NOV. 17, 2022 — The U.S. Census Bureau today released estimates showing there were 10.9 million one-parent family groups with a child under the age of 18 in 2022. Data from the annual release of America’s Families and Living Arrangements also show that 80% of one-parent family groups were maintained by a mother.
About 44% of one-parent family groups had two or more of their own children under age 18 in the household. Two-thirds (67%) of one-parent family groups had at least one child under 12 years old and 51% had at least one child between the ages of 12 and 17 living with them.
Other Highlights
Households:
- There were 37.9 million one-person households, 29% of all U.S. households in 2022. In 1960, single-person households represented only 13% of all households.
- Families: The percentage of U.S. families with their own children under 18 in the household declined from 2002 to 2022. In 2002, 48% of all families lived with their own children under 18, compared to 43% in 2012 and 40% in 2022.
Marriage:
- In 2022, 34% of people ages 15 and over had never been married, up from 23% in 1950.
- The estimated median age to marry in 2022 for the first time was 30.1 for men and 28.2 for women, up from ages 23.7 and 20.5, respectively, in 1947.
- Less than one quarter (24%) of children under age 15 living in opposite-sex married-couple families had a stay-at-home mother, compared to only 1% with a stay-at-home father in 2022.
Living Arrangements:
- More than half (56%) of adults ages 18 to 24 lived in their parental home, compared to 16% of adults ages 25 to 34 in 2022.
These statistics come from the 2022 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement, which has collected statistics on families for more than 60 years. The data show characteristics of households, living arrangements, married/unmarried couples and children.
For more data on families and living arrangements, visit The Modern Family: Changes in Structure and Living Arrangements in the United States, How are Single-Parent Households Distributed Across the United States? or the Families and Living Arrangements page at census.gov.
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