Richest 1% Lead in Families of Three-Plus
Households across income levels say they want larger families, but the cost of raising children is keeping many from having them.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Child Care
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A new analysis finds the richest 1% of Americans have the highest share of households with three or more children, with about half of that group having three or more kids compared with about 40% of other households.
Why it matters
Child-rearing is a large, concentrated expense for many families, and the analysis suggests many parents are having fewer children than they want because they cannot afford it. For American households weighing the cost of a growing family, the gap between desired and actual family size is the story's practical core.
The analysis compares the richest 1% of US households, who earn at least $660,000 a year and hold at least $13.7 million in net worth, with a median US family earning $87,000 a year. Raising a child in the US averages $300,000, not counting college tuition.
The players
Federal Reserve
The central bank whose Survey of Consumer Finances supplied the household data behind the analysis.
Economic Security Project
A left-leaning nonprofit that conducted a separate analysis of households with three or more children.
The details
The analysis drew on the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances to compare family size across income levels. A separate analysis by the left-leaning Economic Security Project examined households with three or more children. Earlier research showed that in 1980 the richer a white mother was, the less likely she was to have more children, a pattern that reversed about 30 years later, when rich women became more likely to have three children.
Timeline
1980: Richer white mothers were less likely to have more children.
Around 2010: Rich women became more likely to have three children.
2018: Study on white mothers' fertility by income was published.
2025: Gallup poll on ideal family size was conducted.
November 3, 2026: Article reporting the income-fertility analysis was published.
The Home Front
The finding sits against a long-running pattern in which family size tracks income in ways that differ from the stated preferences of many Americans. Its significance for the housing and household landscape is that the cost of raising children is shaping how many families get the size they say they want.
If you are planning a family, price out child-related costs such as childcare, housing space, and transportation before deciding on a number of children. Households considering a third child may find it useful to review their household budget against the roughly $300,000 average cost of raising a child.
The takeaway
Family size in the US tracks income more closely than it tracks stated preferences, with the average American wanting 2.7 children while the average woman has 1.6. Planning for the cost of child-rearing early can help households close the gap between the family they want and the one they can afford.
Further reading
For more on what raising children costs American families, see Child Care.
Source note: This article includes information reported by New York Post.
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