---
"title": "A Rise in Stay-at-Home Mothers Reverses a Long Trend"
"description": "This posting links to a new Pew Research Center report analyzing the recent rise in stay-at-home motherhood, and exploring characteristics of stay-at-home mothers, as well as time use and public opinion data on this topic."
"date": "2014-04-08"
"authors":
  -
    "name": "D’Vera Cohn"
    "job_title": "Former Senior Writer/Editor"
    "link": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/staff/dvera-cohn/"
"url": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/social-trends/2014/04/08/a-rise-in-stay-at-home-mothers-reverses-a-long-trend/"
---

# A Rise in Stay-at-Home Mothers Reverses a Long Trend

A rising share of mothers (29% in 2012) do not work outside the home, a trend that reverses decades of decline in stay-at-home motherhood, according to a [new Pew Research Center analysis of government data.](https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/social-trends/2014/04/08/after-decades-of-decline-a-rise-in-stay-at-home-mothers/) The turnaround appears to be driven by a mix of demographic, economic and societal factors.

The report also includes demographic analysis showing that stay-at-home mothers generally are less educated and less well off than working mothers. It explores time use data and public opinion data about working and stay-at-home mothers.