Spotlight on North American families

Families can vary greatly from one household to another, and census questionnaires seek to find out those differences as well as similarities between families. Here are some statistics about families uncovered by both the United States Census Bureau and the Census of Canada, along with other government statistics.

* Total population: 308,745,538 (US); 33,476,688 (Canada)

* Population growth from last census: 9.7% increase (US); 5.9% increase (Canada)

* Most populated state or province: California at 37,253,956; Ontario at 12, 851,821

* Median age both sexes: 37.2 (US); 41 (Canada)

* Married households: 48% (US); 48.5% (Canada)

* Number of children: 75 million (US); 10 million (Canada)

* Single-parent families: 68% (US); 25.8% (Canada)

* Mixed race children: 6.8 million (US); 340,000 (Canada)

* Two-income families: 57% (US); 63.4% (Canada)

Other changes that have taken place in families are the rise in the number of same-sex families as well as a decline in overall marriage rates. Many couples are simply choosing to cohabitate without getting married. Also, single-parent families are growing in number and there is an increased reliance on government aid.