Grandparents and Their Coresident Grandchildren: 2021 [REPORT]

The U.S. Census Bureau today released the Grandparents and Their Coresident Grandchildren: 2021 report that provides characteristics of grandparents living with their grandchildren who are under the age of 18.

The report also compares the characteristics of grandchildren by whether their parent or grandparent is the householder and the age of the grandparent.

Data in the report come from the American Community Survey (ACS), Current Population Survey, Survey of Income and Program Participation, and 1970-2000 Censuses.

Grandparents:

• Grandparents who had grandchildren living with them were older in 2021 than in 2012. In 2012, 46.8% were age 60 and over, which increased to 60.1% in 2021.
• In 2021, grandparents were more likely to be responsible for their grandchildren for 5 years or longer (49.3%) compared to 2012 (39.3%).
• In 2021, 70.9% of grandparents who had grandchildren living with them were the householder. At least one parent of the grandchildren was present in 81.4% of these households.
• In 2021, 3.3% of the population age 30 and over lived with grandchildren under age 18, compared to 3.4% in 1970. In both of these years, the majority of coresident grandparents were the owners or renters of the home.
• Grandparents who did not have grandchildren living with them were more likely to have a spouse or unmarried partner.

The report also provides estimates of the share of children under age 18 who lived with their grandparents as well as one or both parents.

Grandchildren:

• According to the 2017-2021 ACS, 5-year estimates, 8.0% of children under age 18 lived in their grandparents’ home.
• The proportion of children living with only their grandparents or with their grandparents and one or both parents varied across race and ethnicity. For grandchildren who lived with grandparents, it was more common to also live with both parents or their mother in the household than to live with their father or no parent in the household.
• Overall, about 38.6% of children under age 18 who lived with grandparents also lived with two parents. Of all race and Hispanic origin groups, Asian grandchildren had the highest percentage (70.9%) in this living arrangement.
• About 16.2% of grandchildren under age 18 living with grandparents were in poverty. The percentage was higher for those in grandparent-maintained households (18.6%) compared to parent-maintained households (12.1%).
• About 76.1% of all grandchildren under age 18 living with grandparents lived in households that received public assistance, most commonly through the school lunch program.

When possible, this report makes comparisons to an earlier Census Bureau report on grandparents with updated data and draws attention to the key changes that occurred in the interim. This report also presents new information to deepen understanding of contemporary grandparents and grandchildren.

To download report, CLICK HERE.