Monthly child support payments averaged $425 in 2005

WASHINGTON, May 6, 2008 - Across the nation, nearly 8 million people provided $43 billion in monetary support to people living in other households in 2005.

The data shows that monetary support is primarily for children, although it also includes support for other nonhousehold members, such as parents or other relatives.

The data for these tables come from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, a national survey designed to provide comprehensive details about the social and economic well-being of individuals and households.

Highlights include:

• Support payments totaled $43.4 billion in 2005, an average of $5,600 per provider annually.
• Seventy-three percent of support providers made payments for their own children younger than 21 in 2005.
• The average amount each support provider paid for child support in 2005 was $5,100, for a total of $28.7 billion nationwide.
• About 2.1 million providers supported people other than their children younger than 21, with 40 percent of these providing support for their parents.
• About 87 percent of child support providers were male. In 2005, male support providers spent a median of $3,900 and an average of $5,200 for child support.
• Three-quarters of child support payments were the result of an agreement or court order.
• About six in 10 child support providers paid support for one child, while the remaining four supported two or more children.

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