Americans’ Desire for Large Families Hits 50-Year High

By Melanie Notkin

The desire for larger families is back in vogue in America. But will that wish be fulfilled?

Not since the sweeping social changes of the late 1960s have more Americans considered a larger family of three or more children ideal, Gallup revealed today in its latest Social Series survey on the ideal number of children. While the preference for larger families has seen a slow and steady increase over the last several years, new Gallup poll numbers show the highest percentage point in 50 years. Today, 45% of Americans see three or more children as ideal, a steep increase from 38% in 2013, and an even wider gap from 33% in 2003.

Conversely, the percentage of Americans who favor smaller families of two children or one child has trended downward over the last two decades. Today, 47% of American adults prefer a smaller family, down from 53% a decade ago, and 55% in 2003.

Read more at The Institute for Family Studies