- 45% of millennial women say they are not following the societal timeline for getting married, buying a home and having kids.
- About a quarter (26%) of millennial women are delaying their plans to start a family in order to focus on their careers.
- Nearly one-third (32%) of millennial women say fertility costs are stopping them from family planning, even though 46% say they want children in the future.
A perceived love for avocado toast is a stereotype that still haunts American millennials today, yet, if you were to poll today’s largest generation, they’d likely come up with another characterization – “unlucky.” It’s no secret that the economic cards have largely been stacked against millennials, many who entered the workforce around the time of the 2008 financial crisis, and are still playing catch up today. Therefore, when it comes to achieving common milestones like starting a family, persistent economic challenges combined with a series of cultural shifts could be what’s keeping motherhood in the rearview mirror for many millennial women.
According to a new study conducted by Qualtrics on behalf of Intuit Credit Karma, 40% of American women say they are not following the societal timeline of getting married, buying a home and having kids. This trend was most pronounced among millennial women (45%), followed by 41% of Gen Z.
This phenomenon speaks to progress made over previous decades in pursuit of gender equality, with women now making up a large part of the American workforce, and in many cases, out-earning their male counterparts. According to the study, a quarter of American women say they are delaying their plans to start a family in order to focus on their careers, which is the case for 26% of millennial women. Additionally, a quarter of women in relationships say they earn more than their partner, and this jumps to 29% for millennial women.
Careers aside, 46% of millennial women who don’t have children say that they want children in the future, and 35% of those women say they’d be willing to start a family on their own even though they wouldn’t be able to split the financial responsibility with someone. In fact, one in 10 millennial women who say they want kids, are actively prioritizing saving enough money to be able to expand their family.
For the 35% of millennial women who say they don’t want children in the future, some signs point to money as the culprit. Of those millennial women who don’t want children, 40% say it’s because they cannot afford children, compared to 35% of Gen Z women. It’s expensive to raise a child, but in some cases, the associated costs to conceive a child also serve as blockers to motherhood. Nearly one-third (32%) of millennial women who don’t have children say the cost of fertility treatments, egg freezing, adoption or surrogacy keeps them from family planning.
The concern many millennial women have about their inability to afford motherhood comes at a time when 39% of millennial women say they don’t feel financially stable, while an astonishing 27% of millennial women say they have no money saved for an emergency.
Luckily, the precarious nature of not having money saved is not lost on millennial women. In fact, across generations, millennial women are most focused on saving money (65%) and paying off credit card debt (40%). Yet, it’s unclear whether the 45% of millennial women who say they don’t plan to ever experience having kids, would rethink that claim if their financial situations were to improve.
“The past few decades have shown that societal norms don’t look the same as they used to, and millennial women played a major role in that shift,” said Courtney Alev, consumer financial advocate at Intuit Credit Karma. “As a result, women today aren’t tethered to the timelines set by those before them, as many choose to prioritize their careers above being young mothers. In some cases, that means prolonging family planning until they become more established in their careers, while others don’t see children in their future at all. Regardless, both camps are highly influenced by money and the high costs associated with conceiving and raising children. These are valid concerns when you consider an American couple can expect to spend roughly $306,924 to raise a child born in November 2023, and that doesn’t include fertility costs, which many women depend on today to conceive. Luckily, we’re seeing women take control of their finances, focusing on saving money and paying off debt, which should put them in a better position to welcome a child into the world if that’s the path they choose to take.”
Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Qualtrics on behalf of Intuit Credit Karma on April 5 to April 9, 2024 among 2,027 adults ages 18 and above who identify as women.