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.

In 2023, there were around 15.18 million families with a female householder and no spouse present in the United States, an increase from the previous year. You can get an overview on the total number of households in the U.S. here.

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 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 **** percent in 1990 to **** percent in 2020.

Between 2011 and 2020, the number of single parents with children increased. More specifically, the number of single parents with one child grew from 1.7 million individuals in 2011 to over two million in 2020. The amount of singles with two children rose as well, going from 640 thousand to 790 thousand. On the other hand, the number of single parents with three or more children decreased between 2015 and 2020.

This statistic shows the total number of female lone parents (single mothers) in Canada in 2020, distinguished by their age. In 2020, about 41,910 single mothers aged between 0 and 24 years were living in Canada.

Percentage of single parents with children under 18 in households with children under 18 on December 31, 2020 (MSS 2021, PLR, context indicator: K 02), map with group formation according to standard deviation from the mean

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 dataset includes birth rates for unmarried women by age group, race, and Hispanic origin in the United States since 1970. Methods for collecting information on marital status changed over the reporting period and have been documented in: • Ventura SJ, Bachrach CA. Nonmarital childbearing in the United States, 1940–99. National vital statistics reports; vol 48 no 16. Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics. 2000. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr48/nvs48_16.pdf. • National Center for Health Statistics. User guide to the 2013 natality public use file. Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics. 2014. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/VitalStatsOnline.htm. National data on births by Hispanics origin exclude data for Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma in 1989; for New Hampshire and Oklahoma in 1990; for New Hampshire in 1991 and 1992. Information on reporting Hispanic origin is detailed in the Technical Appendix for the 1999 public-use natality data file (see (ftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/DVS/natality/Nat1999doc.pdf.) All birth data by race before 1980 are based on race of the child. Starting in 1980, birth data by race are based on race of the mother. SOURCES CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, birth data (see http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/births.htm); public-use data files (see http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/Vitalstatsonline.htm); and CDC WONDER (see http://wonder.cdc.gov/). REFERENCES Curtin SC, Ventura SJ, Martinez GM. Recent declines in nonmarital childbearing in the United States. NCHS data brief, no 162. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2014. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db162.pdf. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, et al. Births: Final data for 2015. National vital statistics reports; vol 66 no 1. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2017. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr66/nvsr66_01.pdf.

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.

Families of tax filers; Single-earner and dual-earner census families by number of children (final T1 Family File; T1FF).

COVID-19 - Government income support and benefits of census family units by census family type and number of children (1, 2, 3, 4)Frequency: OccasionalTable: 11-10-0100-01Release date: 2023-07-12Geography: Canada, Province or territory, Census metropolitan area, Census agglomeration, Census metropolitan area part, Census agglomeration partFootnotes: 1 The data source for this table is the final version of the T1 Family File, created by the Centre for Income and Socio-Economic Well-being Statistics of Statistics Canada. Because they are based on a different methodology, estimates of the number of individuals and census families presented in this table differ from estimates produced by the Centre for Demography. Information on the data source, the historical availability, definitions of the terms used, and the geographies available can be found at https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/72-212-X" rel="external noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Technical Reference Guide for the Annual Income Estimates for Census Families2 This table should only be used in conjunction with income statistics produced using the T1 Family File. Because the counts available in this table are based on a different methodology, the family and person counts will differ from estimates produced by the Centre for Demography.3 COVID Benefits are benefits provided by the federal and provincial government during the pandemic to support individuals and families in 2020. More information is available from the https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/72-212-X" rel="external noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Technical Reference Guide for the Annual Income Estimates for Census Families4 Statistics are calculated based on families who received COVID benefits only.5 The Census Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) is used for data dissemination of the census metropolitan areas and the census agglomerations: from 2016 to 2020, SGC 2016; as of 2021, SGC 2021. 6 Census families are comprised of: 1) couples (married or common-law, including same-sex couples) living in the same dwelling with or without children, and 2) single parents (male or female) living with one or more children. Persons who are not matched to a family become persons not in census families. They may be living alone, with a family to whom they are related, with a family to whom they are unrelated or with other persons not in census families.7 A couple family consists of a couple living together (married or common-law, including same-sex couples) living at the same address with or without children.8 A lone-parent family is a family with only one parent, male or female, and with at least one child.9 A person not in census families is an individual who is not part of a census family, couple family or lone-parent family. Persons not in census families may live with their married children or with their children who have children of their own. They may be living with a family to whom they are related or unrelated. They may also be living alone or with other non-family persons.10 Children are tax filers or imputed persons in couple and lone-parent families. Tax filing children do not live with their spouse, have no children of their own and live with their parent(s). Most children are identified from the Canada Child Tax Benefit file, a provincial births file or a previous T1 family file.11 Median is the middle number in a group of numbers. Where a median income, for example, is given as $26,000, it means that exactly half of the incomes reported are greater than or equal to $26,000, and that the other half is less than or equal to the median amount. 12 Total income is income from all sources. As of 2020, COVID-19 - Government income support and benefits are included in income estimates. A detailed definition of what is included in total income is available from the Technical Reference Guide for the Preliminary Estimates from the T1 Family File (T1FF) - opens in a new browser window."

LIST OF FACTORS INCLUDED IN THE INDEX:

1-Rate per 1000, Age Specific Fertility Rate for Women age 15-19 (Adolescent Birth Rate)

2-Percent, Pre-Term Births (<37 Weeks) as a Percent of All Live Births

3-Percent, Low and Very Low Birthweight Births as a Percent of All Live Births

4-Percent Population 25+ Without High School Degree

5-Percent of Civilian Labor Force 16 years or older who are Unemployed

6-Rate per 1000 Substantiated Cases of Child Abuse or Neglect Children Age 0-17

7-Rate of Infant Deaths per 1000 Live Births

8-Percent Live Births to Mothers with No High School Degree

9-Percent of Children 0-17 Below 100% Federal Poverty Level

10-Percent, Births to Unmarried Mothers as a Percent of All Live Births

11-Percent, Births With Less than Adequate Prenatal Care as a Percent of All Live Births

12-Rate per 1000 of Juvenile Justice Referrals of Children Age 0-17

OTHER CONTEXT VARIABLES:

Children without Health Insurance Coverage, 2012-2016 (ACS)

Percent of Total Population Below 100% Federal Poverty Level, 2012-2016 (ACS)

Population Denominators: Number of teens, children, toddlers, households, families and births in each neighborhood

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.

Topic-based Tabulations paint a portrait of Canada based on various topics, that is on groups of variables on related subjects. They are available for various level of geography. Some tables provide a simple overview of the country; others consist of three or four cross-tabulated variables; and will others are of special or analytic interest. The topic-based tabulations are categorized into 3 data products listed below: Canadian Overview Tables (COT): A Profile of the Canadian Population, Where We Live Basic Cross-Tabulations (BCT), and Special Interest Tables (SIT). Some Topic-based Tabulations are accessible on the official day of release of the variables. Other tables are added to each topic through the course of the dissemination cycle. Users have access to progressively more detailed cross-tabulations and more detailed levels of geography. The Topic-based Tabulations replace the former series The Nation, Dimensions and Basic Summary Tables.

LIST OF FACTORS INCLUDED IN THE INDEX:

1-Rate per 1000, Age Specific Fertility Rate for Women age 15-19 (Adolescent Birth Rate)

2-Percent, Pre-Term Births (<37 Weeks) as a Percent of All Live Births

3-Percent, Low and Very Low Birthweight Births as a Percent of All Live Births

4-Percent Population 25+ Without High School Degree

5-Percent of Civilian Labor Force 16 years or older who are Unemployed

6-Rate per 1000 Substantiated Cases of Child Abuse or Neglect Children Age 0-17

7-Rate of Infant Deaths per 1000 Live Births

8-Percent Live Births to Mothers with No High School Degree

9-Percent of Children 0-17 Below 100% Federal Poverty Level

10-Percent, Births to Unmarried Mothers as a Percent of All Live Births

11-Percent, Births With Less than Adequate Prenatal Care as a Percent of All Live Births

12-Rate per 1000 of Juvenile Justice Referrals of Children Age 0-17

OTHER CONTEXT VARIABLES:

Children without Health Insurance Coverage, 2012-2016 (ACS)

Percent of Total Population Below 100% Federal Poverty Level, 2012-2016 (ACS)

Population Denominators: Number of teens, children, toddlers, households, families and births in each neighborhood

Census profiles present information from the 2011 Census of Population for various levels of geography, including provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas, communities and census tracts. Profiles includes characteristics such as population, age, sex, dwellings, families, marital status and language. Aggregate data tables are presented in Beyond 2020 (.ivt) and Excel (.csv) formats. Note: Odesi also contains the National Household Survey, first conducted during the 2011 census cycle. This voluntary, self-administered survey was introduced as a replacement for the long-form census, and contains questions on immigration and ethnocultural diversity, aboriginal peoples, education and labour, mobility and migration, language of work, income, and housing. The National Household survey can be found under the 'Social Surveys' heading.

This statistic shows the number of children living with single divorced parents in the United States in 2020, by race. In 2020, ****** Asian children lived with their divorced single father.

Families and children in the UK by family type including married couples, cohabiting couples and lone parents. Also shows household size and people living alone.

Sociodemographic factors of participants with or without food expense insufficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic in Group 1 (n = 25,482).