The typical American picture of a family with 2.5 kids might not be as relevant as it once was: In 2023, there was an average of 1.94 children under 18 per family in the United States. This is a decrease from 2.33 children under 18 per family in 1960.

Familial structure in the United States

If there’s one thing the United States is known for, it’s diversity. Whether this is diversity in ethnicity, culture, or family structure, there is something for everyone in the U.S. Two-parent households in the U.S. are declining, and the number of families with no children are increasing. The number of families with children has stayed more or less constant since 2000.

Adoptions in the U.S.

Families in the U.S. don’t necessarily consist of parents and their own biological children. In 2021, around 35,940 children were adopted by married couples, and 13,307 children were adopted by single women.

Around *** million families in the United States had three or more children under 18 living in the household in 2023. In that same year, about ***** million households had no children under 18 living in the household.

Australia Average Number of Dependent Children in Household: Multiple Family data was reported at 1.200 Person in 2020. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.400 Person for 2018. Australia Average Number of Dependent Children in Household: Multiple Family data is updated yearly, averaging 1.300 Person from Jun 2004 (Median) to 2020, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.500 Person in 2016 and a record low of 1.200 Person in 2020. Australia Average Number of Dependent Children in Household: Multiple Family data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Australian Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.H039: Survey of Income and Housing: Average Number of Dependent Children in Household: by Family Composition.

The average American family in 2023 consisted of 3.15 persons. Families in the United States According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a family is a group of two people or more (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together; all such people (including related subfamily members) are considered as members of one family. As of 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau counted about 84.33 million families in the United States. The average family consisted of 3.15 persons in 2021, down from 3.7 in the 1960s. This is reflected in the decrease of children in family households overall. In 1970, about 56 percent of all family households had children under the age of 18 living in the household. This percentage declined to about 40 percent in 2020. The average size of a family household varies greatly from state to state. The largest average families can be found in Utah, California, and Hawaii, while the smallest families can be found in Wisconsin, Vermont and Maine.

Families of tax filers; Census families by total income, family type and number of children (final T1 Family File; T1FF).

Average number of children per household by working status within households and household composition

Pakistan Average Number per Household: Children data was reported at 2.770 Person in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2.800 Person for 2014. Pakistan Average Number per Household: Children data is updated yearly, averaging 2.880 Person from Jun 2002 (Median) to 2016, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.310 Person in 2002 and a record low of 2.770 Person in 2016. Pakistan Average Number per Household: Children data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Pakistan – Table PK.H005: Household Integrated Economic Survey: Average Numbers per Household.

Data on census family structure, presence of children, and average number of persons per census family, for census families, Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, 2021, 2016 and 2011 censuses.

Australia Average Number of Dependent Children in Household: One Family: Couple with Dependent Children data was reported at 1.900 Person in 2020. This stayed constant from the previous number of 1.900 Person for 2018. Australia Average Number of Dependent Children in Household: One Family: Couple with Dependent Children data is updated yearly, averaging 1.900 Person from Jun 2003 (Median) to 2020, with 10 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.000 Person in 2008 and a record low of 1.900 Person in 2020. Australia Average Number of Dependent Children in Household: One Family: Couple with Dependent Children data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Australian Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.H039: Survey of Income and Housing: Average Number of Dependent Children in Household: by Family Composition.

In 2023, there were around 9.84 thousand households with unmarried children under 18 years in Japan. That year, those households had 1.65 thousand unmarried minors on average.

Australia Average Number of Dependent Children in Household data was reported at 0.600 Person in 2020. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.600 Person for 2018. Australia Average Number of Dependent Children in Household data is updated yearly, averaging 0.655 Person from Jun 1995 (Median) to 2020, with 16 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.730 Person in 1998 and a record low of 0.600 Person in 2020. Australia Average Number of Dependent Children in Household data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Australian Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.H039: Survey of Income and Housing: Average Number of Dependent Children in Household: by Family Composition.

Pakistan Average Number per Household: Urban: Children data was reported at 2.400 Person in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2.440 Person for 2014. Pakistan Average Number per Household: Urban: Children data is updated yearly, averaging 2.515 Person from Jun 2002 (Median) to 2016, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.010 Person in 2002 and a record low of 2.390 Person in 2012. Pakistan Average Number per Household: Urban: Children data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Pakistan – Table PK.H005: Household Integrated Economic Survey: Average Numbers per Household.

F3076 - Average Number of Children in Family units in Private households. Published by Central Statistics Office. Available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0).Average Number of Children in Family units in Private households...

Families of tax filers; Census families by age of older partner or parent and number of children (final T1 Family File; T1FF).

In 2021, the average size of families in Utah was 3.51 people, the largest out of any state. California, Hawaii, Texas, and Alaska rounded out the top five states with the largest average family size in that year. Nationwide, the average family size was 3.15 people.

Graph and download economic data for Total Families with Children under 18 Years Old with Married Couple (FMLWCUMC) from 1950 to 2024 about 18 years +, married, family, child, household survey, and USA.

This statistic shows the average size of families with children in Canada from 2000 to 2020. Since 2000, the average size of families with children in Canada has remained the same at 3.5 people per family.

Households among all the decile groups had an average of 0.4 to 0.6 children per household. Average children per household in the top decile group was 0.4. This was the lowest average for any decile group displaying the average number of children per household in the United Kingdom in 2019/20.

The count and description of the families of the Basque Country is carried out using various statistical sources. On the one hand, family counts are carried out through the Population and Housing Census; on the other hand, the Demographic Survey (ED) operation, of an intercensal nature and of five-year periodicity, provides information on the formation of families, family size, preferences on the number and spacing of children, as well as numerous other characteristics, using the method of retrospective approach to demographic phenomena.

Key figures on fertility, live and stillborn children and multiple births among inhabitants of The Netherlands.

Available selections: - Live born children by sex; - Live born children by age of the mother (31 December), in groups; - Live born children by birth order from the mother; - Live born children by marital status of the mother; - Live born children by country of birth of the mother and origin country of the mother; - Stillborn children by duration of pregnancy; - Births: single and multiple; - Average number of children per female; - Average number of children per male; - Average age of the mother at childbirth by birth order from the mother; - Average age of the father at childbirth by birth order from the mother; - Net replacement factor.

CBS is in transition towards a new classification of the population by origin. Greater emphasis is now placed on where a person was born, aside from where that person’s parents were born. The term ‘migration background’ is no longer used in this regard. The main categories western/non-western are being replaced by categories based on continents and a few countries that share a specific migration history with the Netherlands. The new classification is being implemented gradually in tables and publications on population by origin.

Data available from: 1950 Most of the data is available as of 1950 with the exception of the live born children by country of birth of the mother and origin country of the mother (from 2021, previous periods will be added at a later time), stillborn children by duration of pregnancy (24+) (from 1991), average number of children per male (from 1996) and the average age of the father at childbirth (from 1996).

Status of the figures: The 2023 figures on stillbirths and (multiple) births are provisional, the other figures in the table are final.

Changes per 17 December 2024: Figures of 2023 have been added. The provisional figures on the number of live births and stillbirths for 2023 do not include children who were born at a gestational age that is unknown. These cases were included in the final figures for previous years. However, the provisional figures show a relatively larger number of children born at an unknown gestational age. Based on an internal analysis for 2022, it appears that in the majority of these cases, the child was born at less than 24 weeks. To ensure that the provisional 2023 figures do not overestimate the number of stillborn children born at a gestational age of over 24 weeks, children born at an unknown gestational age have now been excluded.

When will new figures be published? Final 2023 figures on the number of stillbirths and the number of births are expected to be added to the table in de third quarter of 2025. In the third quarter of 2025 final figures of 2024 will be published in this publication.