The FINANCIAL — More than 11 million U.S. parents – or 18% – were not working outside the home in 2016, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.
Despite fluctuations, rate of state-at-home parenting is similar to what it was a quarter-century agoThe stay-at-home share of U.S. parents was almost identical to what it was in 1989, but there has been a modest increase among fathers. The share of dads at home rose from 4% to 7%, while the share of moms staying at home remained largely unchanged – 27% in 2016 versus 28% about a quarter-century earlier. As a result, 17% of all stay-at-home parents in 2016 were fathers, up from 10% in 1989, the first year for which reliable data on fathers are available.
The share of stay-at-home parents in the United States has fluctuated in recent decades. Around 2000, the share of stay-at-home moms hit a low of 23%; the overall share of stay-at-home parents dipped to 15%. But in the immediate wake of the Great Recession, rates of stay-at-home parenting rose to 20% in 2010, driven in part by parents who were at home because they were unable to find work. This was particularly true of stay-at-home fathers, one-third of whom reported they were home for this reason in 2010.
Three-fourths of stay-at-home moms, one-fourth of dads are home to care for family however, the long-term uptick in dads at home is not driven solely by economic factors. The modest increase is apparent even after excluding those who were home due to unemployment. Furthermore, a growing share of stay-at-home fathers say they are home specifically to care for their home or family, suggesting that changing gender roles may be at play. About a quarter (24%) of stay-at-home fathers say they are home for this reason. Stay-at-home mothers remain far more likely than dads to say they are home to care for family – 78% say so.
More stay-at-home dads among Millennials than among Gen X
In 2015-16, 21% of Millennial parents (ages 20 to 35 at the time) were stay-at-home parents, while that figure stood at 17% among Gen X parents when they were the same age in 1999-2000.
Three-in-ten Millennial mothers ages 20 to 35 were at home with their children, compared with 25% of Gen X mothers a generation earlier. Among Millennial dads, 6% were home with their children in 2016, compared with 3% of Gen X fathers when they were a comparable age.
While the share of stay-at-home fathers is higher among Millennials, the share who are home specifically to care for their family has ticked up modestly: 23% of Gen X stay-at-home fathers around 2000 said they were home to care for family, compared with 26% of Millennial stay-at-home dads today.
Finding other ways to save and provide for the family
The truth is, one big reason why this has become the case for so many families is the opportunities to save money and also earn extra income from home. It might be through online shopping habits where using websites like Checkout Saver could earn extra money and give you savings. It could be through side hustles done from the kitchen table while the children are at school or taking a nap. You have the opportunity of time to batch cook, meal plan and change shopping habits when it comes to food. Being at home doesn’t necessarily mean you are relying on another salary to take the heat off the bills. It often means that the parent at home is hustling to contribute in a very different way, and today, it is more possible than ever to do that.
The profile of stay-at-home parents varies depending on the reason they are at home
Stay-at-home parents who are home to care for family are more educated, less likely to be in povertyAmong all stay-at-home moms and dads, those who are home to care for family are more likely to have a college degree than stay-at-home parents who are home for other reasons. A quarter of dads who are home to care for family have a college degree, compared with 17% of dads who are home for other reasons. Among stay-at-home moms, 29% of those who are caring for family have a college degree, compared with 18% of those home for other reasons. In addition, both mothers and fathers who stay at home to care for family are far more likely than those at home for other reasons to have a working spouse.
These patterns likely contribute to the fact that stay-at-home parents who are home primarily to care for their family are less likely to be living in poverty than other stay-at-home parents. This is particularly true of mothers: A quarter of those home to care for family are in poverty, compared with 41% of those home for other reasons. (By comparison, 8% of working dads and 9% of working moms are living in poverty.)
Stay-at-home parents home to care for family are also more likely to have a young child, and are a bit younger than other stay-at-home parents: 68% of fathers home to care for family are younger than 45, compared with 52% of fathers home for some other reason. Among moms, 80% of those home to care for family are younger than 45, compared with 71% of those home for another reason.
