Back to school: In N.J., 41.4% of homes may not have a parent to watch their kids

    By
    Emily Bader
    -

    With cooler days ahead, many schools around the country are still figuring out the best way to reopen safely amid the COVID-19 crisis. Many are starting the year with virtual- (180 so far in New Jersey have moved all-remote) or hybrid-based models that combine face-to-face learning with online instruction. Regardless, millions of American children will be spending at least some time learning at home this year without parental supervision.

    To figure out the where the most full-time working parents are, researchers at Smartest Dollar, a review site for financial products and services, analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau to rank states and cities according to the share of households with children under 14 that potentially lack a parent to watch the kids.

    The analysis found that the share of families that might not have a parent available to supervise their kids varies widely across states and cities.

    At the state level, New Jersey ranked No. 35 overall with 41.1% of households not having a parent available to watch kids during the day, compared with South Dakota (No. 1, 52.9%) and Delaware (No. 2, 52.4%), which have the biggest share of households, and Utah (No. 50, 28.7%) and Idaho (No. 49, 33.6%), which have the lowest share.

    At the city level, Camden was ranked No. 11 in the large metros with the most full-time working parents due to having 46.3% of its households without parents to watch kids.

    Here’s more New Jersey data:

    • Share of households without a parent to watch the kids: 41.1%;
    • Married-couple households with both parents working: 221,440;
    • Single-parent households with a working parent: 76,530;
    • Total households with kids under 14: 725,166;
    • Average number of kids under 14 per household: 1.7.

    And for the entire United States:

    • Share of households without a parent to watch the kids: 41.5%;
    • Married-couple households with both parents working: 7.46 million;
    • Single-parent households with a working parent: 3.23 million;
    • Total households with kids under 14: 25.75 million;
    • Average number of kids under 14 per household: 1.8.

    To see the full list, click here.