Rural Children More Likely Living in Cohabiting Households By
Beth Potier, Media Relations July 8, 2009 As cohabiting –
opposite-sex unmarried partners living together in households –
increases nationwide, new data show that the growing rate of
children in cohabiting households is most pronounced in rural
areas. A new brief from the Carsey Institute at UNH analyzes
recent U.S. Census Bureau data to explore trends and patterns
among children in cohabiting households in rural America. The
brief finds that the share of rural children living in
cohabiting households has nearly doubled since 2000, from four
to seven percent. During the same period, the share of urban
children living in cohabiting households rose only slightly,
from three to four percent. This pattern runs counter to the
normal flow of social trends, which start in urban areas then
spread to rural areas. “We think that growing economic stress in
rural America is in part driving this rapid increase of
cohabiting in rural households,” says report aut