According to a recent article by Fortune, for the first time in U.S. history, both parents work full time in a majority of heterosexual, two-parent households with children. A Pew Research Center analysis found that 52% of these families now rely on two full-time workers, reflecting a significant shift from 50 years ago, when four in 10 families lived on a single income.
The change underscores the growing financial pressure facing working families. Nearly one-third of Americans now identify the cost of living as their greatest financial concern, while raising a child is estimated to cost more than $300,000 through age 18. At the same time, more than half of full-time working parents struggle to balance their jobs and family responsibilities, with women continuing to perform most unpaid caregiving and household work. These trends reinforce the need for affordable child care, housing and other systems that allow parents to remain in the workforce without sacrificing family stability.