$154 Billion Man Report

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New Report Estimates $154 Billion in Annual Taxpayer Costs Linked to Father Absence  

 Updated analysis shows federal spending on assistance programs for single mother-headed households increased over 50% since 2006; highlights opportunity to reduce child poverty by investing in fathers and families.

GERMANTOWN, Md. — Jan. 29, 2026 — The United States spent $154.2 billion in 2018 on 14 major federal government assistance programs supporting children and mothers in households without resident fathers, according to a national report released today.

The $154 Billion Man: The Economic Argument for Investing in Fathers, authored by National Fatherhood Initiative® and the Center for Policy Research, compares federal expenditures from 2006 and 2018. The analysis draws on federal budget data and the Survey of Income and Program Participation to estimate spending associated with single mother-headed (father-absent) households. It serves as an update to NFI’s landmark 2006 study, The $100 Billion Man.

Researchers found that, when controlling for inflation, spending on the 14 programs increased by 54.5%, rising from nearly $100 billion in 2006 to $154.2 billion in 2018. The $154.2 billion accounted for about 42% of the programs' combined budgets and nearly 4% of the total federal budget that year. Separated, divorced, widowed, and never-married mothers all receive a variety of food, tax, and medical benefits from government programs, which help to mitigate child poverty and other negative effects of father absence.