Around *** million families in the United States had three or more children under 18 living in the household in 2023. In that same year, about ***** million households had no children under 18 living in the household.

In 2022, about **** million U.S. family households had their own children between three and five years of age living in the household.

The typical American picture of a family with 2.5 kids might not be as relevant as it once was: In 2023, there was an average of 1.94 children under 18 per family in the United States. This is a decrease from 2.33 children under 18 per family in 1960.

Familial structure in the United States

If there’s one thing the United States is known for, it’s diversity. Whether this is diversity in ethnicity, culture, or family structure, there is something for everyone in the U.S. Two-parent households in the U.S. are declining, and the number of families with no children are increasing. The number of families with children has stayed more or less constant since 2000.

Adoptions in the U.S.

Families in the U.S. don’t necessarily consist of parents and their own biological children. In 2021, around 35,940 children were adopted by married couples, and 13,307 children were adopted by single women.

Graph and download economic data for Total Families with Children under 18 Years Old (TTLFMCU) from 1950 to 2024 about 18 years +, family, child, household survey, and USA.

The number of children under the age of 18 living in households in the United States was ****** in 2023. Of that number, ****** were between the ages of six and eight.

The number of children aged between zero and five years old living in the U.S. amounted to around ***** million in 2022. This number has been trending downwards since 2010 when there were around ***** million children aged zero to **** living in the U.S.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the United States population by age cohorts (Children: Under 18 years; Working population: 18-64 years; Senior population: 65 years or more). It lists the population in each age cohort group along with its percentage relative to the total population of United States. The dataset can be utilized to understand the population distribution across children, working population and senior population for dependency ratio, housing requirements, ageing, migration patterns etc.

Key observations

The largest age group was 18 - 64 years with a poulation of 202,602,785 (61.45% of the total population). Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2017-2021 5-Year Estimates.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2017-2021 5-Year Estimates.

Age cohorts:

• Under 18 years
• 18 to 64 years
• 65 years and over

Variables / Data Columns

• Age Group: This column displays the age cohort for the United States population analysis. Total expected values are 3 groups ( Children, Working Population and Senior Population).
• Population: The population for the age cohort in United States is shown in the following column.
• Percent of Total Population: The population as a percent of total population of the United States is shown in the following column.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for United States Population by Age. You can refer the same here

In 2022, about 40.26 percent of all family households in the United States had their own children under age 18 living in the household. This is compared to the approximate 50.62 percent of female led households with their own children.

United States US: Adjusted Net Enrollment Rate: Primary: Male: % of Primary School Age Children data was reported at 93.137 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 92.551 % for 2014. United States US: Adjusted Net Enrollment Rate: Primary: Male: % of Primary School Age Children data is updated yearly, averaging 94.128 % from Dec 1986 (Median) to 2015, with 25 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 98.628 % in 1991 and a record low of 91.823 % in 2004. United States US: Adjusted Net Enrollment Rate: Primary: Male: % of Primary School Age Children data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Education Statistics. Adjusted net enrollment is the number of pupils of the school-age group for primary education, enrolled either in primary or secondary education, expressed as a percentage of the total population in that age group.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

This graph shows the number of families in the United States by number of children and by racial origin. In 2014, about 1.7 million Hispanic families had three or more children under 18 living in the household.

NOTE: On October 19, 2021, estimates for 2016–2018 by health insurance status were revised to correct errors. Changes are highlighted and tagged at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/2019/012-508.pdf Data on health conditions among children under age 18, by selected population characteristics. Please refer to the PDF or Excel version of this table in the HUS 2019 Data Finder (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/contents2019.htm) for critical information about measures, definitions, and changes over time. SOURCE: NCHS, National Health Interview Survey, Family Core and Sample Child questionnaires. For more information on the National Health Interview Survey, see the corresponding Appendix entry at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus19-appendix-508.pdf.

In 2024, about **** million family households with own children under 18 years were led by a person between 35 and 39 years old in the United States.

United States US: Children Out of School: Female: % of Female Primary School Age data was reported at 3.854 % in 1996. This records an increase from the previous number of 2.865 % for 1995. United States US: Children Out of School: Female: % of Female Primary School Age data is updated yearly, averaging 3.460 % from Dec 1986 (Median) to 1996, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5.721 % in 1986 and a record low of 1.033 % in 1990. United States US: Children Out of School: Female: % of Female Primary School Age data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Education Statistics. Children out of school are the percentage of primary-school-age children who are not enrolled in primary or secondary school. Children in the official primary age group that are in preprimary education should be considered out of school.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

United States US: Prevalence of Underweight: Weight for Age: Female: % of Children Under 5 data was reported at 0.400 % in 2012. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.700 % for 2009. United States US: Prevalence of Underweight: Weight for Age: Female: % of Children Under 5 data is updated yearly, averaging 0.800 % from Dec 1991 (Median) to 2012, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.200 % in 1991 and a record low of 0.400 % in 2012. United States US: Prevalence of Underweight: Weight for Age: Female: % of Children Under 5 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Health Statistics. Prevalence of underweight, female, is the percentage of girls under age 5 whose weight for age is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population ages 0-59 months. The data are based on the WHO's new child growth standards released in 2006.; ; World Health Organization, Global Database on Child Growth and Malnutrition. Country-level data are unadjusted data from national surveys, and thus may not be comparable across countries.; Linear mixed-effect model estimates; Undernourished children have lower resistance to infection and are more likely to die from common childhood ailments such as diarrheal diseases and respiratory infections. Frequent illness saps the nutritional status of those who survive, locking them into a vicious cycle of recurring sickness and faltering growth (UNICEF, www.childinfo.org). Estimates of child malnutrition, based on prevalence of underweight and stunting, are from national survey data. The proportion of underweight children is the most common malnutrition indicator. Being even mildly underweight increases the risk of death and inhibits cognitive development in children. And it perpetuates the problem across generations, as malnourished women are more likely to have low-birth-weight babies. Stunting, or being below median height for age, is often used as a proxy for multifaceted deprivation and as an indicator of long-term changes in malnutrition.

Graph and download economic data for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Kent County, MI (S1101SPHOUSE026081) from 2009 to 2023 about Kent County, MI; Grand Rapids; single-parent; MI; households; 5-year; and USA.

United States US: Children Out of School: % of Primary School Age data was reported at 4.079 % in 1996. This records an increase from the previous number of 2.962 % for 1995. United States US: Children Out of School: % of Primary School Age data is updated yearly, averaging 3.921 % from Dec 1975 (Median) to 1996, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 18.418 % in 1975 and a record low of 1.349 % in 1991. United States US: Children Out of School: % of Primary School Age data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Education Statistics. Children out of school are the percentage of primary-school-age children who are not enrolled in primary or secondary school. Children in the official primary age group that are in preprimary education should be considered out of school.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

The American Community Survey Education Tabulation (ACS-ED) is a custom tabulation of the ACS produced for the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES) by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS-ED provides a rich collection of social, economic, demographic, and housing characteristics for school systems, school-age children, and the parents of school-age children. In addition to focusing on school-age children, the ACS-ED provides enrollment iterations for children enrolled in public school. The data profiles include percentages (along with associated margins of error) that allow for comparison of school district-level conditions across the U.S. For more information about the NCES ACS-ED collection, visit the NCES Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates (EDGE) program at: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/edge/Demographic/ACSAnnotation values are negative value representations of estimates and have values when non-integer information needs to be represented. See the table below for a list of common Estimate/Margin of Error (E/M) values and their corresponding Annotation (EA/MA) values.All information contained in this file is in the public domain. Data users are advised to review NCES program documentation and feature class metadata to understand the limitations and appropriate use of these data.-9An '-9' entry in the estimate and margin of error columns indicates that data for this geographic area cannot be displayed because the number of sample cases is too small.-8An '-8' means that the estimate is not applicable or not available.-6A '-6' entry in the estimate column indicates that either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute an estimate, or a ratio of medians cannot be calculated because one or both of the median estimates falls in the lowest interval or upper interval of an open-ended distribution.-5A '-5' entry in the margin of error column indicates that the estimate is controlled. A statistical test for sampling variability is not appropriate.-3A '-3' entry in the margin of error column indicates that the median falls in the lowest interval or upper interval of an open-ended distribution. A statistical test is not appropriate.-2A '-2' entry in the margin of error column indicates that either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute a standard error and thus the margin of error. A statistical test is not appropriate.

Graph and download economic data for Single-Parent Households with Children as a Percentage of Households with Children (5-year estimate) in Mobile County, AL (S1101SPHOUSE001097) from 2009 to 2023 about Mobile County, AL; Mobile; single-parent; AL; households; 5-year; and USA.