Kids are expensive and single, child-free women are taking note.
New data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis showed that single women without kids pocketed $65,000 more in wealth in 2019 than single, child-free men, who has an of $57,000. Single mothers, on the other hand, had only $7,000.
This is unsurprising since on average, it takes about $286,000/year to raise two children in the US according to the USDA as reported by Bankrate. These staggering figures, along with improved sex education and more financial independence among women, may correlate to the drop in US births.
On average, fertility rates in the U.S. have been steadily decreasing even before the pandemic, and the Census Bureau said that trend is continuing.
In 1990, about 70.77 births happened each year for every 1,000 women between 15-44. By 2019, that number dropped to about 58.21 births per 1,000 women in that age group.
Although this drop in population may not be good news for economists studying the future of our workforce, it may be music to single women’s ears.
As Bloomberg notes, being child-free leave and single leave women with significantly more in their purses, and more life autonomy.
In an interview with the outlet, New York-based 43-year-old Ashley Marrero said that her relationship-status allows her to do what she what bring her the most joy, travel the world.
“[Not having children] should have nothing to do with your happiness,” Marrero told Bloomberg. “You can be so happy going this route, too.”
Another woman who spoke with the outlet, Anna Dickenson, 41, says being child-free allows her to nurture the other important relationships in her life, guilt-free.
“I’d rather regret not having kids than regret having them.”
