A county in Indiana sees single fathers triple in 20 years

The number of single fathers has risen dramatically in the U.S. and more than tripled in Allen County – in Indiana – in less than two decades, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. Last year, there were an estimated 3,344 single fathers in Allen County, defined by the census as male householders with no wife present, living with their own children younger than 18 years old. Single fathers number more than 2.5 million in the U.S., an increase from about 856,000 in 1990, according to the census.

The New York Times reported earlier this month that another subsection of single fathers has emerged in recent years: Surrogacy agencies and adoption agencies are reporting a higher number of single men looking to become fathers, many of them gay men. Indiana remains a state where gay adoption is allowed based on a court decision, but adoption is far from simple for single men, gay or not.