Marriage Reduces Child Poverty 87% in Wyoming

Marriage:
Wyoming’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 Wyoming, 1929–2010
Throughout most of Wyoming’s PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK
history, out-of-wedlock childbear-
ing was rare. 50%

When the federal government’s 45%
War on Poverty began in 1964,
only 3.7 percent of children in 40%
Wyoming were born out of wed-
lock. However, over the next four 35% 34.0%
decades, the number rose rapidly.
By 2010, 34 percent of births in 30%
Wyoming occurred outside of
marriage. 25%

20%

Note: Initiated by President Lyndon 15%
Johnson in 1964, the War on Poverty
led to the creation of more than three 10%
dozen welfare programs to aid poor
persons. Government has spent $16.7
trillion on means-tested aid to the poor 5%
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 Wyoming heritage.org

Death of Marriage in Wyoming, 1929–2010
The marital birth rate — the PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN TO MARRIED COUPLES
percentage of all births that occur
to married parents — is the ﬂip 100%
side of the out-of-wedlock birth
rate.
Through most of the 20th cen- 90%
tury, marital births were the norm
in Wyoming. In 1964, over 96
percent of births occurred to
married couples. 80%
However, in the mid-1960s, the
marital birth rate began to fall
steadily. By 2010, only 66 percent
70%
of births in Wyoming occurred to
married couples. 66.0%

60%
Note: In any given year, the sum of the
out-of-wedlock birth rate (Chart 1)
and the marital birth rate (Chart 2)
equals 100 percent of all births.
50%
Sources: U.S. Government, U.S. Census
Bureau, and National Center for Health 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Statistics.


In Wyoming, Marriage Drops the Probability of Child Poverty
by 87 Percent
The rapid rise in out-of-wedlock PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN THAT ARE POOR
childbearing is a major cause of 35%
high levels of child poverty in 32.5%
Wyoming.
30%
Some 32.5 percent of single
mothers with children are poor
compared to 4.2 percent of mar- 25%
ried couples with children.
Single-parent families with 20%
children are eight times more
likely to be poor than families in
which the parents are married. 15%

The higher poverty rate among
single-mother families is due both 10%
to the lower education levels of
the mothers and the lower income 4.2%
5%
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 Wyoming, Three in Ten Families with Children Are Not Married

Overall, married couples head
about seven in ten families with
children in Wyoming. Over three
in ten are single-parent families.

Unmarried
Families
30.5%
Married
Families
69.5%

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


In Wyoming, 72 Percent of Poor Families with Children Are Not Married

Among poor families with
children in Wyoming, nearly
three-quarters are not married. By
contrast, 27.7 percent of poor
families with children are headed
by married couples. Married
Families
27.7%
Unmarried
Families
72.3%



In Wyoming, 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 8.3 percent of
out-of-wedlock births in Wyoming Under
occur to girls under age 18. Age 18:
By contrast, some 79 percent of 8.3%
out-of-wedlock births occur to
Age
young adult women between the 30–54:
ages of 18 and 29. 13.1%
Age
18–19:
17.0%
Age
25–29:
21.6%

Age
20–24:
40.0%

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 PERCENTAGE OF BIRTHS THAT ARE MARITAL
most frequently among the OR OUT OF WEDLOCK
women who will have the greatest 100%
6.4% Unmarried
difﬁculty supporting children by Mothers
themselves: those with low levels 90%
27.5%
of education. 80%
In Wyoming, among women 48.6%
who are high school dropouts, 70%
64.5%
about 64.5 percent of all births 60% Married
occur outside marriage. Among 93.6%
Mothers
women who have only a high 50%
school diploma, nearly half of all
40%
births occur outside marriage. By 72.5%
contrast, among women with at 30%
least a college degree, only 6.4 51.4%
percent of births are out of wed- 20%
35.5%
lock.
10%

0%
High School High School Some College Mother’s
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Dropout Graduate College Graduate education
Human Services, Centers for Disease (0–11 (12 (13–15 (16+ level
data. Years) Years) Years) Years)


Both Marriage and Education Are Highly Effective
in Reducing Child Poverty in Wyoming
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.
60%
This is true even when the married
couple is compared to single par-
ents with the same education level. 50% 48.4%
For example, in Wyoming, the
poverty rate for a single mother 40%
35.4%
who has only a high school
diploma is 35.4 percent, but the 30%
poverty rate for a married couple
22.3%
family headed by an individual 19.7%
20%
who, similarly, has only a high
school degree is far lower at
3.2 percent. 10% 8.6%
3.2% 4.9%
On average, marriage drops the 1.4%
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 Wyoming
Out-of-wedlock childbearing PERCENT OF BIRTHS THAT ARE OUT OF WEDLOCK
varies by race.
70%
In 2008, 34.6 percent of all
births in Wyoming occurred out- 8.3%
side marriage. The rate was lowest 60% 56.9%
among non-Hispanic whites.
Among that group, three in ten 51.2%
births were non-marital. 50%
Among Hispanics, over half of
births were out of wedlock. 40%
Among blacks, 56.9 percent were 34.6%
to unmarried women. 30.0%
30%

20%

10%

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


Racial Composition of All Births and Out-of-Wedlock Births in Wyoming
In Wyoming in 2008, some ALL BIRTHS OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS
79.9 percent of all births occurred
to non-Hispanic whites, 13.4
percent occurred to Hispanics, and
3.3 percent occurred to American
Indians.
Because Hispanics and Ameri-
can Indians are more likely to have 79.9% White Non- 69.3%
children without being married, Hispanic
they account for a larger share of
all out-of-wedlock births. Even so,
most unwed births are to white
non-Hispanic women.
In Wyoming in 2008, 69.3
percent of all non-marital births
were to non-Hispanic whites, 19.7
percent were to Hispanic women, 19.7%
and 7 percent were to American 13.4% Hispanic
Indians. 7.0%
3.3% American Indian

1.0% Asian/Pacific Islander 0.7%
0.7% Black Non-Hispanic 1.2%
Source: U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Centers for Disease 1.7% Not Stated/Other 2.1%
data. Note: Figures have been rounded.


Non-Married White Families Are Ten Times More Likely to Be Poor
in Wyoming
Marriage leads to lower poverty PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
rates for whites, Hispanics, and
American Indians.
30%
For example, in 2009, the pov-
erty rate for married white families 25.2%
in Wyoming was 2.5 percent. But 25%
the poverty rate for non-married
white families was ten times
higher at 25.2 percent. 20%

15%

10%

5%
2.5%

0%
Married Families Non-Married Families


Non-Married Hispanic Families Are Three Times More Likely to Be Poor
in Wyoming
In 2009, the poverty rate for PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
Hispanic married families in Wyo-
ming was 8.4 percent, while the
25%
poverty rate among non-married 23.4%
families was nearly three times
higher at 23.4 percent.
20%

15%

10%
8.4%

5%

0%


Non-Married American Indian Families Are More Than Four Times
More Likely to Be Poor in Wyoming
In 2009, the poverty rate for PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
married American Indian families
in Wyoming was 8.2 percent,
40%
while the poverty rate among
non-married families was over 35.3%
four times higher at 35.3 percent. 35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10% 8.2%

5%

0%


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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Marriage Reduces Child Poverty 87% in Wyoming

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