Table 4.
Demographic characteristic of cohabitors by type of cohabiting union
| Unmarried Partner Unionsa (%) |
Newly Identified Householder Unionsb(%) |
Subfamily Unionsc (%) |
Total(%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Couple Age Distribution | ||||
| Age of younger partner | ||||
| 15–19 years | 3.8 | 3.8 | 19.0* | 4.8 |
| 20–29 | 45.6 | 40.0* | 56.9* | 45.7 |
| 30–39 | 21.5 | 19.5 | 12.9* | 20.7 |
| 40–49 | 16.8 | 18.7 | 8.5* | 16.5 |
| 50+ years | 12.3 | 18.0* | 2.7* | 12.3 |
| Female is older | 27.2 | 32.3* | 24.0 | 27.6 |
| Marital Status | ||||
| Both never married | 48.9 | 42.3* | 69.4* | 49.5 |
| One partner ever-married | 23.0 | 24.8 | 19.4 | 23.0 |
| Both ever-married | 28.1 | 32.9* | 11.2* | 27.5 |
| Race, Ethnicity, and Nativity | ||||
| Hispanic origin | ||||
| Neither Hispanic | 81.4 | 83.3 | 76.3* | 81.3 |
| One partner Hispanic | 8.2 | 9.6 | 6.6 | 8.2 |
| Both Hispanic | 10.5 | 7.0* | 17.1* | 10.5 |
| Couple race | ||||
| Both American Indian | 0.9 | 0.3* | 1.9 | 0.9 |
| American Indian and White | 0.9 | 1.3 | 2.3* | 1.0 |
| Both Asian | 1.6 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 1.6 |
| Asian and White | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.8 |
| Both Black | 10.8 | 11.9 | 6.4* | 10.6 |
| Black and White | 3.7 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 3.6 |
| Both White | 79.9 | 79.5 | 82.0 | 80.0 |
| Other | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.4 |
| Either partner is foreign born | 14.2 | 12.4 | 16.1 | 14.1 |
| Additional Characteristics | ||||
| Residential history | ||||
| Neither moved | 68.6 | 65.7 | 67.6 | 68.2 |
| Both moved | 25.7 | 26.7 | 18.2* | 25.3 |
| Different history | 5.8 | 7.6 | 14.2* | 6.5 |
| Metropolitan area | 82.4 | 84.9 | 79.2 | 82.5 |
| Region | ||||
| New England | 4.9 | 5.1 | 5.8 | 5.0 |
| Mid-Atlantic | 12.5 | 11.4 | 9.1* | 12.1 |
| East North Central | 15.9 | 15.2 | 18.5 | 16.0 |
| West North Central | 7.7 | 9.6 | 5.7* | 7.8 |
| South Atlantic | 19.1 | 21.2 | 14.5* | 19.0 |
| East South Central | 5.4 | 6.3 | 5.1 | 5.5 |
| West South Central | 9.0 | 9.6 | 10.9 | 9.2 |
| Mountain | 8.0 | 8.5 | 7.1 | 8.0 |
| Pacific | 17.6 | 13.1* | 23.4* | 17.5 |
| Survey year | ||||
| 2007 | 24.6 | 23.9 | 22.2 | 24.4 |
| 2008 | 50.4 | 52.6 | 48.4 | 50.5 |
| 2009 | 25.0 | 23.5 | 29.4 | 25.1 |
| Unweighted n (couples) | 7334 | 936 | 524 | 8,794 |
Note: The unit of analysis is the couple.
a
Unions between the householder and a person identified as their unmarried partner.
b
Newly identified unions between the householder and a person identified as a roommate or other nonrelative.
c
Newly identified unions between two persons who are not householders.
Source: Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey, 2007–2009.
*
Significantly different from estimate for unmarried partners (p < .05)