Census Bureau News -- Profile America Facts for Features Father's Day: June 21, 2015
Father’s Day: June 21, 2015
June 12, 2015 — The idea of Father’s Day was
conceived slightly more than a century ago 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 17, 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.
How Many Fathers?
70.1 million
Estimated number of fathers across the nation in 2008, the most recent year
for which data are available. Source: Wave
2 Fertility Topical Module from the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation
24.7 million
Number of fathers who were part of married-couple families with children
younger than 18 in 2014.
·21 percent had three
or more children younger than 18 in the household (among married-couple families
only).
·3 percent were living in someone else’s home with their
families.
The number of men’s clothing stores around the country in 2013, a good
place to buy dad a tie or shirt. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County
Business Patterns, NAICS code (448110), <http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/>
15,253
The number
of hardware stores in 2013, a place to buy hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers and
other items high on the list of Father’s Day gifts. Additionally, there were
6,543 home centers across the country in 2013. Source: U.S.
Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS codes (444130) and (444110),
<http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/>
21,559
Number of sporting goods stores
in 2013. These stores are good places to purchase traditional gifts for dad,
such as fishing rods and golf clubs. Source:U.S.
Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS code (451110),<http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/>
971
The number of sports teams and
clubs in 2013. These include professional or semiprofessional sports teams or
clubs primarily engaged
in participating in live sporting events that many dads either participate in
or enjoy.Source: U.S.
Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS code (711211), <http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/>
38,900
The
number of electronics stores in 2013 selling new consumer-type electronic
products, always great gifts for dads.Source: U.S.
Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS code (443142), <http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/>
Stay-at-Home Dads
211,000
Estimated
number of stay-at-home dads in 2014. 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 wife works outside the
home. These fathers cared for about 420,000 children. Source: America’s Families and Living Arrangements <http://www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/families.html> Table SHP-1
18%
In spring 2011, the percentage
of preschoolers regularly cared for by their father during their mother’s
working hours. Source: Who’s Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements: Spring 2011 <http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p70-135.pdf>
Child-Support Payments
$2 billion
Amount of child support
received by custodial fathers in 2011; they were due $3.7 billion. Custodial
mothers received $19.5 billion of the $31.7 billion in support that was due. Source: Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2011 <http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p60-246.pdf> Pages 11 and 12
41.4%
Percentage of custodial fathers who received all child support that was due
in 2011, not statistically different from the corresponding percentage for
custodial mothers, 43.6 percent. Source: Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2011 <http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p60-246.pdf> Page 3, Table
1
63.9%
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 55.0 percent. Source: Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2011 <https://www.census.gov/people/childsupport/data/files/chldsu11.pdf> Table 10
Following is a list of observances
typically covered by the Census Bureau’s Facts for Features series:
Black
History Month (February) Labor Day
Super
Bowl Grandparents
Day
Valentine’s
Day (Feb. 14)Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct.
15)
Women’s
History Month (March)Unmarried and Single Americans Week
St.
Patrick’s Day (March 17)American
Indian/Alaska Native Heritage Month
Asian/Pacific
American Heritage Month (May)(November)
Older
Americans Month (May)Veterans
Day (Nov. 11)
Mother’s
Day Thanksgiving
Day
Hurricane
Season Begins (June 1)The Holiday Season
(December)
Father’s
Day
The
Fourth of July (July 4)
Anniversary
of Americans with Disabilities Act (July 26)
Back to
School (August)
Editor’s note: The preceding data were collected from a
variety of sources and may be subject to sampling variability and other sources
of error. Facts for Features are customarily released about two months before
an observance in order to accommodate magazine production timelines. Questions
or comments should be directed to the Census Bureau’s Public Information Office.