CB11-FF.07

 March 17, 2011

Mother’s Day: May 8, 2011

The driving force behind Mother’s Day was Anna Jarvis, who organized observances in Grafton, 

W.Va., and Philadelphia on May 10, 1908. As the annual celebration became popular around the 

country, Jarvis asked members of Congress to set aside a day to honor mothers. She finally 

succeeded in 1914, when Congress designated the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

2

The total fertility rate or number of births per woman in the U.S. in 2009, a decline of 

4 percent from 2008 (based on current birth rates by age). 

Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_03.pdf>

How Many Mothers

85.4 million

Estimated number of mothers in the United States in 2008.

Source: Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2008 Panel Wave 2, unpublished 

tabulations.

54%

Percentage of 15- to 44-year-old women who were mothers in 2008.

Source: Fertility of American Women: 2008

<http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/fertility.html>

82%

Percentage of women 40 to 44 who had given birth as of 2008. In 1976, 90 percent of women in 

that age group had given birth.

Source: Fertility of American Women: 2008

<http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/fertility.html>
How Many Children

2.6

The total fertility rate or number of births in 2008 per woman in Utah (based on current birth 

rates by age), which led the nation. At the other end of the spectrum is Vermont, with a total 

fertility rate of 1.7 births per woman.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_01.pdf>

94%

Among the 37.8 million mothers living with children younger than 18 in 2004, the percentage 

who lived with their biological children only. In addition, 3 percent lived with stepchildren, 

2 percent with any adopted children and less than 1 percent with any foster children.

Source: Living Arrangements of Children: 2004 

<http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p70-114.pdf>

Moms Who’ve Recently Given Birth

4.13 million

Number of births registered in the United States in 2009. Of this number, 409,840 were to teens 

15 to 19 and 7,934 to mothers 45 to 54. 

Source: National Center for Health Statistics

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_03.pdf

25.1

Average age of women in 2008 when they gave birth for the first time, up from 25.0 years in 

2006 and 2007. The increase in the mean age from 2007 to 2008 reflects, in part, the relatively 

large decline in births to women under age 25 compared with the small decline for women in the 

25-39 age bracket.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_01.pdf>

40%

Percentage of births that were the mother’s first in 2008. Another 32 percent were the 

second-born; 17 percent, third; and 7 percent, fourth. 

Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_01.pdf >

18,986

Number of births in 2008 that were the mother’s eighth or more.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_01.pdf >
42,746 

Number of births in 2008 that did not occur in hospitals. Of these, 28,357 were in a residence 

(home) and 12,014 were in a freestanding birthing center.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_01.pdf>

32.6

Number of twin births per 1,000 total births in 2008, the highest rate on record.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_01.pdf>

6,268 

Number of triplet and higher order multiple births in 2008, the lowest number reported in more

than a decade. The 2008 triplet and higher order multiple total included 5,877 triplets, 

345 quadruplets, and 46 quintuplets and higher order multiples.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_01.pdf>

July

The month with the highest number of births, with 375,384 in 2008.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics

<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_01.pdf>

Tuesday

The most common day to deliver, with an average of 13,415 births taking place on Tuesdays 

in 2008.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics 

<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_01.pdf >

Jacob and Isabella

The most popular baby names for boys and girls, respectively, in 2009.

Source: Social Security Administration <http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/>

71

Number of births in the past year per 1,000 women 15 to 50 with a graduate or professional 

degree. These women have a higher fertility rate than those with any other level of education.

Source: Fertility of American Women: 2008

<http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/fertility.html>
Mothers Remembered

18,509

Number of florist establishments nationwide in 2008. The 89,741 employees in floral shops 

across our nation will be especially busy preparing, selling and delivering floral arrangements

for Mother’s Day.

Source: County Business Patterns: 2008 <http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/>

The flowers bought for mom have a good chance of having been grown in California. Among the 

15 surveyed states, California was the leading provider of cut flowers in 2009, accounting for 

75 percent of domestic flower production ($269 million out of $359 million at wholesale value) 

in those states. (The data pertain only to operations with sales greater than or equal to $100,000.)

Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service 

<http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1072>

11,715

Number of employees of the 107 greeting-card publishing establishments in 2008.

Source: County Business Patterns: 2008 <http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/>

14,027

The number of cosmetics, beauty supplies and perfume stores nationwide in 2008. Perfume is 

a popular gift given on Mother’s Day.

Source: County Business Patterns: 2008 <http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/>

26,683

Number of jewelry stores in the United States in 2008 — the place to purchase necklaces, 

earrings and other timeless pieces for mom.

Source: County Business Patterns: 2008 <http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/>

Stay-at-Home Moms

5 million

Number of stay-at-home moms in 2010 — down from 5.1 million in 2009 and 5.3 million in 

2008 (the estimates for 2010 and 2009 are not statistically different). In 2010, 23 percent of 

married-couple family groups with children under 15 had a stay-at-home mother, up from 

21 percent in 2000. In 2007, before the recession, stay-at-home mothers were found in 24 percent 

of married-couple family groups with children under 15. 

Source: America's Families and Living Arrangements 

<http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/families_households/cb10-174.html; Table 

SHP-1 <http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam.html>
Compared with other moms, stay-at-home moms in 2007 were more likely to be: 

• Younger (44 percent were under 35 compared with 38 percent of mothers in the labor 

force). 

• Hispanic (27 percent compared with 16 percent of mothers in the labor force).

• Foreign-born (34 percent compared with 19 percent of mothers in the labor force).

• Living with a preschool-age child (57 percent compared with 43 percent of mothers in 

the labor force). 

• Without a high school diploma (19 percent versus 8 percent of mothers in the 

labor force). 

Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2007 

<http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/families_households/cb09-132.html>

Employed Moms (and Moms-to-Be)

61%

The proportion of mothers with a recent birth who were in the labor force increased from 

57 percent in 2006 to 61 percent in 2008. Among states with higher than average levels of 

new mothers who were unemployed, the highest proportions were in Alabama (10 percent) 

and Michigan (9 percent), along with several states in the southeast United States.

Source: Fertility of American Women: 2008 

<http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/fertility.html>

777,817

Number of child care centers across the country in 2008. These included 74,920 centers 

employing 884,235 workers and another 702,897 self-employed people or other businesses 

without paid employees. Many mothers turn to these centers to help juggle motherhood and 

careers.

Source: County Business Patterns: 2008 <http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/> and

Nonemployer Statistics <http://www.census.gov/econ/nonemployer/>

Single Moms

9.9 million

The number of single mothers living with children younger than 18 in 2010, up from 3.4 million 

in 1970.

Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements 

<http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam/cps2010.html>
5.6 million Number of custodial mothers who were due child support in 2007.

Source: Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2007 

<http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/childsupport/cs07.html>

38%

Of the 4 million women 15 to 44 years old who had a birth in the last year, 1.5 million 

(38 percent) were to women who were not married, who were separated, or married but with an 

absent spouse. Of those 1.5 million mothers, 425,000 (28 percent) were living with a cohabiting 

partner.

Source: Fertility of American Women: 2008

<http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p20-563.pdf>

Following is a list of observances typically covered by the Census Bureau’s Facts for Features series:

Black History Month (February) Labor Day 

Super Bowl Grandparents Day 

Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15)

Women’s History Month (March) Unmarried and Single Americans Week 

Irish-American Heritage Month (March)/ Halloween (Oct. 31)

 St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) American Indian/Alaska Native Heritage Month

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (May) (November) 

Older Americans Month (May) Veterans Day (Nov. 11)

Cinco de Mayo (May 5) Thanksgiving Day 

Mother’s Day The Holiday Season (December) 

Hurricane Season Begins (June 1)

Father’s Day 

The Fourth of July (July 4)

Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act (July 26)

Back to School (August)

Editor’s note: The preceding data were collected from a variety of sources and may be subject to sampling 

variability and other sources of error. Facts for Features are customarily released about two months before an 

observance in order to accommodate magazine production timelines. Questions or comments should be directed to 

the Census Bureau’s Public Information Office: telephone: 301-763-3030; fax: 301-763-3762; or e-mail: 

<pio@census.gov>.