Stay-At-Home Mom Model Hits New Low

Interesting family, parenting, pew research center, stay at home, workplace admin June 18, 2026 0 Comments

Stay-At-Home Mom Model Hits New Low

Families with stay at home mothers are now a minority in America, according to a Pew Research Center study released Monday.

The study analyzed U.S. Census data and found that families with a full-time working dad and a stay-at-home mom have dropped from 42% in 1975 to 23% in 2025. It also showed 52% of families with a mom and dad had both parents working full-time positions, up from 31% in 1975, making this demographic a slight majority in America. (RELATED: ‘Mother’ Is Not A Problem To Be Solved)

“We find that parents in families where both the mom and the dad work at least part time are more likely to see financial benefits than those in families where the dad works full time and the mom isn’t employed,” Pew wrote. “In turn, those in families with a full-time working dad and a mom who isn’t employed are the most likely to see their arrangement as positive for their children’s well-being.”

“When it comes to how their work arrangement impacts their relationship with their spouse or partner, more parents in each group report positive impacts than negative ones,” the report found. “Still, parents in families where the dad works full time and mom works part time or isn’t employed are more likely to have positive views.”

Pew also found that mothers who identified as having “some college or less education” were much less likely to be employed full time, with 43% of them being in families with two full time parents. Those who have completed some form of higher education were much more likely to be in full time families, with 56% of mothers completing a Bachelor’s degree working full time and 69% of mothers with a postgraduate degree working full time.

The research also noted differences across education and racial backgrounds. In both white and Asian households, the proportion of families with two full time parents has gone up since 2000. About six in ten black families have both parents employed full time, which has stayed consistent since 2000. Hispanic families have stayed effectively consistent, with 44% of families have two full time parents in 2025 compared to 45% in 2000.