A Report on the Status of Ohio
Bulletin 881
December 1999
Families
The traditional family-married couple with children-has begun to stabilize as a percentage of all families in the 1990s (U.S. Census Bureau, 1998). Single parent families-families who have a mother or a father with no spouse present-have slowed (Commerce Department, Household & Family Characteristics, 1997). A family is defined as two or more people living together, who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption, one of whom is the householder. Married couples with their own children (including step and adopted children) make up 25% of all households. A household is a person or group of people who occupy a housing unit. Currently, there are 2.64 people per household with 51% of all families having no children under 18 years of age (Commerce Department, Housing & Family Characteristics, 1997). Twenty-eight percent of families with children were maintained by one parent (Commerce Department, Household & Family Characteristics, 1997).
| Ohio Household Types | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 1990 | |
| Total Population | 10,797,603 | 10,847,115 |
| Family Households | 69% | 65% |
| Total Families | 2,683,947 | 2,915,439 |
| Family Household Types: | ||
| Married Couples | ||
| With children under 18 | 32% | 26% |
| Without children | 30% | 31% |
| Single Head of Household | ||
| With children under 18 | 7% | 8% |
| Without children | 5% | 6% |
| Nonfamily Households | 25% | 29% |
| Total Households | 3,834,529 | 4,089,312 |
| U.S. Bureau of the Census,
Household & Family Characteristics, 1997 |
||
The majority of Ohioans live in family households although there was a decline in the percentage of families as a part of total households from 1980 to 1990 (Table 2). While the percentage of Ohioans living in family households has decreased, the number of Ohioans living in nonfamily households increased. Nonfamily households are defined as people living alone or living with nonrelatives, which indicates an increase in young people and older single people living on their own. Single head of household families also increased slightly from 1980 to 1990. Total families increased by approximately 9% while total households increased by approximately 7%. The increase in the number of households depends on population growth, changes in the age of the population, and various living arrangements. The growth in households adds to the demand for good and services (Department of Commerce, Household & Family Characteristics, 1997).
The average percentage of births to teenagers from 10-19 years of age was 13.3% (Ohio Department of Health, Figure 19). The teen birth percentage is calculated by dividing the number of live births to mothers 10-19 years of age by the total number of live births in Ohio as of 1997. The counties with the highest percentage of births to teen mothers were rural Appalachian counties with the exceptions of Williams, Marion, and Clark. Holmes County had the lowest percentage of teen births with 4.4%, while Adams County had the highest percentage of births to teen mothers at 22.6%. Most of the counties with a low percentage of births to teen mothers were located near a major city.
Figure 19
Approximately one fifth of all Ohio households were headed by single females who had at least one child under the age of 18 as of 1990 (Figure 20). Figure 20 shows the percent of single, female heads of households out of the total number of family households with children under the age of 18. Counties with the highest percent of single, female heads of households were generally located in a major urban area.
In 1980 Ohio had an average state percentage of 15% of single, female heads of households with one or more children under the age of 18, so the state of Ohio increased in this type of household by 19% from 1980 to 1990. In 1980, the total number of family households with a single, female head of household with one or more children under the age of 18 was 227,272, and for 1990 the same type of household increased to 270,002.
Figure 20
A little less than half of the children under 18 lived with both parents who were both in the labor force as of 1990 (Figure 21). Nationally, the proportion of children living with two parents declined from 87% in 1970 to 72% in 1990 (U.S. Census). The lowest percentage of children living with both parents occurred in the Appalachian region and in the counties having a major city resides. The northwest region of the state had the highest percentage of children under 18 living with both parents who were both in the labor force. Contiguous counties to the major cities, with the exception of Youngstown, all had some counties in the 50% to 66% range.
The average weekly cost of child care in Ohio was $85.00 in 1994 (Figure 22). This state average was based on the market rate calculations by the Ohio Department of Human Services. The cost of child care was calculated upon full-time center-based child care for preschool-aged children. Overall, the cost of child care in Ohio increased by 8% between 1991 and 1994 (Helping Families Work, Children's Defense Fund-Ohio). The average weekly cost of child care nationally was $92 as of 1990. In general, the counties with a major city and contiguous counties had the highest weekly child care costs, while the western and southern regions of the state had the lowest weekly child care costs.
