Among both races, recently, there has been a shift away from traditional living arrangements. Changes have been more significant among blacks and, thus, racial differences are now greater than at the time of the Moynihan report (1965). The economic consequences are described by analyzing trends in per capita income for types of families. Income has risen in all types of families but the improvements are greater in husband wife families. Among both races, the gap which separates the economic well-being of those in husband-wife families from those in families headed by a woman has widened. A declining proportion of children and adults live in families with the greatest per capita income and an increasing fraction live in families with the lowest income. Changes in living arrangements are related to family welfare policies.