U.S. Teen Demographics

According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, there were 42,910,044 youth age 10-19 in the United States, nearly 13% of the total U.S. population, in 2023 [1].

Gender

According to Census Bureau estimates, about 49% of the U.S. youth population are counted as female and 51% male [1]. A 2017 estimate of the transgender population, based on 12 national surveys, concluded that for about one in every 250 adults, their gender identity does not match the sex assigned them at birth [2]. More recently, a UCLA Williams Institute study of CDC data found that 1.3 million U.S. adults (0.5% of the population age 18 and older) and about 300,000 youth age 13-17 (1.4% of this population) identify as transgender women, transgender men, or gender nonconforming [3]. Visit the Williams Institute for breakdown by demographic characteristics [3].

Ethnicity, Race, National Origin

Racial/ethnic diversity is greater in the child population than in the adult U.S. population [4]. When the Latinx population is treated as a single category, the population of adolescents age 12-17 in 2023 was 49% White, 26% Latinx, 14% Black, 5% Asian, 4% multi-racial, 1% American Indian or Alaska Native, and under 0.5% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander [4].

Note, however, that Latinx youth are diverse in national/family origin, and each racial group includes Latinx people within it [1].

By 2030, the percentage of children (under age 18) who are Latinx is expected to reach 27%, while the percentage of White non-Hispanic (NH) children will drop to 46%; together, children who belong to ethnic/racial "minority" groups will comprise the majority of the youth population [5]. For a more detailed breakdown, visit the U.S. Census Bureau 2017 National Population Projections Tables and download Table 6.

In New York State, 48% of adolescents age 12-17 are White NH, 25% are Latinx, 15% are Black NH, 8% are Asian NH, 4% are multiracial NH, less than 0.5% are American Indian/Alaskan Native NH, and less than 0.5% are Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander NH (2023 numbers) [6].

Twenty-five percent of all children (age 0-17) are first- or second-generation immigrants (2022 numbers, here defined as living in the U.S. with at least one foreign-born parent) [7]. Among children age 5-17 in 2021, 21% of children did not speak English at home; however, only 5% of children had difficulty speaking English [7].

Geographic and Neighborhood Settings

In 2018, about 86% of children lived in metropolitan areas (areas with an urban population of at least 50,000) while 8% lived in micropolitan (with an urban population of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000) and just over 5% lived in rural areas [8].

The 2021-2022 National Survey of Children's Health found that, according to their parents, 56% of teen children age 12-17 live in supportive neighborhoods: survey recipients agreed that people in the neighborhood help each other out, neighbors watch out for each other's children, and/or they know where to go for help [9]. In New York State, the percentage drops to 49% [9]. Parents of White children are more likely than parents of non-White children to rate their neighborhoods as supportive (65% nationwide) [9]. In New York State, only 29% of parents of Black children believe they live in a supportive neighborhood [9].

The same survey found that the vast majority of parents consider their neighborhoods at least somewhat safe for their teen children (age 12-17). However, nearly 5% nationwide considered their neighborhoods unsafe for teens; 10% in New York State [10]. Nationally, 7% of parents of Latinx children and 9% of parents of Black children consider their neighborhoods unsafe [10].

Family Income

Between 2019 and 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, median household incomes decreased — the first significant decline since 2011 [11]. In the first statistically significant increase since 2019, median household income rose 4% between 2022 and 2023 to $80,610 [12].

The official poverty rate does not take into account resources beyond cash income. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) includes safety net resources — such as federal stimulus checks, tax credits, and food and housing assistance — illuminating the impact of government programs on child poverty [13]. In 2021, stimulus payments related to the pandemic and an expanded child tax credit cut the SPM child poverty rate to an historic low, successfully bringing over 5 million children out of poverty. With the end of these programs in 2022, over 5 million children lost these resources and the SPM child poverty rate more than doubled from 5% to 12% [13].

In 2022, 26% of children lived with parent(s) who did not have steady, full-time employment [4]. In 2021, 13% of children lived in families that were at times unable to provide enough food [7].

Homelessness

Estimates of homelessness among adolescents vary a great deal. In the 2023 "point-in-time" tally of the homeless conducted by communities across the United States, about 34,700 youth (unaccompanied children and young adults under age 25) were found to be homeless on the night of the count [14]. In addition, 7,184 parenting youth (parents under age 25 with their child present) were counted [14].

Black and Latinx adolescents and young adults are at disproportionate risk for housing insecurity and homelessness, and especially so if they belong to other groups that face stigma and inequities [15].

Youth who are LGBTQ — especially those who are Black — experience homelessness at particularly high rates [16]. Researchers estimate that LGBTQ youth are 2 to13 times more likely to experience homelessness than their non-LGBTQ counterparts [16]. LGBTQ youth who are unsheltered are also at greater risk of physical and sexual assault than are non-LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness [16].

Pregnant and parenting youth are also at high risk for homelessness. One nationally representative survey revealed that young adults who experienced homelessness in the prior year were more likely to have children than were young adults who had stable housing. For example, among women age 18-25, 43% of women who had not had stable housing had at least one child while only 22% of their counterparts with stable housing were mothers [17].

A high percentage of young people experiencing homelessness have come through the foster care system. While some youth become homeless once they age out of the system, others experience homelessness after they have been either adopted or reunited with their families [18].