Moms are primary breadwinners in 40% of U.S. households

A record 40% of households with children include "breadwinner moms," according to a report out today. These moms are the sole or primary source of income for households with children younger than 18, a Pew Research Center analysis finds. The analysis looked at data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

"The share of households with children where there is a mother who is the sole or primary breadwinner is up about fourfold from 1960, when it was only 11%," says report co-author Kim Parker, associate director of Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends project.

These moms include two groups: 5.1 million (37%) are married mothers who have a higher income than their husbands, and 8.6 million (63%) are single mothers. The median family income for the first group was $79,800 in 2011, compared with $23,000 for the single mothers.

The growth of breadwinner moms is tied to women's increased employment rate and rising education levels, Parker says. Read more >>