Recent findings from Gallup polls suggest a growing trend among Americans towards larger families, a notable change from preferences over the past five decades.
According to the pollster, “Americans are about evenly divided in their views of whether smaller versus larger families are preferable.”
Gallup’s data reveals that “a 44% plurality of U.S. adults think having two children is best,” while “45% of Americans favor larger families.”
Delving deeper, the report shows that “29% who say having three children is ideal, 12% who think four is best, and 2% each who prefer having five or six or more children.”
Historically, there have been significant shifts in family preferences.
Gallup “began periodically measuring Americans’ preferred family size in 1936 and found 64% favoring at least three children at that time.”
However, by the 1970s, “Americans’ preference for smaller families of one or two children became the standard.”
The past trends seem to have been influenced by societal and economic factors.
For instance, “Between 1967 and 1971, preferences for larger families plummeted from 70% to 52%” due to “concerns about a global population explosion” and other societal shifts.
Gallup’s report stated that “changes in societal norms—such as women’s increased role in the workplace, a growing acceptance of premarital sex and economic concerns—could have affected views.”
Despite the current favorability towards larger families, actual birth rates in the U.S. do not necessarily align.
Gallup pointed out that U.S. adults’ views of the best family size “have not always tracked with birth rates in the U.S.”
Interestingly, while many see larger families as ideal, “other factors are preventing them from implementing this in their own lives.”
Among different demographics, views on ideal family size do vary.
For example, Gallup’s research reveals that “younger adults—those aged 18 to 29—are more likely than any other age group to say having three or more children is ideal.”
Furthermore, “Black and Hispanic adults favor larger families more than White adults do.”
A deeper statistical analysis by Gallup found that “the strongest predictors of ideal family size are race/ethnicity and church attendance,” while factors like “age, income, religious affiliation or lack thereof and political identification are also meaningful predictors.”
Concluding their findings, Gallup emphasizes that while preferences have shifted toward larger families, this doesn’t necessarily mean there’ll be a surge in birth rates.
The report states, “Americans’ preference for smaller families, which has been the norm for the past 50 years, is shifting as their view of the ideal number of children in a family has crept up to the highest level since 1973.”
The main concern remains: young adults are “waiting much longer than prior generations to start having children rather than from a decreased desire to have children altogether.”
