This report presents detailed statistics for the United States and regions by urban and rural residence on the composition of families, cross-classified by various social and economic characteristics. The data are based on the 1970 Census of Population.

The text consists of an introduction and Appendices A through E, which appear after the tables.

Content of the Tables. The tables present data on family composition and on social and economic characteristics related to the life cycle of the family as determined by tabulations of families by age and duration of marriage of the head.

Among the aspects of family composition presented are size of family, number or presence of own and related children by age, ages of oldest and youngest children in the family, presence of adult family members (other than head and wife) by age, presence of parents and grandchildren of the family head, presence and characteristics of subfamilies, number and type of nonrelatives of the head who are sharing the housing unit, and presence of adult females (who are not employed) in families with young children. Most of the tables present data for three types of families: husband-wife families, other families with male head, and families with female head.

Social characteristics by which families are classified in this report include age, sex, race, and Spanish origin of head, marital status and year of first marriage of head, country of origin of heads and wives of foreign or mixed parentage, marital history and age at first marriage of head and wife, and education of head, wife, and other family members.

The economic characteristics of families include labor force status and major occupation group of head and wife, hours worked by head, weeks worked and earnings of wife in 1969, and income of head and family in 1969.

Appendices

• Appendix A. General Information Concerning the Data
  
• Appendix B. Area Classifications
  
• Appendix C. Definitions and Explanations of Subject Characteristics
  
• Appendix D. Accuracy of the Data
  
• Appendix E. Publication and Computer Summary Tape Program

Sample size. The statistics in this report are based on a sample adjusted to represent the total population. All tables are based on the 5-percent sample, except tables 29, 30, and 32, which are based on the 15-percent sample (see "Data Collection Procedures" in Appendix A).