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.

Full Description Children are all persons under the age of 18 years. 'Own children' in a family are sons and daughters, including stepchildren and adopted children, of the householder. 'Single-parent family' means only one parent is present in the home, and is never-married, widowed, divorced, or married, spouse absent. This data originates from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates, table B11003. The ACS collects these data from a sample of households on a rolling monthly basis. ACS aggregates samples into one-, three-, or five-year periods.

Graph and download economic data for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in St. Louis city, MO (S1101SPHOUSE029510) from 2009 to 2023 about St. Louis City, MO; single-parent; St. Louis; MO; households; 5-year; and USA.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Franklin County, OH (S1101SPHOUSE039049) from 2009 to 2023 about Franklin County, OH; single-parent; Columbus; OH; households; 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 Los Angeles County, CA (S1101SPHOUSE006037) from 2009 to 2023 about single-parent; Los Angeles County, CA; Los Angeles; CA; households; 5-year; and USA.

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.

In 2024, there were around 15.72 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 **** million single-parent households in South Korea. Single-parent households accounted for about *** percent of total households in South Korea that year.

Graph and download economic data for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Cook County, IL (S1101SPHOUSE017031) from 2009 to 2023 about Cook County, IL; single-parent; Chicago; IL; households; 5-year; and USA.

The U.S. housing market has seen significant price growth since 2011, with the median sales price of existing single-family homes reaching a record high of ******* U.S. dollars in 2024. This represents a substantial increase of ******* over the past five years, highlighting the rapid appreciation of home values across the country. The trend of rising prices can also be observed in the new homes sold. Regional variations and housing shortage While the national median price provides a broad overview, regional differences in home prices are notable. The West remains the most expensive region, with prices twice higher than in the more affordable Midwest. This disparity persists despite efforts to increase housing supply. In 2024, approximately ******* building permits for single-family housing units were granted, showing a slight increase from previous years but still well below the 2005 peak of **** million permits. The ongoing housing shortage continues to drive prices upward across all regions. Market dynamics and future outlook The number of existing home sales has plummeted since 2020, reflecting the growing cost of homeownership. Factors such as high home prices, unfavorable economic conditions, and aggressive increases in mortgage rates have contributed to affordability challenges for many potential homebuyers. Despite these challenges, forecasts suggest a potential recovery in the housing market by 2025, though transaction volumes are expected to remain below long-term averages.

The total number of single parent families in Canada was 1.84 million in 2024. Between 2006 and 2024, the total number rose by 370,000, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.

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.

The average American household consisted of 2.51 people in 2023.

Households in the U.S.

As shown in the statistic, the number of people per household has decreased over the past decades.

The U.S. Census Bureau defines a household as follows: “a household includes all the persons who occupy a housing unit as their usual place of residence. A housing unit is a house, an apartment, a mobile home, a group of rooms, or a single room that is occupied (or if vacant, is intended for occupancy) as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live and eat separately from any other persons in the building and which have direct access from outside the building or through a common hall. The occupants may be a single family, one person living alone, two or more families living together, or any other group of related or unrelated persons who share living arrangements. (People not living in households are classified as living in group quarters.).”

The population of the United States has been growing steadily for decades. Since 1960, the number of households more than doubled from 53 million to over 131 million households in 2023.

Most of these households, about 34 percent, are two-person households. The distribution of U.S. households has changed over the years though. The percentage of single-person households has been on the rise since 1970 and made up the second largest proportion of households in the U.S. in 2022, at 28.88 percent.

In concordance with the rise of single-person households, the percentage of family households with own children living in the household has declined since 1970 from 56 percent to 40.26 percent in 2022.

In 2024, **** percent of families with a female householder without a spouse in the U.S. lived in poverty. This reflected the lowest level recorded over the observed period. You can get an overview on the total number of households in the U.S. here.

Graph and download economic data for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Fulton County, GA (S1101SPHOUSE013121) from 2009 to 2023 about Fulton County, GA; single-parent; Atlanta; GA; households; 5-year; and USA.

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 November of 2025.

Displacement risk indicator showing the number of property transactions of single-family homes recorded by the King County Assessor that can be classified as "flips" (meaning that the home had previously been sold within the past year and that the sale price had increased between sales at least twice as fast as the increase in regional housing Consumer Price Index during the same time period). Summarized at the census tract level; available for every year from 2004 through the most recent year of available data.

Single family programs that support repairs or improvements to existing affordable single family units. Units are counted when projects are approved for payment by HED. Unit totals are adjusted to account for units receiving benefits from multiple HED programs.

Graph and download economic data for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Philadelphia County, PA (S1101SPHOUSE042101) from 2009 to 2023 about Philadelphia County/City, PA; single-parent; Philadelphia; PA; households; 5-year; and USA.