Income Inequality within and between Family Structure Types

Molly A. Martin, Columbia University

This paper describes the trends in income inequality by family structure for families with children using data from twenty-four years of March CPS surveys. Since 1976, income inequality has increased among families with children and family structure types are increasingly stratified by income. Income inequality within family structure types is greatest among single female-headed families and smallest among married couple families. Standardization results confirm that demographic change in American family structure patterns has led to increased income inequality.