Economic Development & Security

Women and girl heads of household are significantly poorer than their male counterparts. Of families headed by single mothers, 28.7 percent – 4 million of them – live in poverty compared with 13 percent – or 670,000 – of those headed by men. Poverty rates for households headed by single women of color (African American and Latina) rises to 40 percent. Average household income for women-headed households was $22,592 –- just over half the average for all households ($43,130). The difference in household income between married and single parents is significant –- only 5.9 percent of families headed by married parents live in poverty.