In 2023, there were about 15.09 million children living with a single mother in the United States, and about 3.05 million children living with a single father. The number of children living with a single mother is down from its peak in 2012, and the number of children living with a single father is down from its peak in 2005.

Marriage and divorce in the United States

Despite popular opinion in the United States that “half of all marriages end in divorce,” the divorce rate in the U.S. has fallen significantly since 1992. The marriage rate, which has also been decreasing since the 1990s, was still higher than the divorce rate in 2021. Half of all marriages may not end in divorce, but it does seem that fewer people are choosing to get married in the first place.

New family structures

In addition to a falling marriage rate, fewer people in the U.S. have children under the age of 18 living in the house in comparison to 1970. Over the past decade, the share of families with children under 18, whether that be married couples or single parents, has stayed mostly steady, although the number of births in the U.S. has also fallen.

This graph shows the Percentage of households led by a female householder with no spouse present with own children under 18 years living in the household in the U.S. in 2021, by state. In 2021, about 4.24 percent of Californian households were single mother households with at least one child.

Additional information on single mother households and poverty in the United States

For most single mothers a constant battle persists between finding the time and energy to raise their children and the demands of working to supply an income to house and feed their families. The pressures of a single income and the high costs of childcare mean that the risk of poverty for these families is a tragic reality. Comparison of the overall United States poverty rate since 1990 with that of the poverty rate for families with a female householder shows that poverty is much more prevalent in the latter. In 2021, while the overall rate was at 11.6 percent, the rate of poverty for single mother families was 23 percent. Moreover, the degree of fluctuation tends to be lower for single female household families, suggesting the rate of poverty for these groups is less affected by economic conditions.

The sharp rise in the number of children living with a single mother or single father in the United States from 1970 to 2022 suggests more must be done to ensure that families in such situations are able to avoid poverty. Moreover, attention should also be placed on overall racial income inequality given the higher rate of poverty for Hispanic single mother families than their white or Asian counterparts.

St. Louis City, MO - Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in St. Louis city, MO was 55.00% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, St. Louis City, MO - Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in St. Louis city, MO reached a record high of 59.80 in January of 2009 and a record low of 54.13 in January of 2020. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for St. Louis City, MO - Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in St. Louis city, MO - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Buncombe County, NC (S1101SPHOUSE037021) from 2009 to 2023 about Buncombe County, NC; Asheville; single-parent; NC; households; 5-year; and USA.

In 2023, there were about 1.18 million Black families with a single father living in the United States. This is an increase from 1990, when there were 472,000 Black families with a single father in the U.S.

The number of single parents housing underage children in Germany has been increasing with figures for single fathers amounting to *** thousand in 2018. In comparison, the number of single mothers with underage children amounted to roughly *** million that year, a decrease compared to the previous years, in which the number amounted to almost *** million.

Single parents

General statistics on households with children in Germany show that most families had *** child, though it is not always possible to determine whether this was a household with *** parent or ***. Reasons for being a single parent may vary. It may be due to a court-appointed decision after a divorce, the death of a partner or other circumstances which might have led to parenting a child or children alone. When considering single mothers, additional reasons may include having children outside of a relationship or biological fathers refusing to be involved in raising children. These are only a few examples. As far as families with underage children are concerned, most German households had *** children under the age of 18.

Child benefits

In many ways, Germany is a country which encourages and supports the population in having children, also financially. Monthly child benefit payments increase with more offspring. Single parents are also eligible for an alimony advance until their child turns **, if not being financially supported by the second parent.

This graph presents the percentage of single-parent families with children under 18 years of age in France from 1990 to 2020. It appears that the share of single-parents families went from 12.4 percent in 1990 to 24.7 percent in 2020.

In 2023, there were about 6.65 million white, non-Hispanic families with a single mother living in the United States. This is a slight increase from 1990, when there were 6.4 million white families with a single mother living in the U.S.

In 2023, there were about **** million single-parent households in South Korea. Single-parent households accounted for about *** percent of total households in South Korea that year.

In 2023, 8.3 percent of white, non-Hispanic families with a single father were living below the poverty level in the United States. Poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing, and shelter.

Graph and download economic data for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Bell County, TX (S1101SPHOUSE048027) from 2009 to 2023 about Bell County, TX; Killeen; single-parent; households; TX; 5-year; and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Westchester County, NY (S1101SPHOUSE036119) from 2009 to 2023 about Westchester County, NY; single-parent; New York; NY; households; 5-year; and USA.

In 2022, about 60 percent of Hispanic origin children lived with two married parents in the United States. On the other hand, about 4.3 percent of Hispanic origin children in the country lived with their father only.

The statistic shows the number of parental households in Mexico in 2015, by type. There were **** million single parent households in Mexico in 2015.

In 2022, there were about 4.15 million Black families in the United States with a single mother. This is an increase from 1990 levels, when there were about 3.4 million Black families with a single mother.

Single parenthood

The typical family is comprised of two parents and at least one child. However, that is not the case in every single situation. A single parent is someone who has a child but no spouse or partner. Single parenthood occurs for different reasons, including divorce, death, abandonment, or single-person adoption. Historically, single parenthood was common due to mortality rates due to war, diseases, and maternal mortality. However, divorce was not as common back then, depending on the culture.

Single parent wellbeing

In countries where social welfare programs are not strong, single parents tend to suffer more financially, emotionally, and mentally. In the United States, most single parents are mothers. The struggles that single parents face are greater than those in two parent households. The number of families with a single mother in the United States has increased since 1990, but the poverty rate of black families with a single mother has significantly decreased since that same year. In comparison, the poverty rate of Asian families with a single mother, and the percentage of white, non-Hispanic families with a single mother who live below the poverty level in the United States have both been fluctuating since 2002.

This statistic shows the number of single-parents families with children under 18 years of age in France from 1990 to 2020 (in thousands). It displays that there were ***** thousand single-parents families in France in 2020.

In 2024, the total number of single parent families in Canada increased by 0.03 million families (+1.66 percent) compared to 2023. With 1.84 million families, the total number thereby reached its highest value in the observed period.

In 2023, there were 492,300 thousand single mothers in the Netherlands. This is far higher than the number of single fathers in the Netherlands, which stood at 118,300 in the same year. The number of single mothers and fathers has been increasing every year.

In 1990, 48.1 percent of all Black families with a single mother in the United States lived below the poverty level. In 2023, that figure had decreased to 25.9 percent. This is significantly higher than white households with a single mother. Poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter.

There are over 3.18 million single parent families in the United Kingdom as of 2023, compared with 2.94 million in 2022.