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 St. Louis city, MO (S1101SPHOUSE029510) from 2009 to 2023 about St. Louis City, MO; St. Louis; single-parent; 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 Harris County, TX (S1101SPHOUSE048201) from 2009 to 2023 about Harris County, TX; Houston; 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 Los Angeles County, CA (S1101SPHOUSE006037) from 2009 to 2023 about Los Angeles County, CA; single-parent; Los Angeles; CA; households; 5-year; 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 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.

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; Philadelphia; single-parent; PA; households; 5-year; and USA.

Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Orange County, CA was 22.99% 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 Orange County, CA reached a record high of 24.32 in January of 2013 and a record low of 22.66 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 Orange County, CA - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on February of 2025.

Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Montgomery County, IN was 31.91% 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 Montgomery County, IN reached a record high of 32.94 in January of 2015 and a record low of 25.11 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 Montgomery County, IN - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March of 2025.

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.

In 2023, there were about 1.49 million single-parent households in South Korea. Single-parent households accounted for about 6.6 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 Wayne County, UT (S1101SPHOUSE049055) from 2009 to 2023 about Wayne County, UT; single-parent; UT; households; 5-year; and USA.

Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Contra Costa County, CA was 23.84% 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 Contra Costa County, CA reached a record high of 26.23 in January of 2011 and a record low of 23.84 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 Contra Costa County, CA - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on March 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 March of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Black Hawk County, IA (S1101SPHOUSE019013) from 2009 to 2023 about Black Hawk County, IA; Waterloo; single-parent; IA; 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 Orange County, CA (S1101SPHOUSE006059) from 2009 to 2023 about Orange County, CA; single-parent; Los Angeles; CA; households; 5-year; and USA.

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.

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.