Americans’ preference for larger families hits 50-year high
- An increasing number of Americans say larger families are ideal
- Young Americans are more likely than others to say large families are ideal
- More Republicans than Democrats favored having families with 3+ kids
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(NewsNation) — A growing number of Americans favor larger families of three or more children, marking a notable shift in opinion over the past decade or so.
Today, 45% of people say three or more children is the ideal number for a family to have, up from 33% who thought the same in 2011, according to a new Gallup survey. That’s the highest level since 1971.
Meanwhile, the percentage of people who prefer smaller families of one or two kids has trended downward — falling from 57% in 2011 to 47% now.
Just 2% of those surveyed think the ideal family does not include any children at all.
The latest findings reflect a mismatch between Americans’ desire for children and the number of kids they’re actually having.
Birth rates have declined over the decades, and adults are starting families later in life than they used to.
Much has been said in recent years about the expenses that come with raising a child, with some estimates putting the current cost at over $310,000.
But when you ask childless adults why they don’t have kids, it’s less clear economic factors are the driving force. Among non-parents ages 18 to 49 who said it’s unlikely they will have children, most (56%) said it’s because they don’t want to, according to a 2021 Pew survey. Just 17% of that same group blamed financial reasons.
Although they’re less likely than previous generations to have kids, younger Americans between 18 to 29 are now the most likely of any age group to desire larger families. Over half, 52%, say three or more kids is ideal, according to the latest survey.
Gallup pointed to a number of social changes that may have impacted Americans’ views on family size over the decades. Preferences for larger families plummeted from 1967 to 1971, in part, due to concerns at the time about a global population explosion, the pollster wrote.
Other changes around social norms, like women’s increased role in the workplace, as well as a “growing acceptance of premarital sex” and “economic concerns” could have also affected views, according to Gallup.
There were a few differences across demographic groups in the new poll. Black adults (57%) were more likely than white adults (41%) to say three or more children is ideal. More Republicans (50%) than Democrats (40%) favored larger families.
Men and women didn’t differ much in their views and preferred smaller and larger families almost equally.
