The affordability crisis is so bad that, for the first time ever, both mom and dad are working full-time in most American families

A mother and father work while their child plays (Credit: Getty Images)

Fifty years ago, four in 10 American families survived on a single income. Now, the days of the single-income household are long gone.

For the first time in U.S. history, the majority of all heterosexual households have two full-time, working parents. Now, both parents in more than half (52%) of heterosexual couples with kids under 18 hold full-time jobs, according to a Pew Research analysis of 2025 U.S. Census Bureau data.