U.S. Census Bureau Facts for Features: Father's Day Centennial: June 20, 2010

WASHINGTON, April 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The idea of Father's Day was conceived slightly more than a century ago by Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Wash., while she listened to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran who was left to raise his six children on a farm. A day in June was chosen for the first Father's Day celebration -- 100 years ago, June 19, 1910, proclaimed by Spokane's mayor because it was the month of Smart's birth. The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers was issued in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson designated the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. Father's Day has been celebrated annually since 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed the public law that made it permanent.

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How Many Fathers?

67.8 million

Estimated number of fathers across the nation.

Source: Unpublished data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation

25.8 million

Number of fathers who were part of married-couple families with children younger than 18 in 2009.

• 22 percent were raising three or more children younger than 18 (among married-couple family households only).
• 3 percent lived in someone else's home.

Source: America's Families and Living Arrangements http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam.html

1.7 million

Number of single fathers in 2009; 15 percent of single parents were men.

• 8 percent were raising three or more children younger than 18.
• About 47 percent were divorced, 29 percent were never married, 18 percent were separated, and 5 percent were widowed.
• 44 percent had an annual family income of $50,000 or more.

Source: America's Families and Living Arrangements http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam.html

85%

Among the 30.2 million fathers living with children younger than 18, the percentage who lived with their biological children only. In addition, 11 percent lived with stepchildren, 4 percent with adopted children and fewer than 1 percent with foster children.

Source: Living Arrangements of Children: 2004

http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/children/011507.html

Thinking of You, Dad

8,610

The number of men's clothing stores around the country (as of 2007), a good place to buy dad a tie or shirt.

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

14,193

The number of hardware stores (as of 2007), a place to buy hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers and other items high on the list of Father's Day gifts. Additionally, there were 7,150 home centers across the country in 2007.

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

23,756

Number of sporting goods stores in 2007. These stores are good places to purchase traditional gifts for dad, such as fishing rods and golf clubs.

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

76 million

The number of Americans who participated in a barbecue in the last year — it's probably safe to assume many of these barbecues took place on Father's Day.

Source: Mediamark Research & Intelligence, as cited in the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010 http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/, Table 1203

Mr. Mom

158,000

Estimated number of stay-at-home dads in 2009. These married fathers with children younger than 15 have remained out of the labor force for at least one year primarily so they can care for the family while their wives work outside the home. These fathers cared for 290,000 children. Among these stay-at-home dads, 59 percent had two or more children, and 57 percent had an annual family income of $50,000 or more.

Source: America's Families and Living Arrangements

http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam.html

24%

Among the nation's 11.2 million preschoolers whose mothers are employed, the percentage who are regularly cared for by their father during their mother's working hours. This amounted to 2.7 million children.

Source: Who's Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements: Spring 2006 http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/child/tables-2006.html

Child-Support Payments

$2.8 billion

Amount of child support received by custodial fathers in 2007; they were due $4.3 billion. In contrast, custodial mothers received $18.6 billion of the $29.8 billion in support that was due.

Source: Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-237.pdf

45%

Percentage of custodial fathers who received all child support that was due in 2007, not significantly different from the corresponding percentage for custodial mothers.

Source: Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-237.pdf

67%

Percentage of custodial fathers receiving noncash support, such as gifts or coverage of expenses, on behalf of their children. The corresponding proportion for mothers was 56 percent.

Source: Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-237.pdf

Time with Daddy

53% and 71%

Percentages of children younger than 6 who ate breakfast and dinner, respectively, with their father every day in 2006. The corresponding percentages who ate with their mother were 58 percent and 80 percent. (The percentages of children who ate breakfast with their mother or father, respectively, were not significantly different from each other.)

Source: A Child's Day: 2006 http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/2006_detailedtables.html

36%

Percentage of children younger than 6 who had 15 or more outings with their father in the last month, as of 2006.

Source: A Child's Day: 2006 http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/2006_detailedtables.html

6

Average times children ages 3 to 5 were read to by their fathers in the past week, as of 2006.

Source: A Child's Day: 2006 http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/2006_detailedtables.html

66%

Percentage of children younger than 6 who were praised three or more times a day by their fathers.

Source: A Child's Day: 2006 http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/2006_detailedtables.html

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

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: [email protected].

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau