Three years ago, Pew Research released poll results showing that more adults than ever remained childfree. In a new study released this week, they’ve learned more about the reasons and the intentions for the future.
There’s a relevant distinction between adults who don’t have kids and adults who don’t yet. The new polling finds that the percentage of adults who have firmly decided they will not have kids in the future has increased.
Those who say they will not be having kids at all were also asked about their reasons, and the top reason is pretty consistent with 2021 polling. Both then and now, the top reason was “I just don’t want to,” and the percentage is almost identical—56% in the older poll, 57% in the current one.
There are also some significant changes, though.
(Note: participants were asked to identify “major reasons” they didn’t plan to have kids, so there is some overlap where individuals cited multiple reasons.)
Financial Struggles Loom Large
In an era where we’re seeing families go into debt for groceries and struggle to afford diapers, it’s not surprising that financial issues are at the top of the list. In the 2021 poll, 17% of childfree adults cited financial reasons, and in 2024, that leaped to 36% of those under age 50. (Older adults were less likely to name finances as their reason — of those over 50, only 12% said they couldn’t afford to have kids.
Still, across all age groups, respondents said that not having kids made their lives easier financially.
A vast majority of adults both under and over age 50 (79% and 61%, respectively) agreed that they were more able to afford needs and wants because they didn’t have kids, and similar numbers (75% of younger adults and 57% over 50) said that they were better able to save for the future because of being childless.
The Current State Of The World Is Also A Major Factor
More and more adults are saying that the world they currently live in is not one into which they want to bring children. Incidentally, some parents also express this stance about having additional kids.
In 2021, 9% of the nonparents polled endorsed this view. In the 2024 survey, 38% of adults under 50 and 13% aged 50 and over supported it, suggesting that even older adults are becoming more concerned about bringing children into the current circumstances.
Climate change and other environmental concerns are related reasoning, with similarly massive growth. In 2021, 5% of respondents cited it. This year, it’s a concern for 26% of adults under 50 and 6% of older adults.
Childfree Isn’t Always A Choice
Among adults aged 50 and over, 39% said that one of the major reasons they didn’t have kids was “it just never happened.”
Both age groups also cited not having a partner or the right partner to have kids with to significant degrees (24% of under-50s, 33% of 50+), and about one in ten people polled in both groups mentioned having a partner unwilling to have kids.
The Downsides
Among the childfree adults aged 50 and older who were interviewed, some expressed concerns about what not having kids would mean for them. About a quarter said they were worried about having someone to care for them in old age, and almost one-fifth feared being lonely as they got older.
Notably, despite so many in the poll saying that not having children was a good financial decision, about a third of this group also say that they worry about having enough money as they age.
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