State of the Family in Illinois

The United States Family Belonging Index is 46 percent, with a corresponding Family Rejection Index of 54 percent, based on 2008-2012 data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. The action of parents determines the Family Belonging or Rejection Index within a nation, region, state, or racial or ethnic group—whether they marry and belong to each other, or whether they reject one another through divorce or other means. Rejection leaves children without married parents committed to one another and to their children.

The Index of Family Belonging is determined by the fraction of children aged 15 to 17 in a given area who live with both their biological parents, who have been married since before or around the time of their birth.

1. Index of Belonging

Illinois has a Family Belonging Index of 48.9 percent. In other words, 48.9 percent of Illinois teenagers aged 15 to 17 have lived with their always-married parents since their birth, whereas 51.1 percent of these adolescents were raised in a non-intact family. Illinois ranks 16th on the state ranking of the Index of Belonging and Rejection.1)

Illinois State Ranking

2. Outcomes by Index of Belonging

Illinois Outcomes

2.1 Youth Outcomes

Illinois Youth Outcomes

3. Mapping Illinois

3.1 Family Intactness

Fraction of Families Intact Illinois Family Intactness

3.2 Teenage Out-of-Wedlock Births

Fraction of teenage out-of-wedlock births out of all births Illinois Teenage Out-of-Wedlock Births

3.3 High School Graduates

Fraction of 19- to 20-year-olds who are high school graduates Illinois High School Graduates

3.4 Employment

Fraction of 25- to 54-year-old men working Illinois Male Employment

3.5 Earnings

Average earnings per 25- to 54-year-old male Illinois Male Earnings

3.6 Homeowners

Fraction of households owning a home Illinois Homeowners

3.7 Poverty

See Effects of Family Structure on Poverty

Fraction of the overall population below poverty Illinois Overall Poverty Fraction of 25- to 54-year-old females below the poverty line Illinois Female Poverty Fraction of minors below the poverty line Illinois Minor Poverty

3.8 Government Dependence

See Effects of Family Structure on Government Dependency and Effects of Welfare on Families

Fraction of households receiving food stamps Illinois Food Stamps Average TANF and State Welfare Transfers per 25- to 54-year-old females Illinois TANF and State Welfare Transfers Average Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) per 25- to 54-year-olds Illinois Average Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) Average Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) per 25- to 54-year-old male Illinois Male Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) Average Supplemental Security Income (SSI) per 25- to 54-year-old male Illinois Male Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Average Supplemental Security Income (SSI) per 25- to 54-year-old female Illinois Female Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

3.9 Healthcare

See Effects of Family Structure on Healthcare Coverage

Fraction of 25- to 54-year-olds receiving public healthcare Illinois Public Healthcare Recipients Fraction of minors receiving public healthcare Illinois Minor Public Healthcare Recipients Fraction of 25- to 54-year-olds covered by private healthcare Illinois Private Healthcare Coverage Fraction of minors covered by private healthcare Illinois Minor Healthcare Coverage