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Roughly a quarter of Americans say they're childfree by choice

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About a quarter of Americans (23%) say they are childfree, meaning they are not raising and have never raised children and do not want any in the future, according to a May 2026 Verasight survey.

A majority (59%) are raising or have raised children, while roughly one-in-ten (10%) have none yet but want them someday and 8% are unsure whether they do.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

Roughly a quarter of Americans say they're childfree by choice.

Are you childfree? Childfree people are people who are not raising and have never raised children - whether biological, adopted, or step - and do not want to have any in the future.

  • No, I am raising or have raised children 59.2%
  • Yes, I am not or have not raised children, and I do not want children in the future 23.4%
  • No, I want to have children someday 9.6%
  • No, I am unsure if I want to have children someday 7.7%

2026 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.3%

identity

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Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2026-05-11 → 2026-05-11
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.3%
Module
identity

Source

Citation

Verasight SPSP Omnibus Survey #2026-045, fielded May 11-11, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.3%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/spsp26

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.