2026 update: this page uses the latest data available, the Census Bureau’s 2025 Current Population Survey. Profile figures from Pew Research Center are from 2011.
Key finding
The U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey counted 2.57 million single-father families with children under 18 in 2025, compared with 7.67 million single-mother families. Single fathers head about 25% of one-parent families, up from 10% in 1960, when the same survey counted 232,000 single-father families. About 4.6% of U.S. children under 18 (3.3 million) live with their father only. Single fathers are more likely than single mothers to be living with a cohabiting partner (41% vs. 16%, Pew Research Center, 2011 data), are more likely to be white, and have higher household incomes. Current counts come from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) 2025 Annual Social and Economic Supplement; the profile figures come from Pew Research Center’s 2013 analysis of Census and American Community Survey data, which uses a slightly different count (2.6 million single-father households in 2011).
The U.S. Census Bureau counted about 2.57 million single-father families with their own children under 18 in 2025, roughly 25% of all one-parent families. About 7.67 million families were headed by a single mother. About 4.6% of U.S. children under 18 live with their father only, compared with about 21% who live with their mother only.
These figures come from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement for 2025, published in the Census Bureau’s historical America’s Families and Living Arrangements tables (Table FM-1 for families, Table CH-1 for children) in December 2025. In these tables, a single-father family is a family headed by a man with no spouse present who lives with his own children under 18; he may be living with an unmarried partner.
Data breakdown: Single fathers vs. single mothers in the U.S.
Single fathers make up a distinct minority of single parents. The table below compares the two groups across key demographic and economic indicators. Counts are from the Census Bureau’s 2025 CPS. Poverty rates are Census figures for calendar 2025, measured in the March 2026 survey, and cover families with any related children under 18, a slightly broader group than the family counts above. Income and partner figures come from Pew Research Center’s 2013 report, which analyzed 2011 Census and ACS data, so those dollar amounts are from 2011.
| Metric | Single Fathers | Single Mothers | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Families with own children under 18 (2025) | 2.57 million | 7.67 million | Census CPS, Table FM-1 (2025) |
| Share of one-parent families (2025) | 25% | 75% | Census CPS, Table FM-1 (2025) |
| Children living this way (2025) | 4.6% of kids under 18 (3.3 million) | 21% of kids under 18 (15.3 million) | Census CPS, Table CH-1 (2025) |
| Poverty rate, families with related children under 18 (2025) | 14.2% | 29.5% | Census CPS, Historical Poverty Table 4 (2025) |
| Median household income (3-person, 2011 data) | ~$40,000 | ~$26,000 | Pew Research, 2013 |
| Living with a cohabiting partner (2011) | 41% | 16% | Pew Research, 2013 |
| Historical count (1960) | 232,000 | 2.10 million | Census CPS, Table FM-1 |
Growth over time (single-father vs. single-mother families with own children under 18, U.S. Census Bureau CPS Table FM-1):
| Year | Single-father families | Single-mother families | Fathers’ share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 232,000 | 2.10 million | 10% |
| 1970 | 345,000 | 2.97 million | 10% |
| 1980 | 616,000 | 5.45 million | 10% |
| 1990 | 1.15 million | 6.60 million | 15% |
| 2000 | 1.79 million | 7.57 million | 19% |
| 2010 | 2.22 million | 8.42 million | 21% |
| 2020 | 2.37 million | 7.47 million | 24% |
| 2025 | 2.57 million | 7.67 million | 25% |
1970 and 1980 use Census’s revised figures. Pew Research Center’s separate count, from the Decennial Census and American Community Survey rather than the CPS, puts single-father households at under 300,000 in 1960 and 2.6 million in 2011, and fathers’ share of single-parent households at 14% in 1960 and 24% in 2011. Both series show the same long-run rise; the levels differ because the surveys differ.
Who single fathers are (from Pew Research Center, 2013, using 2011 Census/ACS data):
About 52% of single fathers have no cohabiting partner; 41% are living with a non-marital partner; and 7% are technically married but living apart from their spouse. Among single fathers without a partner, the median household income is approximately $43,000; among those cohabiting, it is about $38,000.
Single fathers are predominantly white (56%), with 24% Hispanic and 15% Black, compared with single mothers who are 45% white, 28% Black, and 22% Hispanic.
Want to use this chart? Copy and paste:
In-depth analysis: The rise — and plateau — of single fatherhood in America
Single fatherhood has grown far faster than single motherhood. In the Census Bureau’s CPS series, single-father families rose about elevenfold between 1960 and 2025, from 232,000 to 2.57 million, while single-mother families grew less than fourfold, from 2.10 million to 7.67 million. As a share of one-parent families, fathers went from 10% to 25%. Pew Research Center’s separate analysis of Census data found the same pattern: about a ninefold rise in single-father households from 1960 to 2011, from under 300,000 to more than 2.6 million.
Growth has slowed recently. Single-father families numbered 2.47 million in 2016 and 2.57 million in 2025 in the CPS series, while single-mother families fell from 8.53 million to 7.67 million over the same years. That’s why fathers’ share keeps creeping up even though their own numbers have barely moved. One caution on the latest year: Census notes that its 2025 figures use new (Vintage 2025) population estimates, so changes between 2024 and 2025 reflect both real change and that method update.
The economic gap between single fathers and single mothers is large. In 2025, 14.2% of families with related children under 18 headed by a single father were in poverty, versus 29.5% of those headed by a single mother (Census). Pew found single fathers also had higher incomes, though some of that reflects the higher rate of cohabitation among single fathers: a partner in the household can add income. The more meaningful comparison is with solo-custody fathers (those with no partner), whose median income of roughly $43,000 still sits above the $26,000 median for single mothers, but not by as wide a margin as the headline figures suggest.
Pew points to several likely drivers of the long-run growth. First is a marked increase in the share of births to unmarried parents. Divorce rates have leveled off but remain higher than in the 1960s and 1970s. And some experts suggest changes in the legal system have given more fathers at least partial custody after a breakup. Pew also notes fathers’ role has shifted toward caregiving, with dads narrowing the gap with mothers in time spent with their children.
FAQ: Single fathers in the U.S.
How many single fathers are there in the United States?
The Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey counted 2.57 million single-father families in 2025. These are families where a man is the householder, no spouse is present, and at least one of his own children under 18 lives in the home.
How do single fathers compare to single mothers in numbers?
Single mothers outnumber single fathers roughly 3 to 1. The 2025 CPS counted 7.67 million single-mother families compared with 2.57 million single-father families. Single fathers head about 25% of all one-parent families.
What percentage of children live with a single father?
About 4.6% of U.S. children under 18 (3.3 million) lived with their father only in 2025, according to the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (Table CH-1). By comparison, about 21% (15.3 million) lived with their mother only.
Are single fathers poor?
Single-father families have much lower poverty rates than single-mother families, but higher rates than married couples. In 2025, 14.2% of families with related children under 18 headed by a single father were in poverty, compared with 29.5% headed by a single mother and 4.7% of married-couple families with children, according to Census Bureau CPS data.
Has the number of single fathers increased over time?
Yes. In Census CPS data, single-father families grew from 232,000 in 1960 to 2.57 million in 2025, about elevenfold. Growth has slowed since the early 2010s, with the count near 2.4 to 2.7 million in every year since 2012.
What is a “single father” in Census data?
The Census Bureau defines a single-father household as one where the male householder has no spouse present and at least one child under 18 living with him. The category includes men who are divorced, widowed, never-married, or married-but-separated. It also includes men who are cohabiting with a non-marital partner — about 41% of single fathers, per Pew Research.
Sources
U.S. Census Bureau. Historical Families Table FM-1: Families by presence of own children under 18, 1950 to present. December 2025. Source for the 2025 counts, the growth table, and the chart.
U.S. Census Bureau. National Single Parent Day: March 21, 2024. 2024. Earlier source for the 2023 counts (2.5 million single-father and 7.3 million single-mother households).
U.S. Census Bureau. America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2023. CPS tables, 2023. Detailed household structure data.
U.S. Census Bureau. America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2022. Report P20-587, published 2024. Long-run household composition data.
U.S. Census Bureau. Historical Living Arrangements of Children, Table CH-1: Living arrangements of children under 18, 1960 to present. December 2025. Source for the 4.6% of children living with father only.
U.S. Census Bureau. Historical Poverty Table 4: Poverty status of families by type of family and presence of related children. Source for the 2025 poverty rates.
Pew Research Center. The Rise of Single Fathers. July 2013. Source for the ninefold 1960–2011 growth figure, demographic profile, cohabitation and income comparison of single fathers vs. single mothers.
Cite this research
APA 7 Fathercraft. (2026). How many single fathers are there in the U.S.? Fathercraft Research. https://fathercraft.com/single-father-statistics/
MLA 9 Fathercraft. “How Many Single Fathers Are There in the U.S.?” Fathercraft Research, 2026, fathercraft.com/single-father-statistics/.
Chicago (author-date) Fathercraft. 2026. “How Many Single Fathers Are There in the U.S.?” Fathercraft Research. https://fathercraft.com/single-father-statistics/.
Published 2026-06-05; figures updated 2026-10-11. Primary data: U.S. Census Bureau CPS (2025); Pew Research Center (2013, using 2011 Census/ACS data). Income and cohabitation figures reflect 2011 data unless otherwise noted.
