U.S. metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of single moms 2019 | Statista (2024)

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U.S. metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of single moms 2019 | Statista? ›

This statistic shows the 50 metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of female-headed family households in the United States in 2019. The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan area, located on the Texas-Mexico border, was ranked first with 22.08 percent of households led by single mothers in 2019.

Detroit; Camden, N.J.; and Tuskegee, Ala., were among other cities in which a majority of families were headed by single parents. All these cities share certain characteristics: poverty, unemployment, drug use, lots of people on welfare. They also have large black populations.

A report from the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that 62% of new moms in their early 20s are unmarried. The report also found that 36% of all moms were unwed in 2011, up from 31% in 2005. In families with incomes of less than $10,000, that number goes up to 69%.

The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan area, located on the Texas-Mexico border, was ranked first with 22.08 percent of households led by single mothers in 2019.

From 1995 to 2018, single mother prevalence remained highest among Black children, followed by Latino children, and then by White children. The mean prevalences in the 1995 to 2018 pooled sample are as follows: Black, 45.2 % Latino, 21.8 % and White, 13.6 percent (see Table 2).

Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Germany, Belgium and United Kingdom report the highest proportions of single mothers (ranging from 7% tot 9%), followed by Sweden, France and Finland (around 6,5%). ... ...

The share of single-parent households nationwide has more than tripled since 1960. In Texas, 36 percent of kids live in single-parent families.

What is the safest city for single moms? ›

The best city for single moms is Washington DC, followed by Atlanta, Seattle, and Minneapolis. The worst city for single moms is Las Vegas, followed by El Paso, Bakersfield, and San Antonio.

The vast majority of single moms work; however, single mothers often do not have the education or work experience needed to command a high salary. The average income for a single-mother family is only $26,000 a year, lower than the average income for a single-father family or a two-parent family.

The assumption that "most" single mothers are single from the outset is false. Of the mothers who are custodial parents: 1.2% were widowed. 15.7% are married; in most cases, these numbers represent women who have remarried.

In the United States, since the 1960s, there has been an increase in the number of children living with a single parent. The jump was caused by an increase in births to unmarried women and by the increasing prevalence of divorces among couples.

About 67 percent of black children are born into a single parent household. The African-American segmented nuclear I (unmarried mother and children) and II (unmarried father and children) family structures are defined as a parent–child relationship.

Which states have the most singles? The national rate of single adults in the U.S. is less than 50%, but the state with the highest ratio of singles is New Mexico, with 57% of adults either divorced, never married, widowed or separated. A majority of singles in New Mexico have never been married at 37%.

Best States for Single Moms Overall: Northeast

New Jersey #1, Rhode Island #2, Massachusetts #4, New York #5, and Connecticut #10.

Final answer: The United States has the highest number of single mothers.

The realities about unmarried mothers

One fact is undeniable in all this: More women are deciding to have children and also remain single. Almost half of all babies born in the U.S. were born to unmarried women in 2019, a dramatic increase since 1960, when only 5% of births were to unmarried mothers.