On most demographic measures, Seattle usually ranks alongside its peer cities — places like San Francisco, Portland, Washington, D.C., and so on. But here’s a ranking where Seattle finds itself in some different company: the share of children living with two parents.
New 2024 census data shows that among the 50 U.S. cities with the largest under-18 population, Seattle had the second-highest share of kids living with two parents. Interestingly, Seattle was sandwiched between two conservative-leaning, suburban-style cities where traditional family structures are more common: Gilbert, Ariz., and Colorado Springs.
Last year, around 82,000 of Seattle's 106,000 under-18 residents — that's around 77% — lived with two parents, a traditional model often called a nuclear family. Seattle's share of children living in such a family was slightly higher than the U.S. average of 76%.
Among the 50 U.S. cities with the most children, Seattle ranked second behind Gilbert, a suburban town of nearly 300,000 in the Phoenix metro area, and generally considered a conservative-leaning place. About 78% of children in Gilbert lived with two parents. Another conservative-leaning city, Colorado Springs, which has a significant military presence and is home to numerous evangelical Christian organizations, ranked third at 75%.
It's worth noting that Seattle has few children for its size. Seattle ranked 18th among U.S. cities for total population last year, but ranked only 34th for its under-18 population. Conversely, Gilbert has a lot of kids for its size. While not among the 50 largest U.S. cities by total population, it ranked 48th for its under-18 population, which was around 80,000.
When we look at the two cities that rounded out the Top 5, Seattle was in more familiar company: San Francisco ranked No. 4 at 74%, followed by San Jose at 72%.
At the other end of the spectrum, only 27% of children in Detroit lived with two parents. Milwaukee and Memphis were also below 40%.
In Census Bureau terminology, a parent must be the child’s biological or adoptive parent, or stepparent. Foster parents or unmarried partners not identified as stepparents would not be counted as parents in census data. To be considered a two-parent household by the census, the pair must be spouses or partners.
In general, younger children are more likely to be living with two parents than older children. In Seattle, among kids age 5 and under, 84 percent lived with two parents, the highest share among the 50 U.S. cities. For kids 6 to 17, 73% lived with two parents.
The vast gulf between the cities at the top and bottom of the rankings underscores the connection between economic conditions, demographics, and family structure.
In affluent, high-cost cities like Seattle and San Francisco, adults with children tend to be older, more financially secure, and more likely to be in stable partnerships. In these cities, many find it particularly challenging to afford to raise a child as a single parent.
Seattle’s extraordinarily high college-graduation rate also plays a role. National research shows that adults with bachelor’s degrees marry at higher rates and divorce less often — and when they have children, they are far more likely to be raising them with a spouse or partner identified as a parent.
In poorer cities like Detroit and Milwaukee, economic hardship and higher poverty contribute to lower marriage rates and higher rates of single parenthood. Also, multigenerational households are more common, arrangements that the Census does not classify as two-parent families.
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