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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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 December of 2025.

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.

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 November of 2025.

Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Bronx County, NY was 59.24% 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 Bronx County, NY reached a record high of 63.24 in January of 2013 and a record low of 57.70 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 Bronx County, NY - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on November of 2025.

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 November of 2025.

There are just under **** million single parent families in the United Kingdom as of 2024, compared with *** million in 1996.

Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Gallatin County, MT was 19.05% 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 Gallatin County, MT reached a record high of 23.93 in January of 2014 and a record low of 18.94 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 Gallatin County, MT - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on November of 2025.

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.

Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Clay County, FL was 28.55% 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 Clay County, FL reached a record high of 30.25 in January of 2021 and a record low of 27.09 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 Clay County, FL - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on November 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 December of 2025.

Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Chickasaw County, IA was 24.88% 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 Chickasaw County, IA reached a record high of 32.39 in January of 2015 and a record low of 13.93 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 Chickasaw County, IA - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on November of 2025.

Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Lauderdale County, AL was 30.99% 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 Lauderdale County, AL reached a record high of 32.86 in January of 2014 and a record low of 27.39 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 Lauderdale County, AL - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on December of 2025.

SACOG, with the assistance of the SACOG Equity Working Group, identified 2020 EJ areas as census block group level concentrations of low income, and/or high minority and/or qualification of an “other vulnerability" and/or within the CalEnviroScreen 3.0 identified areas. The other vulnerabilities take into consideration concentrations of: older adults aged 75 or more, linguistically isolated households, single parent households with children under the age of 18, low educational attainment, severely housing cost burdened households, and persons with disabilities.This is consistent with SACOG's 2020 MTP/SCS adopted plan. This feature has identified 548 boundaries as Environmental Justice areas for the SACOG region as of August 2021.