Data Underload  /  ,

Single Parents

By Nathan Yau

In the 1950s, less than 10% of families with children were single-parent. In 2022, among families with children, 31% were single-parent — more than three times as common.

 

The total number of families went up. There were 84.2 million of them in 2022.

TOTAL FAMILIES

MILLIONS

80

60

40

20

0

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2022

 
 

There was also a growing number of families with children (under 18, living with a parent), but that changed around the time of the Great Recession between 2007 and 2008.

TOTAL FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN UNDER 18

MILLIONS

40

30

20

10

0

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2022

 
 

After the baby boom through the early 1960s, families had fewer children overall. This is more obvious as a percentage of total families.

FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN UNDER 18

FROM TOTAL FAMILIES

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2022

 
 

Divorce is more common, so single-parent families are more common. It looked like it was on the way down starting in 2013, but there was an uptick in 2021. The rate stayed the same in 2022 at 31%.

FAMILIES WITH ONE PARENT

FROM FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2022

 
 

Single-parent families usually meant children lived with their mothers, and it still does, but that seems to be changing. It was 66% more likely for children to live with their father in 2022 than in 1950.

JUST MOM OR JUST DAD

FROM ONE-PARENT FAMILIES

100%

JUST MOM

80%

60%

40%

20%

JUST DAD

0%

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2022

 

This is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

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