The survey finds Black Americans have wider family networks than other U.S. adults, often encompassing non-relatives like close friends and play cousins.

Among Black adults, 77% have at least one non-relative they consider family. This might be someone with whom they share childhood experiences, religious beliefs, an identity such as race or gender, or other commonalities. Among non-Black adults, a smaller share (63%) say they have a non-relative family member.

We surveyed 6,871 U.S. adults from June 16-29, 2025. Of the full sample, 3,657 respondents are members of Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel, including 1,057 Black respondents. The remaining 3,214 respondents are Black adults who are members of SSRS’s Opinion Panel. This brings the total Black sample in the survey to 4,271 Black adults. The survey is representative of the views of the full U.S. adult population.

Here are the survey questions used for this report, the detailed responses and the survey methodology.