State of the Family in Vermont

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

Vermont has a Family Belonging Index of 51 percent. In other words, 51 percent of Vermont teenagers aged 15 to 17 have lived with their always-married parents since their birth, whereas 49 percent of these adolescents were raised in a non-intact family. Vermont ranks 49th on the state ranking of the Index of Belonging and Rejection.1)

Vermont State Ranking

2. Outcomes by Index of Belonging

Vermont Outcomes

2.1 Youth Outcomes

Vermont Youth Outcomes

3. Mapping Vermont

3.1 Family Intactness

Fraction of Families Intact Vermont Family Intactness

3.2 Teenage Out-of-Wedlock Births

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

3.3 High School Graduates

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

3.4 Employment

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

3.5 Earnings

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

3.6 Homeowners

Fraction of households owning a home Vermont Homeowners

3.7 Poverty

See Effects of Family Structure on Poverty

Fraction of the overall population below poverty Vermont Overall Poverty Fraction of 25- to 54-year-old females below the poverty line Vermont Female Poverty Fraction of minors below the poverty line Vermont 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 Vermont Food Stamp Recipients Average TANF and State Welfare Transfers per 25- to 54-year-old females Vermont TANF and State Welfare Transfers Average Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) per 25- to 54-year-olds Vermont Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) Average Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) per 25- to 54-year-old male Vermont Male Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) Average Supplemental Security Income (SSI) per 25- to 54-year-old male Vermont Male Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Average Supplemental Security Income (SSI) per 25- to 54-year-old female Vermont 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 Vermont Public Healthcare Recipients Fraction of minors receiving public healthcare Vermont Minor Public Healthcare Recipients Fraction of 25- to 54-year-olds covered by private healthcare Vermont Private Healthcare Coverage Fraction of minors covered by private healthcare Vermont Minor Private Healthcare Coverage