Marriage & Poverty: Alabama

Marriage:
Alabama’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 • January 2012

Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society

Growth of Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing in Alabama, 1929–2010
Throughout most of Alabama’s PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK
history, out-of-wedlock childbear-
ing was rare. 50%

When the federal government’s
War on Poverty began in 1964, 41.9%
only 12 percent of children in 40%
Alabama were born out of wed-
lock. However, over the next four
decades, the number rose rapidly.
By 2010, over four in ten births in 30%
Alabama occurred outside of
marriage.

20%

Note: Initiated by President Lyndon
Johnson in 1963, 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
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 Alabama heritage.org

Death of Marriage in Alabama, 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 side 100%
of the out-of-wedlock birth rate.
Through most of the 20th cen-
tury, marital births were the norm 90%
in Alabama. In 1964, more than
88 percent of births occurred to
married couples.
However, in the mid-1960s, 80%
the marital birth rate began to fall
steadily. By 2010, only 58.1 per-
cent of births in Alabama occurred
to married couples. 70%

60%
Note: In any given year, the sum of the
out-of-wedlock birth rate (Chart 1) 58.1%
and the marital birth rate (Chart 2)
equals 100 percent of all births.
50%
Statistics.


In Alabama, Marriage Drops the Probability of Child Poverty
by 83 Percent
The rapid rise in out-of- PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN THAT ARE POOR
wedlock childbearing is a major 50%
cause of high levels of child pov- 45.1%
erty in Alabama.
Some 45.1 percent of single
40%
mothers with children were poor
compared to 7.6 percent of mar-
ried couples with children.
Single-parent families with 30%
children are about six times more
likely to be poor than families in
which the parents are married. 20%
The higher poverty rate among
single-mother families is due both
to the lower education levels of
10% 7.6%
the mothers and the lower income
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 Alabama, Over One-Third of All Families with Children
Are Not Married
Overall, married couples head
less than two-thirds of families
with children in Alabama. Well
over one-third are single-parent
families.

Unmarried
Families
37.4%
Married
Families
62.6%

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


In Alabama, 76 Percent of Poor Families with Children Are Not Married

Among poor families with
children in Alabama, 76 percent
are not married. By contrast, only
one-quarter of poor families with
children are headed by married Married
couples. Families
24%

Unmarried
Families
76%



In Alabama, 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 9.4 percent of
out-of-wedlock births in Alabama Under
occur to girls under age 18. Age 18:
By contrast, some 79 percent of 9.4%
out-of-wedlock births occur to Age
young adult women between the 30–54:
ages of 18 and 29. 12.0%
Age
18–19:
Age 17.1%
25–29:
20.9%

Age
20–24:
40.6%
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 most PERCENTAGE OF BIRTHS THAT ARE MARITAL
frequently among the women who OR OUT OF WEDLOCK
will have the greatest difﬁculty sup- 100%
8.1% Unmarried
porting children by themselves: those
90%
Mothers
with low levels of education.
In the U.S., among women who are 42.0%
80%
high school dropouts, about 65.2 54.5%
percent of all births occur outside 70%
65.2%
marriage. Among women who have
60%
only a high school diploma, well over 91.9%
half of all births occur outside mar- 50%
Married
riage. By contrast, among women Mothers
with at least a college degree, only 8.1 40%
58.0%
percent of births are out of wedlock. 30%
45.5%
Note: Specific data on out-of-wedlock
births and maternal education are not 20%
available in Alabama. However, the 34.8%
pattern varies little between states. 10%
Alabama data will be very similar to the
national data presented in this chart. 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 Alabama
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- 50.5% 49.8%
ents with the same education level. 50%

For example, in Alabama, the
poverty rate for a single mother 40% 37.0%
who has only a high school
diploma is 49.8 percent, but the 30% 26.9%
poverty rate for a married couple
family headed by an individual
20%
who, similarly, has only a high
school degree is far lower at 9.7 10.9%
10%
9.7%
percent.
5.1%
On average, marriage drops the 1.5%
poverty rate by about 79 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 Alabama
Out-of-wedlock childbearing PERCENT OF BIRTHS THAT ARE OUT OF WEDLOCK
varies considerably by race.
80%
In 2008, four in ten births (39.9
8.3% 72.9%
percent) in Alabama occurred
outside marriage. The rate was 70%
lowest among Hispanics at nearly
one in four births (24.1 percent). 60%
Among non-Hispanic whites, well
over one-quarter of births were
50%
out-of-wedlock. Among blacks,
over seven in every ten births were 39.9%
to unmarried women (72.9 per- 40%
cent).
30%
25.6% 24.1%
20%

10%

0%
Source: U.S. Department of Health and All Races White Hispanic Black
Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS Non- Non-
data. Hispanic Hispanic


Growth of Unwed Childbearing by Race in Alabama, 1929–2008
Historically, out-of-wedlock PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK
childbearing has been somewhat
more frequent among blacks than 80%
among whites. However, prior to Black Non-
the onset of the federal Hispanic
70%
government’s War on Poverty in 72.9%
1964, the rates for both whites and
blacks were comparatively low. 60%

In 1964, one out of ﬁfty, or 2
percent of white children, were 50%
born outside marriage. By 2008,
the number had risen to over one 40%
in four (25.6 percent).
In 1964, three in ten black 30% White Non-
children (29.5 percent) were born Hispanic
outside marriage. By 2008, the 25.6%
number had risen to over seven in 20%
ten (72.9 percent).
10%
Note: No data is available for 1979.
0%
Statistics.


Racial Composition of All Births and Out-of-Wedlock Births in Alabama
In Alabama in 2008, some 59.1
percent of all births (both marital
and non-marital) occurred to ALL BIRTHS OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS
non-Hispanic whites, 30.9 percent
to non-Hispanic blacks, and 8.3
percent occurred to Hispanics.
Because black and Hispanic
people are more likely to have 37.9%
White Non-
children without being married, a Hispanic
disproportionate share of all out- 59.1%
of-wedlock births occur to those
groups. Nonetheless, the largest
number of out-of-wedlock births
still occur to white non-Hispanic
women
In Alabama in 2008, 37.9 per-
56.3%
cent of all non-marital births were Black Non-
to non-Hispanic whites, 56.3 Hispanic
percent were to black non- 30.9%
Hispanic women, and 5 percent
were to Hispanics. Hispanic
8.3%
Source: U.S. Department of Health and 1.7% Asian/Other 5.0% 0.8%
data. Note: Figures have been rounded.


Non-Married White Families Are Six Times More Likely to Be Poor
in Alabama
Marriage leads to lower poverty PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
rates for whites, blacks, and His-
panics in Alabama.
30%
For example, in 2009, the pov-
26.5%
erty rate for married white families
in Alabama was 4.5 percent. But 25%
the poverty rate for non-married
white families was nearly six times
higher at 26.5 percent. 20%

15%

10%

5%
4.5%

0%
Married Families Non-Married Families


Non-Married Black Families Are Five Times More Likely to Be Poor
in Alabama
In 2009, the poverty rate for PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
married black couples in Alabama
was 8.1 percent, while the poverty
50%
rate for non-married black families
was ﬁve times higher at 43.1 45% 43.1%
percent.
40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10% 8.1%

5%

0%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Married Families Non-Married Families
Community Survey, 2007– 2009 data.


Non-Married Hispanic Families Are Twice as Likely to Be Poor
in Alabama
In 2009, the poverty rate for PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR
Hispanic married families in Ala-
bama was 22.7 percent, while the
60%
poverty rate among non-married
families was two times higher at
50.4%
50.4 percent. 50%

40%

30%
22.7%
20%

10%

0%
Married Families Non-Married Families


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.

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Foundation’s Leadership for America campaign. For more products and information related to this initiative
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