[Source: U.S. Census Bureau]

May 8, 2016 - Anna Jarvis organized the first Mother’s Day observances in Grafton, W.Va., and Philadelphia on May 10, 1908. As the annual celebration became popular around the country, Jarvis became the driving force behind Mother’s Day and asked members of Congress to set aside a day to honor mothers. She succeeded in 1914, when Congress designated the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

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How Many Mothers

43.5 million

Number of women between the ages of 15 and 50 who have children. These mothers gave birth to 95.8 million children.

Source:
   Fertility of Women in the United States: 2014, Detailed Tables, Table 2

3.9 million

Number of women between the ages of 15 and 50 who gave birth in the past 12 months.

Source:
   U.S. Census Bureau, 2014 American Community Survey, Table B13002

35.8%

Percentage of women age 15 to 50 who had a birth in the past 12 months who were unmarried.


Source:
   U.S. Census Bureau, 2014 American Community Survey, Table S1301

How Many Children

62.9 

Number of births per 1,000 women age 15-44 in 2014, up slightly (less than 1 percent) from 2013.

Source:
   National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics Reports

22.3%

Percentage of women age 15 to 50 who have had two children. About 42.4 percent had no children, 17 percent had one, 11.7 percent had three, and about 6.8 percent had four or more.

Source:
   Fertility of Women in the United States: 2014, Detailed Tables, Table 1

Characteristics of Women with a Recent Birth

3.988 million

The number of registered births in 2014, which was 1 percent more than in 2013. Of this number, 249,078 were to teens 15 to 19.


Source:
   National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics Reports, Page 3

61.8%

Percentage of women age 16 to 50 who had a birth in the past 12 months who were in the labor force.

Source:
   2014 American Community Survey, American FactFinder, Table S1301

31.3%

The percentage of women who had given birth in the past 12 months who had a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Source:
   2014 American Community Survey, American FactFinder, Table S1301

86.3%

Percentage of women age 15 to 50 who gave birth in the past year and who have at least a high school diploma or equivalent. 

Source:
   2014 American Community Survey, American FactFinder, Table S1301

63

Number of births in the past year per 1,000 women age 15 to 50 with a graduate or professional degree. The number was 55 per 1,000 for women whose highest level of education was a bachelor’s degree.

Source:
   2014 American Community Survey, American FactFinder, Table S1301

Noah and Emma

The most popular baby names for boys and girls, respectively, in 2014.

Source:
   Social Security Administration

Mothers Celebrated

13,765

Number of florists nationwide in 2014. The 61,170 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: 2014 (NAICS 45311)

15,687

Number of employees of greeting-card publishers in 2014

Source:
   County Business Patterns: 2014 (NAICS 511191)

15,997

The number of cosmetics, beauty supplies and perfume stores nationwide in 2014. Perfume is a popular gift given on Mother’s Day.

Source:
   County Business Patterns: 2014 (NAICS 44612)

22,655

Number of jewelry stores in the United States in 2014 — the place to purchase necklaces, earrings and other timeless pieces for mom.

Source:
   County Business Patterns: 2014 (NAICS 44831)

Stay-at-Home Moms

5.2 million

Number of stay-at-home moms in married couple family groups in 2015.

Source:
   America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2015

Taking Care of the Kids

868,975

Number of people employed at one of the 74,344 child day care services across the country in 2014. In addition, there were 688,728 child day care services without paid employees in 2013. Many mothers turn to these centers to help juggle motherhood and careers.

*New statistics will be available at the end of May for Nonemployer Statistics.*


Source:
   County Business Patterns: 2014 NAICS 6244

   Nonemployer Statistics: 2013

Single Moms

9.9 million

The number of single mothers living with children younger than 18 in 2015, up from 7.7 million in 1985.


Source:
   America’s Families and Living Arrangements, 2015.

415,617

Number of women age 15 to 50 who had a birth in the past 12 months and were living with a cohabiting partner.

Source:
   2014 American Community Survey, American FactFinder, Table B13004
Source: US Census Bureau