The idea of Father’s Day was conceived by Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Wash., while she listened to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran who was left to raise his six children on a farm. A day in June was chosen for the first Father’s Day celebration — June 19, 1910, proclaimed by Spokane’s mayor because it was the month of Smart’s birth.
The first
presidential proclamation honoring fathers was
issued in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson
designated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day.
Father’s Day has been celebrated annually since
1972 when President Richard Nixon signed the
public law that made it permanent.
64.3 million
Estimated number of fathers across the nation.
Source: unpublished data from the Survey of Income
and Program Participation
Remembering Dad
A good place to buy dad a tie or a
shirt might be one of 8,685 men’s
clothing stores around the country
(as of 2005).
Source: County Business Patterns
Other items high on the list of
Father’s Day gifts are tools such
as hammers, wrenches and
screwdrivers. You could buy some
of these items for dad at one of the
nation’s 14,257 hardware stores or
5,925 home centers (as of 2005).
Source: County Business Patterns
23,195
Number of sporting goods stores in 2005. These stores are good places to purchase traditional gifts for
dad, such as fishing rods and golf clubs.
Source: County Business Patterns
More than 74 million Americans participated in a barbecue in the last year — it’s probably safe to assume
many of these barbecues took place on Father’s Day.
Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008
Mr. Mom
159,000
Estimated number of stay-at-home dads in 2006. These
married fathers with children younger than 15 have remained
out of the labor force for at least one year primarily so they
can care for the family while their wives work outside the
home. These fathers cared for 283,000 children. Among these
stay-at-home dads, 60 percent had two or more children, and
40 percent had an annual family income of $50,000 or more.
Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2006
25%
Among the nation’s 11.3 million preschoolers whose mothers
are employed, the percentage who are regularly cared for
by their father during their mother’s working hours. This
amounted to 2.9 million children.
Source: Who’s Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements:
Spring 2005
How Many Fathers?
26.5 million
Number of fathers who are part of
married-couple families with children
younger than 18 in 2006.
- 22 percent are raising three or
more children younger than 18
(among married-couple family households only). - 2 percent live in someone else’s
home.
Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2006
2.5 million
Number of single fathers in 2006, up from 400,000 in 1970. Currently, among single parents living
with their children, 19 percent are men.
- 8 percent are raising three or more children younger than 18.
- About 42 percent are divorced, 38 percent are never married, 16 percent are separated and 4 percent
are widowed. (There is no significant difference between the percentages of single fathers who are
divorced or never married.) - 16 percent live in someone else’s home.
- 27 percent have an annual family income of $50,000 or more.
Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2006
85%
Among the 30.2 million fathers living with children younger than 18, the percentage who lived with their
biological children only. In addition, 11 percent lived with stepchildren, 4 percent with adopted children and
fewer than 1 percent with foster children.
Source: Living Arrangements of Children: 2004
Child-Support Payments
31%
Percentage of custodial fathers who were due child support. 
They numbered 678,000.
Source: Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support
$2.4 billion
Amount of child support received by custodial fathers in 2005; they were due $3.3 billion.
In contrast, custodial mothers received $22.4 billion of the $34.7 billion in support that
was due.
Source: Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support
43%
Percentage of custodial fathers who received all child support that was due, not significantly different
from the corresponding percentage for custodial mothers. Fathers received an average of $6,210 in child
support in 2005, compared with $5,981 for mothers. (These figures are not statistically different from one
another.)
Source: Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support
36%
Percentage of custodial fathers with child support agreements or awards.
Source: Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support
72%
Percentage of custodial fathers receiving noncash support, such as gifts or coverage of expenses, on
behalf of their children. The corresponding proportion for mothers was 59 percent.
Source: Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support
Dining with Daddy
30%
Percentage of children younger than 6 living with married parents in 2003 who ate breakfast with their
fathers every day. The corresponding number for children living with unmarried fathers was 41 percent.
Source: A Child’s Day
64%
Percentage of children younger than 6 living with married
parents who ate dinner with their fathers every day. The
corresponding number for children living with unmarried
fathers was 66 percent.
Source: A Child’s Day
Kind Words from Dad
63%
Percentage of children younger than 6 living with married
parents who were praised three or more times a day by
their fathers. The corresponding number for children living
with unmarried fathers was 57 percent.
Source: A Child’s Day
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