Demographic characteristics of domestic workers: Shares of domestic workers in different occupations with given characteristics, 2021
| Domestic worker occupations | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child care workers | Home care aides | |||||||
| All other (nondomestic) workers | Domestic workers | Percentage-point difference | House cleaners | Nannies | Provider in own home | Non-agency-based | Agency-based | |
| All | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | |
| Gender | ||||||||
| Female | 46.34% | 90.17% | 43.83 | 94.45% | 95.62% | 97.44% | 81.82% | 87.81% |
| Male | 53.66% | 9.83% | -43.83 | 5.55% | 4.38% | 2.56% | 18.18% | 12.19% |
| Nativity | ||||||||
| U.S.-born | 83.07% | 65.27% | -17.80 | 31.02% | 73.27% | 72.75% | 73.27% | 69.85% |
| Foreign-born U.S. citizen | 8.60% | 16.27% | 7.67 | 19.09% | 11.99% | 11.45% | 13.27% | 17.59% |
| Foreign-born noncitizen | 8.33% | 18.46% | 10.13 | 49.89% | 14.74% | 15.81% | 13.46% | 12.56% |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||||||
| White, non-Hispanic | 62.29% | 42.08% | -20.22 | 30.19% | 65.30% | 56.10% | 48.84% | 37.55% |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 11.97% | 21.59% | 9.61 | 4.45% | 8.43% | 12.13% | 20.61% | 29.89% |
| Hispanic, any race | 17.58% | 28.58% | 11.00 | 62.68% | 21.06% | 28.36% | 16.93% | 22.99% |
| Asian American/Pacific Islander | 7.09% | 6.38% | -0.70 | 1.90% | 4.17% | 2.49% | 12.37% | 7.88% |
| Other | 1.07% | 1.38% | 0.31 | 0.77% | 1.04% | 0.92% | 1.25% | 1.68% |
| Education | ||||||||
| Not high school graduate | 7.41% | 17.31% | 9.90 | 37.48% | 12.56% | 13.44% | 10.50% | 14.77% |
| High school graduate | 25.37% | 37.42% | 12.06 | 36.49% | 30.67% | 31.43% | 37.07% | 39.98% |
| Some college | 26.94% | 30.18% | 3.24 | 15.42% | 34.07% | 34.18% | 35.21% | 31.75% |
| Bachelor’s degree | 25.38% | 12.63% | -12.75 | 9.65% | 20.29% | 18.46% | 14.93% | 10.68% |
| Advanced degree | 14.91% | 2.45% | -12.46 | 0.96% | 2.41% | 2.49% | 2.29% | 2.83% |
| Age | ||||||||
| Younger than 23 | 8.15% | 9.00% | 0.86 | 2.96% | 37.80% | 4.71% | 6.73% | 6.70% |
| 23–29 | 15.22% | 12.34% | -2.88 | 5.34% | 26.32% | 8.58% | 8.77% | 12.82% |
| 30–39 | 22.48% | 18.23% | -4.25 | 22.79% | 11.72% | 19.25% | 14.38% | 18.48% |
| 40–49 | 20.46% | 20.20% | -0.26 | 27.74% | 8.20% | 24.18% | 16.00% | 20.14% |
| 50–54 | 10.06% | 10.89% | 0.82 | 12.85% | 4.93% | 14.46% | 10.64% | 10.76% |
| 55–59 | 9.62% | 11.79% | 2.18 | 12.81% | 5.90% | 12.88% | 14.15% | 12.05% |
| 60–64 | 7.43% | 8.82% | 1.39 | 8.41% | 3.50% | 7.93% | 13.08% | 9.48% |
| 65+ | 6.58% | 8.74% | 2.15 | 7.09% | 1.64% | 8.00% | 16.25% | 9.58% |
| Median age | 41 | 45 | 46 | 25 | 47 | 52 | 46 | |
Notes: To ensure sufficient sample sizes, this table draws from pooled 2019–2021 microdata. “Foreign-born” refers to anyone who is not a U.S. citizen at birth.
To ensure sufficient sample sizes, this table draws from pooled 2019–2021 microdata. “Foreign-born” refers to anyone who is not a U.S. citizen at birth. “Foreign-born noncitizen” includes foreign-born persons who are either lawful permanent residents, in a nonimmigrant status (migrants with temporary visas), or who lack an immigration status, including both unauthorized immigrants and those with lawful presence (such as DACA recipients and asylum applicants whose cases are in process).
Source: Economic Policy Institute (EPI) analysis of Current Population Survey basic monthly microdata, EPI Current Population Survey Extracts, Version 1.0.32 (2022), https://microdata.epi.org.