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.
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.