America Counts: Stories Behind the Numbers

More than a quarter of the U.S. population in 2021 (26.4%) had lost both parents. 

Among those who had ever lost a parent, 50.7% had lost their mother and 69.2% their father by age 50, according to an analysis of recent estimates from the 2021 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP).

A new data visualization shows at what age we lose our mothers and fathers and how that pattern varies by race and ethnicity.

It shows that approximately 30.8% of people in the United States have lost their biological mother, 39.8% have lost their biological father, and 44.2% have lost at least one parent.

Continue reading to learn more about:

• Highlights for age, race and ethnicity, and comparisons between 2019-2021
• At what age people lost their parents
• The SIPP

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People lose their fathers earlier in life than their mothers. New Census Bureau data show socio-economic factors also associated with when we lose our parents.

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• Emergency Management, Health, Population, Income and Poverty

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