Over Half of Households in the U.S. Don't Have Kids 👬

What We’re Showing

This graphic shows the composition of American households over time, based on data from the Census Bureau via USAFacts.

Key Takeaways

• In 1960, the share of U.S. households that consisted of married parents was 44.2%, which has since dropped by half as of 2023.
• In a reverse trend, the share of households that are single parents or single with no kids have roughly doubled over the time period.
• The U.S. fertility rate dropped to a historic low of 1.6 children per woman in 2023, falling below the 2.1 replacement level required to sustain the population.