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.

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.

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 2022, there were over 2.4 million single mothers in Germany, compared to 580,000 single fathers. This statistic shows the number of single parents in Germany from 2000 to 2023, by gender.

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 Los Angeles County, CA (S1101SPHOUSE006037) from 2009 to 2023 about Los Angeles County, CA; single-parent; Los Angeles; CA; 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 Philadelphia County, PA (S1101SPHOUSE042101) from 2009 to 2023 about Philadelphia County/City, PA; Philadelphia; single-parent; PA; 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 June of 2025.

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.

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 June of 2025.

Williamsburg City, VA - Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Williamsburg city, VA was 27.38% in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Williamsburg City, VA - Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Williamsburg city, VA reached a record high of 46.92 in January of 2021 and a record low of 27.38 in January of 2023. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Williamsburg City, VA - Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Williamsburg city, VA - 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 Wayne County, OH (S1101SPHOUSE039169) from 2009 to 2023 about Wayne County, OH; single-parent; OH; households; 5-year; and USA.

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 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 Austin County, TX (S1101SPHOUSE048015) from 2009 to 2023 about Austin County, TX; Houston; single-parent; households; TX; 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.

Graph and download economic data for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Shelby County, TN (S1101SPHOUSE047157) from 2009 to 2023 about Shelby County, TN; Memphis; single-parent; TN; households; 5-year; and USA.

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.

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; Columbus; single-parent; OH; households; 5-year; and USA.