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FACT BRIEF

Is the national poverty rate among two parent households 5.4%?

By Sue Bin Park
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NO

According to the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the national poverty rate of two parent households in 2021 was 9.5%. This is less than the recorded poverty rate among single parent households, 31.7%, and the overall poverty rate of all family types, 16%.

Child Trends, a nonprofit organization focused on child welfare research, explains that greater rates of poverty in single parent households are not solely due to depending on a single earner’s income. A single parent may face additional obstacles to employment, such as inflexible work policies, that make balancing childcare and household demands without a second parent more difficult. Many must rely on unaffordable childcare in order to keep their jobs, amplifying the challenges of surviving on a single earner’s income.

Governor Stitt’s office did not respond to our inquiry on the source of their statistics at the time of publication.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
US Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Poverty status of children by family structure
ChildTrends Lessons From a Historic Decline in Child Poverty
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Oklahoma Watch is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) corporation that produces in-depth and investigative journalism as a public service for the benefit of all Oklahomans. Through investigative, fact-driven journalism, we dig deep and examine significant issues facing our state. Our work engages all Oklahomans, amplifies the discussion of important issues and leads to change. We help develop the journalists and journalism of the future.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.