The Institute for Family Studies has just released a report that finds:
Consistent with previous surveys, our new survey finds that married mothers are happier than unmarried women or women without children. Nearly twice as many married mothers say they are “very happy” as unmarried women without children.
Figure 1. Estimated share of U.S. women ages 25-55 who report being ‘very happy’
Source: IFS/Wheatley Institute, Women’s Well-Being Survey, March 2025
I tell my wife and daughters, “Being a mother is the hardest and most important job in the world.” I’m glad it pays off for those who do it.
