Census shows significant increase in Wisconsin’s single-father households

The number of single-father households in Wisconsin is increasing, according to Census 2010 figures released in mid-May. The census data show the number of households with children under age 18 headed by single fathers has risen by 35.2 percent since 2000. The largest growth among family households in the state was reported for single-father households with children. Single-mother households with children reported the next largest growth, at 13.4 percent, well below the 35.2 percent reported by single-father households. More than 15,000 additional family households with children were headed by single fathers in 2010 than in 2000. A similar increase was reported for single-mother households, at 17,336. "Single-mother households outnumber single-father households, yet the rate of growth is much higher among single-father households," says Katherine Curtis , demographic specialist and faculty affiliate of the Applied Population Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.