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 18.1

Among these coresident

grandparents, 2.4 million (42 percent) were

also “grandparent caregivers,” defined in this

report 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 report presents

information obtained

from three questions

on the Census 2000 long form about

coresident grandparents (Figure 1). 

As with most of the questions on the

long form, these three were asked of 

all people aged 15 and over. However,

this report shows data only for people

aged 30 and over, since people under 

30 are highly unlikely to have

U S C E N S U S B U R E A U

Helping You Make Informed Decisions

U.S.Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Issued October 2003

C2KBR-31

Grandparents Living With

Grandchildren: 2000

Census 2000 Brief

By 

Tavia Simmons 

and 

Jane Lawler Dye

a. Does this person have any of his/her own

grandchildren under the age of 18 living in this

house or apartment?

Yes

No Skip to 20a

b. Is this grandparent currently responsible for

most of the basic needs of any grandchild(ren)

under the age of 18 who live(s) in this house

or apartment?

Yes

No Skip to 20a

c. How long has this grandparent been responsible

for the(se) grandchild(ren)? If the grandparent is

financially responsible for more than one grandchild, answer

the question for the grandchild for whom the grandparent

has been responsible for the longest period of time.

Less than 6 months

6 to 11 months

1 or 2 years

3 or 4 years

5 years or more

Figure 1.

Reproduction of the Questions on 

Grandparents Living With Grandchildren 

from Census 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 questionnaire.

19

1 The text of this report discusses data for the

United States, including the 50 states and the

District of Columbia. In addition, data for the

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are shown in Table 2

and Figure 3.

The estimates in this report are based on responses from a sample of the population. As with all surveys, estimates may vary from the actual values

because of sampling variation or other factors. All

comparisons made in this report have undergone statistical testing and are significant at the 90-percent

confidence level.
2 U.S. Census Bureau

grandchildren.2 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. 

Census 2000 was the first time

that questions on grandparental

caregiving have been included in

the decennial census. The

Personal Responsibility and Work

Opportunity Reconciliation Act of

1996 (PRWORA) directed that this

topic be included on Census 2000.

The Congress wanted to find out

about grandparents who were the

primary caregivers for their grandchildren, and if this relationship

was temporary or permanent.

These three questions were selected to provide information on the

extent to which grandparents act

as caregivers to their coresident

grandchildren. 

This report is part of a series that

presents population and housing

data collected in Census 2000.

The report presents data on the

population aged 30 and over living

in households with grandchildren.

It describes population characteristics for regions, states, counties,

and the ten largest cities in the

United States. The report 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 grandparentgrandchild 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.

Differences in proportions of coresident grandparents and grandparent

caregivers may be influenced by a

variety of factors, including cultural

differences in family structure (such

as frequency of extended family

households), differences in age distribution, migration patterns, racial

and ethnic composition, housing

shortages, high living costs, poverty levels, and local government policies on kinship care.

The percentage of coresident

grandparents varied sharply

by race and Hispanic origin. 

Census 2000 asked respondents to

choose one or more races. With the

exception of the Two-or-more-races

group, all race groups discussed in

this report refer to people who

indicated only one racial identity

among the six major categories:

White, Black or African American,

American Indian and Alaska Native,

Asian, Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander, and Some other

race.3 The use of the single-race

population in this report does not

imply that it is the preferred

method of presenting or analyzing

data. The Census Bureau uses a

variety of approaches.4

While 3.6 percent of all people aged

30 and over lived with their grandchildren, only 2 percent of nonHispanic Whites did so (Table 1).

Considerably 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.5

More than half of American

Indian and Alaska Native

coresident grandparents and

Black coresident grandparents

were responsible for their

grandchildren.

While 8 percent each of the Black,

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

2 This question was among a set of questions asked of all people aged 15 and over,

but the tabulation universe for these data is

people aged 30 and over who are living in

households. The data in this report are only

presented for people aged 30 and over, as

very few people under 30 are grandparents.

Data are shown only for people in households, as some of the characteristics used in

this report (for example, relationship) are

only available for household members, not

for those living in group quarters such as

nursing homes.

3 For further information on each of the

six major race groups and the Two or more

races population, see reports from the

Census 2000 Brief series (C2KBR/01), available on the Census 2000 Web site at

www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000

/briefs.html. 

4 This report draws heavily on Summary

File 3, a Census 2000 product that can be

accessed through American FactFinder, available from the Census Bureau’s Web site,

www.census.gov. Information on people who

reported more than one race, such as “White

and American Indian and Alaska Native” or

“Asian and Black or African American,” can

be found in Summary File 4, which is also

available through American FactFinder.

About 2.6 percent of people reported more

than one race. 5 Hereafter, this report uses the term Black

to refer to people who are Black or African

American, the term Pacific Islander to refer to

people who are Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander, and the term Hispanic to refer

to people who are Hispanic or Latino. 

Because Hispanics may be of any race,

data in this report for Hispanics overlap with

data for racial groups. Based on Census

2000 sample data, the proportion Hispanic

was 8.0 percent for Whites, 1.9 percent for

Blacks, 14.6 percent for American Indians

and Alaska Natives, 1.0 percent for Asians,

9.5 percent for Pacific Islanders, 97.1 percent for those reporting Some other race,

and 31.1 percent for those reporting Two 

or more races.
these grandchildren: 35 percent

compared with 52 percent and 

56 percent, respectively. Asian

coresident grandparents 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.

In 2000, 3.5 million coresident

grandparents were younger than

60, while 2.3 million were aged 60

and over. Figure 2 shows that

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).6

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

OF CORESIDENT

GRANDPARENTS

The West had the highest

percentage of coresident

grandparents.

Regional and state differences in

percentages of grandparent-grandchildren coresidence, responsibility, and duration of responsibility

reflect the variety of factors

U.S. Census Bureau 3

Table 1.

Grandparents Living With Grandchildren, Responsible for Coresident Grandchildren,

and Duration of Responsibility by Race and Hispanic Origin: 2000

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Characteristic

Total

Race Hispanic origin

White

alone

Black or

African

American

alone

American

Indian

and

Alaska

Native

alone

Asian

alone

Native

Hawaiian

and

Other

Pacific

Islander

alone

Some

other

race

alone

Two or

more

races

Hispanic

or Latino

(of any

race)

Not Hispanic

or Latino

Total

White

alone, not

Hispanic

or Latino

Population 30 years

old and over ...... 158,881,037 126,715,472 16,484,644 1,127,455 5,631,301 169,331 5,890,748 2,862,086 14,618,891 144,262,146 119,063,492

Grandparents living with

grandchildren ......... 5,771,671 3,219,409 1,358,699 90,524 359,709 17,014 567,486 158,830 1,221,661 4,550,010 2,654,788

Percent of population

30 and over . . . . . . . 3.6 2.5 8.2 8.0 6.4 10.0 9.6 5.5 8.4 3.2 2.2

Responsible for grandchildren ............ 2,426,730 1,340,809 702,595 50,765 71,791 6,587 191,107 63,076 424,304 2,002,426 1,142,006

Percent of coresident

grandparents ...... 42.0 41.6 51.7 56.1 20.0 38.7 33.7 39.7 34.7 44.0 43.0

By duration of care

(percent)1

Total ............ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Less than 6 months. 12.1 12.6 9.8 13.0 13.6 12.7 15.6 13.5 14.6 11.5 12.4

6 to 11 months .... 10.8 11.6 9.3 10.5 11.0 8.4 11.4 11.2 11.2 10.7 11.6

1 to 2 years ...... 23.2 23.8 21.2 22.5 25.2 23.8 26.1 23.4 25.1 22.8 23.6

3 to 4 years ...... 15.4 15.8 14.6 13.9 17.6 11.7 15.7 16.0 15.8 15.3 15.7

5 years or more.... 38.5 36.3 45.2 40.0 32.7 43.3 31.1 35.9 33.3 39.6 36.6

1Percent duration based on grandparents responsible for grandchildren. Percent distribution may not sum to 100 percent because of rounding.

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

6 These data come from a special tabulation not shown in Figure 2. 
mentioned previously, such as

migration patterns and racial compositions in different areas.7 The

proportion of people aged 30 and

over in the United States who were

coresident grandparents ranged

from a high of 4.3 percent in the

West to a low of 2.7 percent in the

Midwest (Table 2). 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). 

The South had the highest percentage of grandparent caregivers 

(48 percent), while the Northeast

had the lowest (34 percent). At

the state level, the 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 were about 28 to 

31 percent, with Hawaii and

Massachusetts among the lowest.

For many grandparent

caregivers, this responsibility

is a long term commitment.

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 grandparent 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). 

Counties in the Midwest had

some of the lowest percentages

of coresident grandparents.

Counties in the Midwest and the

upper Northeast generally had the

lowest percentages of coresident

grandparents, while counties in the

South and the Southwest had the

highest percentages (Figure 3).

These differences are probably

related to the fact that higher proportions of non-Hispanic Whites

reside in the Midwest. As previously shown in Table 1, non-Hispanic

Whites had the lowest percentage of

coresident grandparents (2 percent).

Relatively high proportions of

coresident grandparents lived in

4 U.S. Census Bureau

Figure 2.

Length of Time Coresident Grandparents Were Responsible for 

Grandchildren by Age of Grandparents: 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000, Sample special tabulations. 

(Percent distribution. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, 

sampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Responsible 

less than 

1 year 13%

Responsible 

3 to 4 years

8%

Responsible

5 years or 

more 16%

Not

responsible

for

grandchild

50%

Not

responsible

for

grandchild

69%

30 to 59 years 60 years and over

Responsible 

1 to 2 years

13%

Responsible

less than

1 year 5%

Responsible 

3 to 4 years

4%

Responsible

5 years or 

more 17%

Responsible 

1 to 2 years

5%

7 The Northeast region includes the states

of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,

Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The

Midwest region includes the states of Illinois,

Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota,

Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio,

South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The South

region includes the states of Alabama,

Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi,

North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina,

Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and

the District of Columbia, a state equivalent.

The West region includes the states of Alaska,

Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho,

Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah,

Washington, and Wyoming.
U.S. Census Bureau 5

Table 2.

Selected Characteristics of Grandparents Living With Grandchildren for the United

States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: 2000

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Area

Grandparents living with

grandchildren Grandparents responsible for coresident grandchildren

Households with

grandparents living

with grandchildren

Number

Percent

of population

30 years

and over

Percent

responsible1

Percent distribution of time responsible2 Percent who were:2

Number

Percent

of all

households

Less

than 1

year

1 to 2

years

3 to 4

years

5 or

more

years

Householder

or spouse

Aged

60 and

over

In

poverty

Total in 1999

And

with no

parent

present3

United States . . . 5,771,671 3.6 42.0 22.9 23.2 15.4 38.5 93.8 34.0 29.1 18.8 4,104,201 3.9

Region

Northeast .......... 1,006,496 3.2 34.3 21.4 23.0 15.6 40.1 91.7 30.8 32.8 19.4 747,254 3.7

Midwest ........... 991,295 2.7 44.4 24.4 24.0 15.6 36.0 95.2 35.4 27.0 15.0 702,239 2.8

South ............. 2,302,754 4.1 48.3 21.9 22.6 15.1 40.5 95.1 36.8 28.0 21.4 1,632,248 4.3

West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,471,126 4.3 36.0 24.8 24.1 15.8 35.3 91.1 28.7 30.9 15.9 1,022,460 4.6

State

Alabama ........... 100,765 4.0 55.9 19.6 21.7 15.4 43.4 96.7 39.6 29.5 25.9 71,438 4.1

Alaska ............ 10,423 3.2 52.0 25.4 23.8 12.3 38.5 95.9 33.7 32.6 11.5 7,224 3.3

Arizona............ 114,990 4.1 45.4 24.4 26.4 17.0 32.2 93.8 27.4 25.9 19.6 79,651 4.2

Arkansas .......... 57,895 3.8 58.1 24.0 21.2 15.1 39.7 96.6 45.0 28.3 22.9 39,662 3.8

California .......... 928,290 5.1 31.8 23.9 23.5 16.0 36.6 89.0 25.4 32.9 16.2 650,257 5.6

Colorado........... 66,903 2.8 42.6 25.9 24.0 15.0 35.1 94.3 34.5 25.3 13.1 45,963 2.8

Connecticut......... 55,489 2.7 34.1 24.8 21.7 14.9 38.7 92.5 34.3 31.1 16.5 41,210 3.2

Delaware .......... 16,689 3.7 43.2 19.3 22.0 13.3 45.3 96.2 38.4 27.0 13.8 11,924 4.0

District of Columbia . . . 16,842 5.3 48.6 15.9 19.0 11.7 53.4 93.6 37.2 40.5 23.8 13,499 5.4

Florida ............ 345,949 3.5 42.7 22.4 22.8 15.1 39.7 93.3 35.2 31.4 18.9 251,851 4.0

Georgia ........... 193,825 4.4 47.6 22.2 22.5 14.7 40.6 94.9 36.1 25.9 20.5 139,832 4.6

Hawaii ............ 49,237 7.0 28.5 19.7 19.7 16.2 44.4 89.5 21.5 39.9 10.9 32,182 8.0

Idaho ............. 17,447 2.5 46.5 30.2 22.0 18.3 29.5 96.8 42.6 27.3 14.3 11,454 2.4

Illinois ............. 258,038 3.7 40.2 21.7 23.7 16.3 38.3 92.2 28.4 29.8 17.1 187,805 4.1

Indiana ............ 96,169 2.8 50.1 23.7 23.5 16.1 36.8 96.5 39.0 23.7 12.7 66,113 2.8

Iowa .............. 28,201 1.7 46.4 27.2 26.2 15.7 30.9 96.3 42.2 26.4 11.8 18,875 1.6

Kansas ............ 35,274 2.4 50.7 26.1 27.1 15.1 31.7 95.5 37.8 24.4 13.2 23,983 2.3

Kentucky........... 69,504 3.0 51.5 22.9 22.3 15.2 39.6 97.3 45.4 25.9 22.4 47,807 3.0

Louisiana .......... 122,240 5.1 54.9 21.2 23.0 14.6 41.1 96.1 33.5 27.4 30.3 88,135 5.3

Maine ............. 13,053 1.7 38.9 27.4 23.4 14.6 34.5 96.2 50.6 28.1 15.4 8,950 1.7

Maryland........... 125,697 4.1 40.6 18.7 19.9 16.0 45.4 93.4 33.9 30.7 13.9 92,764 4.7

Massachusetts ...... 98,325 2.6 28.4 21.4 24.4 16.9 37.3 92.5 31.7 29.3 15.7 71,744 2.9

Michigan........... 166,705 3.0 42.0 25.3 24.3 15.5 34.9 95.7 32.8 26.9 14.6 120,147 3.2

Minnesota.......... 45,217 1.6 39.1 28.7 26.5 14.9 29.9 95.1 33.9 23.8 10.4 31,569 1.7

Mississippi ......... 84,157 5.5 57.1 20.0 22.0 16.9 41.2 96.2 32.9 25.5 30.0 60,914 5.8

Missouri ........... 90,200 2.8 48.7 25.6 22.7 14.7 36.9 96.5 40.4 29.2 15.3 63,428 2.9

Montana ........... 11,098 2.1 54.5 28.5 25.0 13.4 33.0 97.0 40.0 31.1 20.4 7,483 2.1

Nebraska .......... 17,401 1.8 48.6 28.0 25.8 15.2 31.1 95.0 41.4 27.9 11.5 12,001 1.8

Nevada............ 45,286 4.0 41.3 25.1 25.5 14.9 34.4 91.9 33.2 29.2 11.1 32,295 4.3

New Hampshire ..... 14,660 2.0 30.9 25.6 27.3 12.3 34.8 96.3 39.8 24.2 8.2 10,283 2.2

New Jersey......... 185,771 3.7 31.6 19.8 21.3 16.2 42.7 89.6 27.3 35.5 15.8 138,638 4.5

New Mexico ........ 46,014 4.6 52.2 26.7 23.4 13.2 36.7 95.6 30.4 26.8 26.5 31,703 4.7

New York . . . . . . . . . . 412,000 3.8 34.7 20.7 23.0 15.5 40.8 89.8 27.8 34.4 23.2 311,524 4.4

North Carolina....... 160,576 3.5 49.7 20.0 21.7 15.4 42.9 95.7 42.6 28.2 19.4 113,952 3.6

North Dakota ....... 4,645 1.3 54.8 29.3 24.9 16.4 29.4 98.2 40.6 26.3 19.4 3,168 1.2

Ohio .............. 185,443 2.8 46.4 23.3 22.8 15.7 38.2 96.6 39.5 26.5 15.1 129,822 2.9

Oklahoma .......... 67,194 3.5 58.5 24.1 23.1 15.4 37.5 97.1 45.9 28.8 19.9 45,666 3.4

Oregon ............ 51,169 2.6 43.2 28.9 23.6 15.4 32.1 93.2 42.5 30.6 13.1 35,540 2.7

Pennsylvania ....... 204,909 2.8 39.2 21.9 23.5 15.3 39.3 95.4 35.0 30.4 18.5 148,794 3.1

Rhode Island ....... 16,957 2.8 29.8 25.7 25.0 15.0 34.3 93.9 36.3 29.7 16.7 12,281 3.0

South Carolina ...... 99,558 4.4 52.0 20.1 21.6 13.7 44.6 96.5 39.7 27.7 23.5 71,229 4.6

South Dakota ....... 8,019 1.9 57.8 27.3 21.2 13.2 38.3 96.7 38.2 28.1 28.8 5,683 2.0

Tennessee ......... 119,968 3.7 51.1 20.9 21.6 16.1 41.4 96.1 41.6 26.0 19.8 84,264 3.8

Texas ............. 551,047 5.1 46.7 24.0 24.1 15.1 36.8 94.2 31.6 26.4 21.9 379,217 5.1

Utah .............. 39,564 3.9 40.4 28.4 27.8 14.0 29.8 95.8 27.7 27.2 8.8 25,511 3.6

Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . 5,332 1.5 36.3 26.9 25.6 12.6 35.0 96.2 48.6 30.0 10.1 3,830 1.6

Virginia ............ 140,015 3.4 42.5 20.4 22.3 15.0 42.3 94.9 39.3 29.0 15.0 99,528 3.7

Washington......... 84,592 2.5 41.8 26.7 25.9 16.7 30.7 93.3 38.3 28.3 13.9 59,147 2.6

West Virginia........ 30,833 2.8 52.4 22.3 23.4 13.9 40.4 97.6 42.3 27.3 22.6 20,566 2.8

Wisconsin .......... 55,983 1.8 42.3 27.8 27.1 14.8 30.3 94.9 34.8 23.1 15.4 39,645 1.9

Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . 6,113 2.2 58.6 30.5 20.9 15.5 33.1 95.8 38.3 26.0 12.9 4,050 2.1

Puerto Rico ........ 133,881 6.7 52.5 19.1 21.0 15.1 44.8 96.4 26.9 33.6 58.3 92,568 7.3

1

Percent based on all grandparents living with grandchildren.

2

Percent based on all grandparents responsible for coresident grandchildren.

3

No parent present is defined as a household where the grandparent is the householder or spouse, a person under 18 is the grandchild of the householder,

and no adult child of the householder is present in the household.

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

Grandparents Living With Grandchildren: 2000 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3. American Factfinder at factfinder.census.gov provides census data and mapping tools. (Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf) Figure 3. 0 100 Miles 0 100 Miles 

0 100 Miles U.S. p

U.S. perc
the Mississippi delta area. It also

is a part of the country with relatively high proportions of nonmarital births, which may be associated

with mothers and their children living with the mother’s parents.8

High percentages of coresident

grandparents were also noted in

the Southwest and the coastal

areas of the West. These areas

have large immigrant populations

from Asia and Latin America, who

may live in extended family situations that increase the likelihood of

households with coresident grandparents. Some other counties with

relatively high percentages are

noted in North Dakota, South

Dakota, Montana, Arizona, and

New Mexico, which contain

American Indian reservations.

San Diego, California, had 

the lowest percentage of

coresident grandparents

among the ten largest cities 

in the United States.

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 (Table 3). San

Diego also had one of the highest

percentages of non-Hispanic

Whites among the ten largest cities

(49 percent), and nationally, nonHispanic Whites (aged 30 and over)

had the lowest percentage of

coresident grandparents.9

Los Angeles, which had one of the

lowest percentages of grandparent

caregivers, also had one of the

highest percentages of Asians

among the ten largest 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. 

ADDITIONAL FINDINGS

What are the age and sex

distributions of coresident

grandparents?

Of the 5.8 million coresident

grandparents in 2000, 64 percent

were women (Table 4). 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.

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 

U.S. Census Bureau 7

Table 3.

Selected Characteristics of Grandparents Living With Grandchildren for the

Ten Largest Cities: 2000

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

City

Population Grandparents living

with grandchildren Coresident grandparents responsible for grandchildren

Total

30 years

and over Number

Percent of

population

30 years

and over Number

Percent of

coresident

grandparents

Responsible 5 or

more years

Number

Percent of

grandparent

caregivers

New York, NY. ....... 8,008,278 4,498,961 229,133 5.1 83,946 36.6 35,626 42.4

Los Angeles, CA ..... 3,694,834 1,926,225 107,586 5.6 30,511 28.4 11,184 36.7

Chicago, IL .......... 2,895,964 1,502,733 101,234 6.7 41,328 40.8 17,670 42.8

Houston, TX ......... 1,954,848 995,311 57,190 5.7 25,347 44.3 10,449 41.2

Philadelphia, PA...... 1,517,550 826,209 51,159 6.2 21,123 41.3 9,133 43.2

Phoenix, AZ ......... 1,320,994 666,219 32,129 4.8 13,262 41.3 4,323 32.6

San Diego, CA....... 1,223,341 656,178 28,945 4.4 8,840 30.5 3,072 34.8

Dallas, TX ........... 1,188,204 592,605 32,640 5.5 15,019 46.0 5,791 38.6

San Antonio, TX...... 1,144,554 592,379 37,267 6.3 15,075 40.5 5,515 36.6

Detroit, MI . .......... 951,270 475,496 38,775 8.2 17,086 44.1 6,827 40.0

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

8 Joyce A. Martin, Brady A. Hamilton,

Stephanie J. Ventura, Fay Menacker, and

Melissa A. Park, “Births: Final Data for 2000,”

National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 50, No.

5. National Center for Health Statistics,

Hyattsville, MD, 2002, Table 19.

9 Data on the percent distribution of the

total population by race and Hispanic origin

come from Table DP-1, “Profile of

Demographic Characteristics: 2000,” in the

Demographic Profiles. To find this table,

visit our Web site at factfinder.census.gov. 
(32 percent). Those aged 80 and

over made up only 4 percent of

coresident grandparents.

In general, the age distribution of

grandparent caregivers was

younger than that of coresident

grandparents not responsible for

grandchildren. Seven percent of

grandparent caregivers were aged

30 to 39, whereas 35 percent were

aged 50 to 59, and only 1 percent

were aged 80 and over.

The age distribution of grandparent caregivers varied with the

length of time responsible. For

example, caregivers aged 30 to 39

accounted for 15 percent of durations under 6 months and only 

1 percent of durations of 5 years

or more. In contrast, the corresponding proportions for caregivers aged 60 to 69 accounted for

13 percent of durations under 

6 months and 30 percent of durations of 5 years or more. 

Are grandparent caregivers more

likely to be the householder/

spouse or another relative of the

householder? What proportion 

of grandparent caregivers who

are householders or spouses 

live without the parents of 

the grandchildren — the 

middle generation?

In Census 2000, a householder was

defined as the person, or one of the

people, in whose name the home is

owned or rented. The vast majority

(94 percent) of grandparent caregivers were either the householder

or the spouse of the householder

(Table 2). 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.”10

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). Among

8 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 4.

Grandparents Living With Grandchildren, Responsible for Coresident Grandchildren,

and Duration of Responsibility by Sex and Age: 2000

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Characteristic

Total

Sex Age

Male Female 30 to 39 40 to 49 50 to 59 60 to 69 70 to 79

80 and

over

Grandparents living with

grandchildren ............ 5,771,671 2,054,842 3,716,829 269,694 1,360,278 1,824,500 1,378,378 733,440 205,381

Not responsible for grandchildren. . ..................... 3,344,941 1,149,167 2,195,774 108,042 652,229 973,623 869,621 560,969 180,457

Responsible for grandchildren .... 2,426,730 905,675 1,521,055 161,652 708,049 850,877 508,757 172,471 24,924

Percent Distribution1

Grandparents living with grandchildren. . ..................... 100.0 35.6 64.4 4.7 23.6 31.6 23.9 12.7 3.6

Not responsible for grandchildren..................... 100.0 34.4 65.6 3.2 19.5 29.1 26.0 16.8 5.4

Responsible for grandchildren . . 100.0 37.3 62.7 6.7 29.2 35.1 21.0 7.1 1.0

Percent Distribution1 by

Duration of Time Responsible

Less than 6 months ............. 100.0 38.4 61.6 14.8 39.4 27.9 12.9 4.3 0.7

6 to 11 months . . ............... 100.0 38.7 61.3 11.9 37.3 30.7 14.8 4.6 0.6

1 to 2 years . . . ................. 100.0 38.3 61.7 10.5 37.8 31.6 15.0 4.5 0.6

3 to 4 years . . . ................. 100.0 38.0 62.0 5.0 32.8 36.0 19.4 6.0 0.9

5 years or more ................ 100.0 35.7 64.3 1.0 17.1 40.3 29.5 10.7 1.5

1

Percentages are based on the totals in the first column. Percent distribution may not sum to 100 percent because of rounding.

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

10 This terminology is more fully

described in: Esme Fuller-Thomson, Meredith

Minkler, and Diane Driver, “A Profile of

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren in the

United States,” The Gerontologist, Vol. 37, 

No. 3, (1997), pp. 406-411.
the states, Hawaii had the lowest

percentage (22 percent). This low

percentage coincides with Hawaii’s

below-average percentage of

grandparent caregivers (29 percent). Grandparents are probably

less likely to be responsible for

grandchildren if the grandchildren’s

parents are present.

How many grandparent

caregivers were in poverty? 

The 1996 PRWORA, which was

designed to address elements of

the welfare system of the country,

directed the Census Bureau to ask

questions on grandparents in

Census 2000. Earlier research suggests that grandparent-maintained

families are more likely to be poor

than parent-maintained families

containing grandparents and grandchildren.11 Census 2000 showed

that, on average, 19 percent of

grandparent caregivers had incomes

below the poverty level in the

United States in 1999. While not a

direct comparison, only 14 percent

of families with related children

were living in poverty.12

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.

How many households

contained coresident

grandparents?

The number of households with

coresident grandparents is different from the number of people

who are coresident grandparents.

In 2000, 4.1 million households

included coresident grandparents,

but these households contained

5.8 million coresident grandparents (Table 2). In other words,

some households had more than

one grandparent (for example,

households where a grandparent

was married and living with a

spouse who was also a grandparent). Among households with

coresident grandparents, 59 percent had only one grandparent

present, 40 percent had two, and

only 0.6 percent had three or

more.13

Households where grandparents

lived with at least one grandchild

under 18 represented 3.9 percent

of all households in 2000.

Although more households with

coresident grandparents were in

the South (1.6 million) than in the

other regions, the highest percentage of households with coresident

grandparents was in the West 

(4.6 percent). The state with the

highest proportion of households

with coresident grandparents in

2000 was Hawaii, at 8 percent. In

North Dakota, only 1 percent of all

households were this type. 

FUTURE DATA 

ON GRANDPARENT

CAREGIVERS

The data presented here do not

show whether or not grandparent

caregiving is a growing trend

because this question was asked

for the first time in Census 2000.

However, annual data from the

American Community Survey,

which includes the same series of

questions, provides information on

trends in this type of living

arrangement. These data are available at www.census.gov/acs/www/.

ABOUT CENSUS 2000

Why did Census 2000 

ask about grandparents 

as caregivers?

The Personal Responsibility and

Work Opportunity Reconciliation

Act of 1996 (13 U.S.C., Chapter 5,

Section 142), passed in the 104th

Congress, required the Census

Bureau to obtain information about

grandparents who have primary

responsibility for the care of their

grandchildren. To distinguish

between households in which a

grandparent temporarily provides a

home for a grandchild and households in which a grandparent provides shelter and care on a longterm basis, an additional question

asked about the duration of time

that this care had been provided.

Accuracy of the Estimates

The data contained in this report

are based on the sample of households who responded to the

Census 2000 long form.

Nationally, approximately 1 out of

every 6 housing units was included

in this sample. As a result, the

sample estimates may differ somewhat from the 100-percent figures

that would have been obtained if

all housing units, people within

those housing units, and people

living in group quarters had been

enumerated using the same questionnaires, instructions, enumerators, and so forth. The sample

estimates also differ from the values that would have been obtained

from different samples of housing

units, people within those housing

units, and people living in group

quarters. The deviation of a sample estimate from the average of

all possible samples is called the

sampling error. 

In addition to the variability that

arises from the sampling procedures, both sample data and 

U.S. Census Bureau 9

11 Ken Bryson, and Lynne M. Casper,

Coresident Grandparents and Grandchildren,

U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population

Reports, Special Studies, P23-198, U.S.

Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 1999. 12 These data come from Table P90,

“Poverty Status in 1999 of Families by Family

Type by Presence of Related Children Under

18 Years by Age of Related Children,” in

Summary File 3. To find this table, visit our

Web site at factfinder.census.gov.

13 These data come from a special tabulation not shown in the tables of this report.
100-percent data are subject to

nonsampling error. Nonsampling

error may be introduced during

any of the various complex operations used to collect and process

data. Such errors may include:

not enumerating every household

or every person in the population,

failing to obtain all required information from the respondents,

obtaining incorrect or inconsistent

information, and recording information incorrectly. In addition,

errors can occur during the field

review of the enumerators’ work,

during clerical handling of the

census questionnaires, or during

the electronic processing of 

the questionnaires.

Nonsampling error may affect the

data in two ways: (1) errors that are

introduced randomly will increase

the variability of the data and,

therefore, should be reflected in the

standard errors; and (2) errors that

tend to be consistent in one direction will bias both sample and 

100-percent data in that direction.

For example, if respondents consistently tend to underreport their

incomes, then the resulting estimates of households or families by

income category will tend to be

understated for the higher income

categories and overstated for the

lower income categories. Such

biases are not reflected in the

standard errors.

While it is impossible to completely

eliminate error from an operation

as large and complex as the decennial census, the Census Bureau

attempts to control the sources of

such error during the data collection and processing operations.

The primary sources of error and

the programs instituted to control

error in Census 2000 are described

in detail in Summary File 3

Technical Documentation under

Chapter 8, “Accuracy of the Data,”

located at www.census.gov/prod

/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf.

All statements in this Census 2000

Brief have undergone statistical

testing and all comparisons are

significant at the 90-percent confidence level, unless otherwise

noted. The estimates in tables,

maps, and other figures may vary

from actual values due to sampling

and nonsampling errors. As a

result, estimates in one category

may not be significantly different

from estimates assigned to a different category. Further information on the accuracy of the data is

located at www.census.gov/prod

/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf. For further

information on the computation

and use of standard errors, contact

the Decennial Statistical Studies

Division at 301-763-4242. 

For More Information

The Census 2000 Summary File 3

data are available from the

American FactFinder on the Internet

(factfinder.census.gov). Data on

grandparents as caregivers from

Census 2000 Summary File 3 were

released on a state-by-state basis

during 2002. For information on

confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, sampling error, and definitions, also see www.census.gov

/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf or contact the Customer Services Center

at 301-763-INFO (4636).

Information on population and

housing topics is presented in the

Census 2000 Brief series, located

on the Census Bureau’s Web site at

www.census.gov/population/www

/cen2000/briefs.html. This series

presents information on race,

Hispanic origin, age, sex, household type, housing tenure, and

social, economic, and housing

characteristics, such as ancestry,

income, and housing costs.

For additional information on

grandparents and grandchildren in

the United States, visit the Census

Bureau’s Internet site at 

www.census.gov/population/www

/socdemo/grandparents.html. To

find information about the availability of data products, including

reports, CD-ROMs, and DVDs, call

the Customer Services Center at

301-763-INFO (4636), or e-mail

webmaster@census.gov.

10 U.S. Census Bureau