Richest 1% Have Most Households With Three Children

A new analysis links income levels to the share of American households raising three or more children.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Child Care

Gouache-painted editorial illustration of three wooden blocks stacked by height beside a ceramic coin on a cream surface, evoking family size and cost. — Households in the richest 1% are more likely than other Americans to raise three or more children, according to an analysis of Federal Reserve survey data. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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A new analysis finds about half of the richest 1% of Americans have three or more children, compared with about 40% of the rest of US households. The findings draw on Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances data.

Why it matters

The analysis points to rising child-rearing costs, which are a large concentrated expense for many families, as a factor in fertility. Parents are having fewer children than they want because they cannot afford them, according to the findings.

About half of the richest 1% have three or more children, compared with about 40% of other households. The average cost of raising a child in the US is $300,000, not including college tuition, against a median family income of $87,000.

The players

Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States, which conducts the Survey of Consumer Finances used in the analysis.

Economic Security Project

The Economic Security Project is a left-leaning nonprofit that conducted a separate analysis of households with three or more children.

Gallup

Gallup is a polling organization known for public opinion surveys, which conducted a 2025 poll on ideal family size.

The details

The analysis examined data from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, and a separate analysis by the Economic Security Project, a left-leaning nonprofit, looked at households with three or more children. Americans say they would ideally like an average of 2.7 offspring, yet the average number of children per woman is 1.6.

In 1980, the richer a white mother was, the less likely she was to have more children.
About 30 years later, rich women became more likely to have three children.
In 2018, a study on white mothers' fertility by income was published.
In 2025, a Gallup poll on ideal family size was conducted.
On November 3, 2026, the article reporting the income-fertility analysis was published.

Shifting Family Size

Using Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances data, the analysis shows wealth and family size are linked in the United States today. The 1980 pattern, when richer white mothers had fewer children, has reversed for the highest earners.

For American families weighing a third child, the reported $300,000 cost of raising a child makes budgeting for care and expenses a central planning concern. The gap between desired and actual family size suggests many households may be constrained by affordability rather than preference.

The takeaway

Affordability appears to shape family size as much as personal preference, according to this analysis. Households planning children can account for long-term child-rearing costs early when budgeting.