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.

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; 5-year; households; 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; 5-year; CA; households; and USA.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Orange County, CA (S1101SPHOUSE006059) from 2009 to 2023 about Orange County, CA; single-parent; Los Angeles; CA; households; 5-year; and USA.

Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in New York County, NY was 34.65% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in New York County, NY reached a record high of 40.90 in January of 2011 and a record low of 33.79 in January of 2020. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in New York County, NY - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on August of 2025.

Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Los Angeles County, CA was 32.63% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Los Angeles County, CA reached a record high of 34.00 in January of 2014 and a record low of 31.77 in January of 2019. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Los Angeles County, CA - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on September of 2025.

Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Palm Beach County, FL was 33.01% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Palm Beach County, FL reached a record high of 36.19 in January of 2014 and a record low of 32.60 in January of 2020. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Palm Beach County, FL - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on September of 2025.

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 Dallas County, TX (S1101SPHOUSE048113) from 2009 to 2023 about Dallas County, TX; single-parent; Dallas; TX; households; 5-year; and USA.

San Francisco County/city, CA - Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in San Francisco County, CA was 22.82% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, San Francisco County/city, CA - Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in San Francisco County, CA reached a record high of 27.21 in January of 2011 and a record low of 22.04 in January of 2019. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for San Francisco County/city, CA - Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in San Francisco County, CA - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on September of 2025.

Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in San Diego County, CA was 25.54% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in San Diego County, CA reached a record high of 28.19 in January of 2015 and a record low of 25.54 in January of 2023. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in San Diego County, CA - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on August of 2025.

Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Austin County, TX was 28.61% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Austin County, TX reached a record high of 31.80 in January of 2020 and a record low of 20.04 in January of 2013. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Austin County, TX - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on September of 2025.

This web map provides estimates for the percentage of single-parent households from the American Community Survey 5-year data for the United States—50 states and the District of Columbia at county, place, census tract, and ZCTA-levels. Data were downloaded from data.census.gov using Census API and processed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in conjunction with the CDC Foundation. Year: 2017–2021 ACS table(s): B11012, DP02 Data downloaded from: Census Bureau’s API for American Community Survey Date of API call: September 12, 2023 For questions or feedback send an email to places@cdc.gov.

Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Plymouth County, MA was 26.89% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Plymouth County, MA reached a record high of 28.26 in January of 2018 and a record low of 25.19 in January of 2009. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Plymouth County, MA - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

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

Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Sarpy County, NE was 24.11% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Sarpy County, NE reached a record high of 25.89 in January of 2016 and a record low of 21.58 in January of 2010. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Sarpy County, NE - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Wayne County, OH (S1101SPHOUSE039169) from 2009 to 2023 about Wayne County, OH; single-parent; OH; 5-year; households; and USA.