Households with children statistics
Published September 25, 2026 · StatsGalore
share of married-couple households that included their own children under age 18 in 2025 [1]
This reference summarizes the Census Bureau figures in the supplied release that speak directly to households or families with children. The central household measure is the share of married-couple households that included their own children under age 18. In 2025, that share was about 37%; in 1975, it was more than half, at 54%. The release also reports a broader family measure: families with their own children under age 18 declined from 54% in 1975 to 39% in 2025. These are shares of household or family categories, not counts of children or people. [1]
The numbers
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Married-couple households with their own children under age 18, 2025 | about 37% | [1] |
| Married-couple households with their own children under age 18, 1975 | 54% | [1] |
| Families with their own children under age 18 in the household, 2025 | 39% | [1] |
| Families with their own children under age 18 in the household, 1975 | 54% | [1] |
| U.S. households that were married couples, 2025 | 47% | [1] |
| U.S. households that were married couples, 1975 | 66% | [1] |
| One-person households, 2025 | 39.7 million; 29% of all households | [1] |
| One-person households, 1975 | 20% of all households | [1] |
Core household child measure
The most direct household-with-children statistic in the supplied material is for married-couple households. The Census Bureau release says that in 1975, more than half of married-couple households included their own children under age 18, at 54%. By 2025, the share had declined to about 37%.
This measure is conditional on being a married-couple household. It is not a count of all households with children, and it is not a child population count. The denominator is married-couple households, while the numerator is those married-couple households that included their own children under age 18.
[1]Broader family measure
The release also gives a broader family statistic. Families with their own children under age 18 in the household declined from 54% in 1975 to 39% in 2025. This is related to, but not the same as, the married-couple household measure.
The distinction matters because households and families are not interchangeable categories in the release. The family statistic uses families as the denominator, while the household statistic cited for children is specifically married-couple households. Both measures use the phrase own children under age 18.
[1]Household context
The child-related household statistics appear in a wider set of household estimates. The release reports that fewer than half of U.S. households in 2025 were married couples, at 47%. The comparison given for 1975 was nearly two-thirds, at 66%.
The same release reports a separate one-person household measure: in 2025, there were 39.7 million one-person households, accounting for 29% of all households, up from 20% in 1975. That context helps show that the child-related measures are part of a broader household-composition reference, but one-person households are not households with children.
[1]Source, comparisons, and limits
The supplied release identifies the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement as the source for the 2025 and 1975 statistics. It also says CPS ASEC has collected statistics on families for more than 60 years and that the data cover household characteristics, living arrangements, couple types, and children.
The release points readers to technical documentation for definitions, confidentiality protection, methodology, and sampling and nonsampling error. It also states that comparative statements underwent statistical testing and, unless otherwise noted, comparisons are statistically significant at the 10 percent significance level. The figures summarized here should therefore be read as sourced estimates for the specified categories and years, not as unsupported totals or explanations.
[1]Sources & notes
The supplied release says the statistics come from CPS ASEC, years 2025 and 1975. It references technical documentation for definitions and error sources. Measures here are percentages of specified household or family categories, not counts of children or all households with children.
Source review: 2026-09-25. Article publication and underlying data dates are separate. How we use statistics · Suggest a correction