

Eight million, or 58 percent, of all

custodial parents had child support

awards—61 percent for mothers and

40 percent for fathers. In 1995,

70 percent of mothers due payments actually received at least a

portion of the amount they were

owed, getting an average of $3,767

that year. The corresponding figures

for fathers were 57 percent and

$3,370, respectively.2 Nonetheless,

33.3 percent of custodial mothers

and 14.3 percent of custodial fathers

were poor in 1995.

Six in ten women participate

in the labor force.

In 1999, the proportion of women

aged 16 and over in the labor force

was 60.2 percent compared with

73.8 percent for men. The lower

labor force participation of women

is attributable in part to a greater

concentration of women at the

older ages. In 1999, over half

(72.5 percent) of women aged 15

and over worked in four occupational

groups: administrative support,

including clerical (23.7 percent);

professional specialty (17.8 percent);

service workers, except private

households (16.7 percent); and

executive, administrators, and

managerial (14.3 percent).

Even though women have made

progress in entering occupations

predominately held by men (especially executive and professional

specialty occupations), the majority

of women are still in traditional

“female” occupations.3 Women

continue to be overrepresented in

administrative support and service

occupations and underrepresented in

precision production, craft, and

repair occupations, and the transportation and material moving occupations. For example, 79.3 percent

of the 18.6 million people involved

in administrative support

(including clerical) were female,

and 95.5 percent of the 859,000

people who were employed as

service workers in private households were female.

Contacts:

Special Populations Branch

Renee E. Spraggins

Renee.E.Spraggins@ccmail.census.gov

301-457-2378

Census Briefs -

Public Information Office

PIO@census.gov

301-457-3030

This Brief is one of a series that presents

information of current policy interest. All

statistics are subject to sampling variability, as well as survey design flaws,

respondent classification errors, and data

processing mistakes. The Census Bureau

has taken steps to minimize errors, and

analytical statements have been tested

and meet statistical standards. However,

because of methodological differences, use

caution when comparing these data with

data from other sources.

 3We the American...Women. U.S. Census Bureau,

Series WE-8, U.S. Government Printing Office,

Washington, DC, 1993.

 2The average amount received by women was not

statistically different from the average amount

received by men.