Father's Day by the numbers: Historical facts, stats and celebrations
Father's Day 2024: Here's how much Americans plan to spend on gifts — plus data points about dads
Each year, Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June.
As millions of Americans prepare to honor dads and father-like figures throughout the country, FOX Business looked into the holiday’s origins, the amount of money that’s spent on Father’s Day activities and key stats on fatherhood in America.
Here are a few number-focused facts in honor of Father’s Day.
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1. When was the first Father's Day celebration in the United States?
2. Which U.S. president made Father's Day official?
3. How many fathers are in the U.S.?
4. How many single fathers are in the U.S.?
5. How many stay-at-home dads are in the U.S.?
6. How many children are in the U.S.?
7. How much money is spent on Father's Day?
8. How many ties are sold on Father's Day?
9. How many Father's Day cards are exchanged?
10. How much is spent on Father's Day gifts?
Father's Day celebrations are filled with an assortment of gifts and cards as a way to show love to the special father or father figure in your life. (iStock / iStock)
1. When was the first Father's Day celebration in the United States?
The first Father’s Day on record dates back to June 19, 1910, according to History.com. The day was reportedly started by Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington.
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Dodd was the daughter of a widower, and she felt moved to start a day that honored fathers after seeing the success Mother’s Day had when it was established three years prior.
Father's Day dates back all the way to 1910 in Spokane, Washington, after Sonora Smart Dodd wanted to celebrate the amazing fathers out there. (iStock / iStock)
The state of Washington celebrated the nation’s first Father’s Day.
2. Which U.S. president made Father's Day official?
Sixty-two years after the nation’s first Father’s Day observance, President Richard Nixon signed a proclamation that permanently made Father’s Day the third Sunday in June, according to the Library of Congress.
President Lyndon Johnson made a declaration stating the same six years before Nixon, but he didn’t sign it into law.
3. How many fathers are in the U.S.?
The U.S. Census reported there were 74.7 million men aged 15 and over who are fathers, and from that, 72.2 million men have a biological child, according to the agency’s Men’s Fertility and Fatherhood report from 2014 that is still highlighted today.
There are 74.7 million men in the U.S. who are fathers — 72.2 million of those men have a biological child. (iStock / iStock)
4. How many single fathers are in the U.S.?
In 2022, around 7.13 million families with only a male householder and no spouse, i.e. single fathers, were calculated, according to the US Census Bureau; Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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5. How many stay-at-home dads are in the U.S.?
Pew Research Center calculated that there were 11.3 million stay-at-home parents across the country in 2021 — 2.1 million of those parents were fathers; that's nearly 1 in 5 stay-at-home parents in the U.S. who are dads, according to a more recent article the center published in August 2023.
There are an estimated 2.1 million stay-at-home fathers across the country, according to a Pew Research Center analysis in 2021. (iStock / iStock)
6. How many children are in the U.S.?
Per a data report from UNICEF in 2023, there were approximately 73.6 million children under the age of 18 in the U.S.
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7. How much money is spent on Father's Day?
Father’s Day spending for 2024 is projected to reach $22.4 billion, according to forecast data published by the National Retail Federation (NRF).
This estimation is just under last year's record of $22.9 billion.
Millions and millions of ties are sold each year on Father's Day. (iStock / iStock)
8. How many ties are sold on Father's Day?
About 100 million ties are sold on Father’s Day each year, according to Infoplease – an online encyclopedia, almanac and atlas.
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9. How many Father's Day cards are exchanged?
Each Father’s Day, there are about 72 million cards exchanged, according to Hallmark, a leading greeting card company.
The card manufacturer says Father’s Day is its fourth-largest card-sending holiday.
A leading greeting card company reported that roughly 72 million cards are exchanged each year on Father's Day. (iStock / iStock)
10. How much is spent on Father's Day gifts?
Americans who plan to celebrate Father’s Day will spend an average of $189.81 on gifts, according to the NRF’s 2024 projection.
Celebrate Father's Day 2024 by learning some fun facts about the special holiday that's all about the important men in your life. (iStock / iStock)
That estimate is down $6.42 from the Father's Day gifting forecast the NRF projected last year — a record of $196.23 per person.