---
title: "5 facts about moms"
description: "52.9% of women aged 15-44, or about 32.5 million, were mothers in 2010, according to the Census Bureau. The U.S. birth rate dipped in 2011 to the lowest ever recorded, led by a plunge in births to immigrant women since the onset of the Great Recession. Today’s mothers have more education than ever before, according […]"
date: "2013-05-10"
authors:
  - name: "Drew DeSilver"
    job_title: "Senior Writer/Editor"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/drew-desilver/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2013/05/10/5-facts-about-moms/"
categories:
  - "Family & Relationships"
  - "Gender"
  - "Gender & LGBTQ"
  - "Household Structure & Family Roles"
  - "Motherhood & Fatherhood"
  - "Parenthood"
---

# 5 facts about moms

****

![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2012/12/1.png)

**52.9%** of women aged 15-44, or about 32.5 million, were mothers in 2010, according to the [Census Bureau](http://www.census.gov/hhes/fertility/data/cps/2010.html). The U.S. birth rate dipped in 2011 to the lowest ever recorded, led by a plunge in births to immigrant women since the onset of the Great Recession.

![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2012/12/2.png)

![smart moms](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2013/05/smart-moms.png)

Today's mothers have more education than ever before, according to a new Pew Research Center [analysis](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2013/05/10/record-share-of-new-mothers-are-college-educated/%20) of Census data. About **two-thirds** of new mothers in 2011 had at least some college education, reflecting a decades-long rise in the educational levels of all women.

![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2012/12/3.png)

In 2010, the average age of first-time mothers was **25.4**, according to the [National Center for Health Statistics](http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr61/nvsr61_01.pdf). Age at first birth has been trending upward for a long time; in 1980 the average age was 22.7.

![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2012/12/4.png)

Between paid and unpaid work, the average mother works about **2** more hours a week than she did in 1965, though the mix of time spent on paid work, housework and child care has changed dramatically:

[![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/03/ModernParenthood-slideshow_002.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2013/03/14/modern-parenthood-slideshow/modernparenthood-slideshow_002/)

![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2012/12/5.png)

Though 56% of working mothers say it’s very or somewhat difficult to balance work and family responsibilities, **78%** say they’re doing an “excellent” or “very good” job as parents.

[![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/03/ModernParenthood-slideshow_010.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2013/03/14/modern-parenthood-slideshow/modernparenthood-slideshow_010/)