Fifty years ago, four in 10 American families survived on a single income. Now, the days of the single-income household are long gone.
For the first time in U.S. history, the majority of all heterosexual households have two full-time, working parents. Now, both parents in more than half (52%) of heterosexual couples with kids under 18 hold full-time jobs, according to a Pew Research analysis of 2025 U.S. Census Bureau data.
As a result, the stay-at-home parent is also on the decline. About a fourth of families are made up of a dad who works full-time and a mom who is unemployed. Pew found that just 6% of moms work full-time while their male partner isn’t employed, or works part-time. That’s twice as many moms as 50 years ago.
Another 14% of working parents aren’t married or don’t live with a partner.
Pew Research Center
