{"id":300140,"date":"2026-04-21T10:02:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T14:02:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?post_type=short-read&p=300140"},"modified":"2026-05-02T00:29:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T04:29:04","slug":"5-facts-about-u-s-children-living-in-blended-families","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2026\/04\/21\/5-facts-about-u-s-children-living-in-blended-families\/","title":{"rendered":"5 facts about U.S. children living in blended families"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a>
The Brady Bunch cast, circa 1970. (Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When people think of \u201cblended families,\u201d they might think of something like \u201cThe Brady Bunch\u201d\u2013 when two people marry and each bring in children from a past relationship. But that\u2019s just one type of blended family. The term refers to any family that includes a stepparent, stepsiblings and\/or half siblings<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some 17% of U.S. children younger than 18 live in a blended family.<\/strong> This figure is based on family members that children live with most or all of the time. It\u2019s important to note that some children may have blended family members who are not accounted for, like a stepsibling who lives in another household or an older half sibling who has moved out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are five facts about blended families, based on a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About this research<\/summary>\n

This Pew Research Center analysis looks at the share of children living in blended families in the United States and what these arrangements look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did we do this?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pew Research Center<\/a> does research to help the public, the media and decision-makers understand important topics. This research is part of our ongoing effort to study families and relationships<\/a> in the U.S. and how they are changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did we do this?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This analysis includes findings from the Survey of Income and Program Participation<\/a> (SIPP). The microdata files we used for this analysis come from the U.S. Census Bureau, which conducts the SIPP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the methodology<\/a> for more information on the dataset and how we calculated specific statistics.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

The likelihood of living in a blended family varies by race and ethnicity, parent education, and age.<\/strong> Across racial and ethnic groups, Black children are the most likely to live in a blended family (28%), followed by Hispanic (19%) and White children (15%). Asian children are the least likely to live in a blended family (7%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bar<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Children whose parents have a bachelor\u2019s degree or more education are less likely than children whose parents have less education to live in a blended family. Here, we count the education level of the parent the child lives with, or the highest level of education if the child lives with both parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout this analysis, \u201cparents\u201d refer to biological or adoptive parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some 28% of children with a parent who has a high school diploma or less education and 23% of those with a parent who has some college education live in a blended family. This share (9%) is much lower for children with a parent who has a bachelor\u2019s degree or more education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This may be the case because adults with a bachelor\u2019s degree are less likely to have children outside of marriage<\/a> and less likely to divorce<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: <\/em><\/strong>8 facts about divorce in the United States<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teens (ages 13 to 17) are the most likely to live in a blended family (22%), followed by children ages 6 to 12 (18%), and children ages 5 and younger are the least likely (13%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The share of U.S. children living in a blended family is down slightly from 2013.<\/strong> Some 17% of children live in a blended family as of 2023, compared with 23% in 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Line<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This drop happened mostly because the share of children living with a half sibling<\/strong> fell from 17% to 12%. In particular, a smaller share of children now live with half siblings, just one parent and no stepparents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This arrangement usually happens when a parent has children with multiple partners, sometimes outside of marriage. This decline fits in with more recent demographic trends, like falling birth rates among people in their teens and early 20s<\/a>. Typically, people who have children at younger ages and outside of marriage are more likely to have children with multiple partners<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bar<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The shares of children living with a stepparent and at least one stepsibling didn\u2019t change much between 2013 and 2023. A stepparent can be the spouse or unmarried cohabiting partner of the child\u2019s parent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living with half siblings, a stepparent or stepsiblings aren\u2019t mutually exclusive arrangements. Many children in blended families live with more than one of these kinds of relatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no typical arrangement that defines a blended family. <\/strong>Nearly half of children in blended families (46%) live with a parent and a stepparent, with or without half siblings or stepsiblings. This includes 33% who live with their mother and a stepparent and 13% who live with a father and a stepparent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pie<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, 50% of children in blended families don\u2019t live with a stepparent but do live with at least one half sibling. For example, 27% of children in blended families live with both parents and at least one half sibling. This often occurs when a child lives with an older half sibling<\/em> from a parent\u2019s previous relationship. Another 23% live with a single parent (usually their mother) and at least one half sibling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among children who live with a parent and a stepparent,<\/strong> 66% live with a parent and stepparent who are married to each other. Another 34% live with a parent and stepparent who are not married.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among children living with a parent and a stepparent, some also live with half siblings and\/or stepsiblings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n