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The National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC) provides access to recent statistics as part of our larger mission to support and promote Responsible Fatherhood programs. Timely, relevant and sound statistics are an important part of developing and evaluating effective Promoting Responsible Fatherhood programs. These data are also invaluable for developing, informing and evaluating fatherhood program policies, procedures and practices. In addition, statistics can help researchers and practitioners better understand how fathers and families experience raising children and developing healthy relationships.

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NRFC Research

As part of the NRFC’s commitment to advancing the fatherhood field, and fully supporting responsible fatherhood programs, the NRFC Spotlight and State Profile series capture of relevant research issues. This page will highlight the most recent documents in each series, and all NRFC Research is available through the Online Library

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Fatherhood Statistics

More about the Dads: Exploring Associations between Nonresident Father Involvement and Child Welfare Case Outcomes: Urban Institute
This study follows up on a prior study of child welfare agencies' efforts to identify, locate, and involve nonresident fathers of children in foster care. These analyses use information from the original survey and administrative data on case outcomes to explore three research questions. The study finds that having an involved father is associated with shorter case length and a greater likelihood of reunification. Future research is needed to better understand the nature of nonresident fathers’ involvement.

Ten Key Findings from Responsible Fatherhood Initiatives : Urban Institute
Recent policies encourage the development of programs designed to improve the economic status of low-income nonresident fathers and the financial and emotional support provided to their children. This brief provides ten key lessons from several important early responsible fatherhood initiatives that were developed and implemented during the 1990s and early 2000s. Formal evaluations of these earlier fatherhood efforts have been completed making this an opportune time to step back and assess what has been learned and how to build on the early programs' successes and challenges.

While the following statistics are formidable, the Responsible Fatherhood research literature generally supports the claim that a loving and nurturing father improves outcomes for children, families and communities. The following are findings from the National Fatherhood Initiative's (NFI) Father Facts:

  • Children with involved, loving fathers are significantly more likely to do well in school, have healthy self-esteem, exhibit empathy and pro-social behavior, and avoid high-risk behaviors such as drug use, truancy, and criminal activity compared to children who have uninvolved fathers.
  • Studies on parent-child relationships and child wellbeing show that father love is an important factor in predicting the social, emotional, and cognitive development and functioning of children and young adults.
  • 24 million children (34 percent) live absent their biological father.
  • Nearly 20 million children (27 percent) live in single-parent homes.
  • 43 percent of first marriages dissolve within fifteen years; about 60 percent of divorcing couples have children; and approximately one million children each year experience the divorce of their parents.
  • Fathers who live with their children are more likely to have a close, enduring relationship with their children than those who do not.
  • Compared to children born within marriage, children born to cohabiting parents are three times as likely to experience father absence, and children born to unmarried, non-cohabiting parents are four times as likely to live in a father-absent home.
  • About 40 percent of children in father-absent homes have not seen their father at all during the past year; 26 percent of absent fathers live in a different state than their children; and 50 percent of children living absent their father have never set foot in their father's home.
  • Children who live absent their biological fathers are, on average, at least two to three times more likely to be poor, to use drugs, to experience educational, health, emotional and behavioral problems, to be victims of child abuse, and to engage in criminal behavior than their peers who live with their married, biological (or adoptive) parents.
  • From 1995 to 2000, the proportion of children living in single-parent homes slightly declined, while the proportion of children living with two married parents remained stable.

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Census Fatherhood Statistics

  • 64.3 million: Estimated number of fathers across the nation
  • 26.5 million: Number of fathers who are part of married-couple families with their own children under the age of 18.
    Among these fathers -
    • 22 percent are raising three or more of their own children under 18 years old (among married-couple family households only).
    • 2 percent live in the home of a relative or a non-relative.
  • 2.5 million: Number of single fathers, up from 400,000 in 1970. Currently, among single parents living with their children, 18 percent are men.
    Among these fathers -
    • 8 percent are raising three or more of their own children under 18 years old.
    • 42 percent are divorced, 38 percent have never married, 16 percent are separated and 4 percent are widowed. (The percentages of those divorced and never married are not significantly different from one another.)
    • 16 percent live in the home of a relative or a non-relative.
    • 27 percent have an annual family income of $50,000 or more.
  • 85 percent: Among the 30.2 million fathers living with children younger than 18, the percentage who lived with their biological children only.
    • 11 percent lived with step-children
    • 4 percent with adopted children
    • < 1 percent with foster children

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Facts for Features Section.

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Resources from Online Library

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Other Relevant Resources

  • Childstats.gov - This Website offers easy access to statistics and reports on children and families, including: population and family characteristics, economic security, health, behavior and social environment, and education. The Forum fosters coordination, collaboration, and integration of Federal efforts to collect and report data on conditions and trends for children and families.

  • Welfare Peer Technical Assistance - The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network provides peer-to-peer technical assistance to public agencies and private organizations operating the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. This page provides resources on the role of family formation and stabilization in moving families from welfare to self-sufficiency.

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