U.S. adults in their 20s and 30s plan to have fewer children than in the past
These declines in the number of children adults plan to have occurred almost entirely in the last decade.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Household Structure & Family Roles
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Household Structure & Family Roles
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Are children better off when one parent has a job or when both do? U.S. teens differ in their views
In the U.S., 43% of teenagers say children are better off when one parent doesn’t have a job and focuses on the family.
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The shares of young adults living with parents vary widely across the U.S.
In 2023, 18% of adults ages 25 to 34 were living in a parent’s home. Young men were more likely than young women to do so (20% vs. 15%).
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What do Americans think about fewer people choosing to have children?
The share of U.S. adults younger than 50 without children who say they are unlikely to ever have children rose from 37% in 2018 to 47% in 2023.
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Support for legal abortion is widespread in many places, especially in Europe
Majorities in most of the 27 places around the world surveyed in 2023 and 2024 say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
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Americans overwhelmingly say access to IVF is a good thing
Seven-in-ten Americans say in vitro fertilization access is a good thing. Just 8% say it is a bad thing, and 22% are unsure.
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Among parents with young adult children, some dads feel less connected to their kids than moms do
Majorities of both moms and dads with a young adult child age 18 to 34 say they’re as involved in their child’s day-to-day life as they’d like to be.
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Most East Asian adults say men and women should share financial and caregiving duties
Around eight-in-ten adults in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam say both men and women should be primarily responsible for earning money.
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Parents, Young Adult Children and the Transition to Adulthood
Most U.S. young adults are at least mostly financially independent and happy with their parents’ involvement in their lives. Parent-child relationships are mostly strong.
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Public Has Mixed Views on the Modern American Family
Americans are more pessimistic than optimistic about the institution of marriage and the family. At the same time, the public is fairly accepting of diverse family arrangements, though some are seen as more acceptable than others.
