marriage & poverty: new mexico

Marriage:New Mexico’s No. 1 Weapon

AgainstChildhood Poverty

How the Collapse of Marriage Hurts Childrenand 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 New Mexico, 1929–2010

PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK

heritage.orgChart 1 • Marriage and Poverty in New Mexico

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

55%

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

52.3%

40.8%

National

NewMexico

In 2010, 52.3 percent of births in New Mexico occurred outside of marriage. This was the second high-est unwed birth rate in the nation.

This was not always the case. Before World War II, only four percent of children in New Mexico were born outside marriage. As late as 1980, the number was only 16 percent. However, over the last three decades, unwed births in the state have skyrocketed, rising well above the national average.

Note: Data on non-marital births in New Mexico are unavailable between 1943 and 1979. However, all states that have data for this period show rates which parallel the national trend shown in the chart. In these states, the non-marital birth rates remained low until the onset of the federal War on Poverty in the mid-1960s, and then began to rise steadily. The New Mexico rate between 1943 and 1979 very likely paral-lels the overall national trend.

Sources: U.S. Government, U.S. Census Bureau, and National Center for Health Statistics.

In New Mexico, Marriage Drops the Probability of Child Poverty by 75 Percent

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


PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN THAT ARE POOR

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25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

Single-Parent, Female-Headed

Families

Married, Two-Parent Families

42.9%

10.6%

The rapid rise in out-of-wedlock childbearing is a major cause of high levels of child pov-erty in New Mexico.

Some 42.9 percent of single mothers with children were poor compared to 10.6 percent of mar-ried couples with children.

Single-parent families with children are four times more likely to be poor than families in which the parents are married.

The higher poverty rate among single-mother families is due both to the lower education levels of the mothers and the lower income due to the absence of the father.

In New Mexico, Four in Ten Families with Children Are Not Married



59.9%

40.1%

Unmarried Families

Married Families

Overall, married couples head about six in ten families with children in New Mexico. Four in ten are single-parent families.

In New Mexico, 70 Percent of Poor Families with Children Are Not Married



29.6%

70.4%

Unmarried Families

Married Families

Among poor families with children in New Mexico, seven in ten are not married. By contrast, only 29.6 percent of poor families with children are headed by married couples.

In New Mexico, Few Unwed Births Occur to Teenagers

Note: Figures have been rounded.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008 NHS data.


PERCENTAGE OF OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS BY AGE OF MOTHER

Age18–19:15.7%

Age20–24:37.8%

Age25–29:21.4%

Age30–54:15.4%

UnderAge 18:9.7%

Out-of-wedlock births are often confused erroneously with teen births, but only 9.7 percent of out-of-wedlock births in New Mexico occur to girls under age 18.

By contrast, some 75 percent of out-of-wedlock births occur to young adult women between the ages of 18 and 29.

Less-Educated Women Are More Likely to Give Birth Outside of Marriage


PERCENTAGE OF BIRTHS THAT ARE MARITAL OR OUT OF WEDLOCK

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40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

High School Dropout

(0–11Years)

High School Graduate

(12Years)

SomeCollege(13–15Years)

College Graduate

(16+Years)

71.5%

61.2%

44.2%

15.6%

28.5%

38.8%

55.8%

84.4%

Mother’s education level

Unmarried Mothers

Married Mothers


Unwed childbearing occurs most frequently among the women who will have the greatest difficulty supporting children by themselves: those with low levels of education.

In New Mexico, among women who are high school dropouts, about 71.5 percent of all births occur outside marriage. Among women who have only a high school diploma, three in five births occur outside marriage. By con-trast, among women with at least a college degree, only 15.6 percent of births are out of wedlock.

Both Marriage and Education Are Highly Effective in Reducing Child Poverty in New Mexico



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20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

High School Dropout

High School Graduate

SomeCollege

College Graduate

66.2%

30.2%

40.9%

14.1%

34.6%

6.3%

13.1%

2.3%

Note: Virtually none of the heads of families in the chart who are high school dropouts are minor teenagers.

The poverty rate of married couples with children is dramati-cally lower than the rate for house-holds headed by single parents. This is true even when the married couple is compared to single par-ents with the same education level.

For example, in New Mexico, the poverty rate for a single mother who has only a high school diploma is 40.9 percent, but the poverty rate for a married couple family headed by an indi-vidual who, similarly, has only a high school degree is far lower at 14.1 percent.

On average, marriage drops the poverty rate by around 71 percent among families with the same education level.

PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN THAT ARE POOR

Poverty Rate of Families by Education and Marital Status of the Head of Household

Single Married

Unwed Birth Rates Vary Strongly by Race in New Mexico



PERCENT OF BIRTHS THAT ARE OUT OF WEDLOCK

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30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

All Races White Non-

Hispanic

Hispanic American Indian

BlackNon-

Hispanic

52.9%

31.9%

58.8% 60.5%

77.6%

8.3%

Out-of-wedlock childbearing varies considerably by race.

In 2008 (the most recent year for which racial breakdown is available), more than half of all births (52.9 percent) in New Mexico occurred outside marriage. The rate was lowest among non-Hispanic whites. Among that group around three in ten births were non-marital.

Among Hispanics, nearly six in ten (58.8 percent) births were out of wedlock. Among blacks, over six in ten births (60.5 percent) were to unmarried women. Among American Indians, nearly eight in ten (77.6 percent) births were out of wedlock.

Racial Composition of All Births and Out-of-Wedlock Births in New Mexico

ALL BIRTHS OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS



Note: Figures have been rounded.

56.0%

White Non-Hispanic

Asian/OtherBlack Non-Hispanic

Hispanic

28.1%

12.2% 18.0%

2.1%

62.2%

17.0%

2.0%1.0%

1.6%

American Indian

In New Mexico in 2008, some 56 percent of all births occurred to Hispanics, 28.1 percent occurred to non-Hispanic whites, and 12.2 percent occurred to American Indians.

Because Hispanics and Ameri-can Indians are more likely to have children without being married, they account for disproportion-ately larger shares of all out-of-wedlock births.

In New Mexico in 2008, 62.2 percent of all non-marital births were to Hispanics, 18 percent were to American Indian women, and 17 percent were to white non-Hispanic women.

Non-Married Hispanic Families Are Three Times More Likely to Be Poor in New Mexico



PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES THAT ARE POOR

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40%

45%

Married Families Non-Married Families

12.0%

38.7%

In New Mexico, marriage leads to lower poverty rates for Hispan-ics, American Indians, whites, and blacks.

For example, in 2009, the pov-erty rate for Hispanic married families in New Mexico was 12 percent, while the poverty rate among non-married Hispanic families was more than three times higher at 38.7 percent.

Non-Married American Indian Families Are Nearly Three Times More Likely to Be Poor in New Mexico




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15.3%

38.2%

In 2009, the poverty rate for married American Indian families in New Mexico was 15.3 percent, while the poverty rate among non-married families was nearly three times higher at 38.2 percent.

Non-Married White Families Are Seven Times More Likely to Be Poor in New Mexico




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25%


3.2%

22.4%

In 2009, the poverty rate for married white families in New Mexico was 3.2 percent. But the poverty rate for non-married white families was seven times higher at 22.4 percent.

Non-Married Black Families Are Four Times More Likely to Be Poor in New Mexico




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8.7%

38.3%

In 2009, the poverty rate for married black couples in New Mexico was 8.7 percent, while the poverty rate for non-married black families was four times higher at 38.3 percent.

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.

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.

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.

The Family & Religion Initiative is one of 10 Transformational Initiatives making up The Heritage Foundation’s Leadership for America campaign. For more products and information related to this initiative or to learn more about the Leadership for America campaign, please visit heritage.org.

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marriage & poverty: new mexico

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