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For the first time in the 11-year history of BYU’s American Family Survey, respondents named finance as the top cause of limiting family sizeThis is said to be twice as high as any other factor, amid widespread concerns about rising everyday costs.
2025 resultReleased Friday, shows seven in 10 Americans now say the increase is Children Very expensive, an increase of 13 points from last year.
“To get 70 percent of Americans to agree on something, that alone is telling us something,” said Suzanne Brown, director of Bowling Green State University’s Center for Family and Demographic Research, who is not affiliated with the report. Washington Post,
The survey, conducted by BYU’s Wheatley Institute and the Deseret News from August 6 to 18, polled 3,000 people nationally to reflect. Demography Based on gender, age, race, and education, with a 2-point margin of error.
The results highlight how financial concerns are shaping Americans’ decisions about whether, when and how many children to have, such as births in the US Rate After a record low in 2023, 2024 is set to remain close to a historic low of 1.6 children per woman.
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Financial constraints are the major factor limiting family size, with the survey showing that 43 percent of respondents cited “insufficient funds” as the reason for having fewer or no children.
About 41 percent of participants said that none of the factors listed, including “relationship instability,” “lack of family support,” and “conflict with career goals” influenced their decision.
Among other factors cited, the most common were “lack of personal will” and “lack of a supportive partner.”
US Department of Agriculture Historically an annual report has been published estimating the cost of raising a child to adulthood (except college), which has long been considered the standard reference.
The last report for 2015 calculated that a child born that year would cost an average of $233,610 to a middle-income married couple. adjusted for inflation By June 2025, this figure will increase to $322,427.
Costs vary by income level, as income decreases Family That could cost about $241,106, while higher-income households could face expenses as high as $513,722.
Isabel V. Sawhill, senior fellow emeritus at the Brookings Institution, said American news The USDA estimate assumes a 2.2 percent inflation rate, which is lower than today’s rate, so the real cost of raising a child could be even higher.
Amid concerns over declining birth rates, conservatives are promoting “Revolutionary” movement, Encouraging larger families through supportive government policies. Polls show that many Americans support or are neutral toward such programs.
increasing economic pressure, higher grocery And energy expenditure To losing a jobSpending and influencing voter preferences, as seen in campaigns Zohran Mamdani’s mayor of new york city Victory,
Policymakers are looking at solutions like New Mexico’s free child care pilot, and President trumpproposal for 50-year home mortgage,
The survey also revealed partisan differences in attitudes about factors limiting family size. Democrats were more likely than Republicans or independents to cite financial reasons, although majorities in all groups supported expanding the child tax credit.
Republicans were the least supportive of comprehensive government assistance, such as universal day care or direct payments to parents.
However, experts caution that even generous government programs may have limited impact on birth rates.
“It’s really difficult to say that if given X amount of money from the government you will have a child, because I think that’s just not calculated,” Gibson-Davis said. “It’s a very intimate, personal decision that people make.”