Fathers by the Numbers
Facts about dads
from the U.S. Census Bureau
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
64.3 million
Estimated number of fathers across the nation today.
Remembering
Dad
Neckties lead the list of Father's Day gifts. A good place to
buy dad a tie or a shirt might be one of 8,758 men's clothing stores around
the country in 2004.
Other items high on the list of Father's Day
gifts include those items you may find in dad's toolbox such as hammers,
wrenches, and screwdrivers. You could buy some of these items for dad at one
of the nation's 14,373 hardware stores or 5,870 home centers in 2004.
22,902
Number of sporting goods stores in 2004.
These stores are good places to purchase traditional gifts for dad such as
fishing rods and golf clubs. More than 74 million Americans participated at
a barbecue in the last year—it's probably safe to assume many of these
barbecues took place on Father's Day.
Mr. Mom
159,000
Estimated number of "stay-at-home" dads.
These married fathers with children under 15 years old have remained out of
the labor force for more than one year primarily so they can care for the
family while their wives work outside the home. These fathers cared for
283,000 children under 15.
Among
these:
60% had two or more
children.
40% had an annual family income of
$50,000 or more.
35% had children younger than
3 living with them.
How Many Fathers?
26.5
million
Number of fathers who are part of married-couple
families with their own children under the age of 18.
Among
these:
22% are raising three or more of
their own children under 18 years old (among married-couple family
households only).
2% live in the home of a relative
or a nonrelative.
2.5 million
Number of single
fathers, up from 400,000 in 1970. Currently, among single parents living
with their children, 19% are men.
Among these
fathers:
8% are raising three or more of
their own children under 18 years old.
40% are divorced, 16%
are separated, and 4% are widowed. (There is no significant
difference between the percentages of single fathers who are divorced and
never married.)
14% live in someone else's home.
27% have an annual family income of $50,000 or more.
Child-Support Payments
10%
Percentage of
custodial parents due child support who were fathers. They numbered
740,000.
$2.1 billion
Amount of child support
received by custodial fathers in 2003; they were due $3.3 billion. In
contrast, custodial mothers received $23.3 billion of the $33.7 billion in
support that was due.
46%
Percentage of
custodial fathers who received all child support that was due, not
significantly different than the corresponding percentage for custodial
mothers. Fathers received an average of $2,797 in child support in 2003,
compared with $3,579 for mothers.
Dining with Daddy
30%
Percentage of children younger than 6 living
with married parents in 2003 who ate breakfast with their father every day.
The corresponding number for children living with unmarried fathers was
41%.
64%
Percentage of children younger than 6
living with married parents who ate dinner with their fathers every day. The
corresponding number for children living with unmarried fathers was 66%.
Kind Words from Dad
63%
Percentage of
children younger than 6 living with married parents who were praised three
or more times a day by their fathers. The corresponding number for children
living with unmarried fathers was 57%.
Fact Monster™ Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
