Single people's desire for dual-income households drops after childbirth

A nationwide survey by Now & Survey of 1,000 people found that while 81.1% of single respondents desire a dual-income household in early marriage, that figure falls to 33.4% once children are involved. The results, conducted from October 8 to October 20, 2026, also revealed that 51.4% of those with marriage experience have one spouse primarily managing household finances.

While 8 out of 10 single respondents expressed a desire for both spouses to work full-time in a dual-income household during the early stages of marriage, that figure dropped to approximately one-third when children are involved. Additionally, more than half of respondents with marriage experience reported that one spouse primarily manages the household finances, revealing a gap between the expectations of single people and actual lived experiences.

The results are from an online survey conducted by Now & Survey among 1,000 men and women aged 20 and older nationwide from October 8 to October 20, 2026. The survey asked 350 single respondents about their expectations for economic activity after marriage, and 650 respondents with marriage experience—including those who are married, divorced, or separated—about their actual experiences.

Among single respondents, 81.1% hoped for a dual-income household where both spouses work full-time during the early stages of marriage without children. The proportion choosing a single-income household, where only one person works, was 6.9%. However, when assuming a situation where children are born, the desire for full-time dual-income work dropped by 47.7 percentage points to 33.4%. Instead, 29.1% preferred a method where one person works for a certain period before returning to a dual-income setup, and 23.7% preferred one spouse working full-time while the other works part-time.

Among respondents with marriage experience, 60.5% reported that both spouses worked full-time during the period before they had children, which was 20.6 percentage points lower than the early marriage preference of single respondents. Among 587 respondents with children, 28.4% responded that their working method changed around the time of the birth of their first child. The most common change was moving from both spouses working full-time to only one spouse working, accounting for 11.9%. The proportion of both spouses working full-time decreased from 60.1% before childbirth to 44.1% after childbirth. However, 68.3% of respondents who had a full-time dual-income setup before childbirth maintained the same format after childbirth.

Expectations and reality also differed regarding household money management. While 52.9% of single respondents wanted both spouses to manage all income and expenditures together, only 34.3% of respondents with marriage experience actually manage finances together. The most common method in reality was for one person, either the individual or their spouse, to primarily manage the money, at 51.4%. The proportion of singles who desired this method was 17.7%, showing a 33.7 percentage point difference from the actual response. Among singles, 24.6% wanted to manage only living expenses and savings together while managing the rest separately, but only 7.5% of those with marriage experience actually do so.

In cases where one person primarily manages the money, 77.3% of female respondents reported that they manage it themselves. Among male respondents, 54.9% said they manage it themselves, while 45.1% said their spouse manages it. Among men aged 50 and older, more than half (51.4%) responded that their spouse primarily manages the money.

Regarding satisfaction, 58.9% of respondents with marriage experience said they are satisfied with their current working and money management methods, while 8.6% said they are not satisfied. Among households where spouses manage money together, the satisfaction response was 70.9%, compared to 36.4% for households that manage money separately. However, it cannot be concluded from these results alone that joint management increases satisfaction.

When asked for the most important criteria in deciding between a dual-income or single-income household, 63.4% of all respondents cited household income and economic stability as the most significant. Childbirth and child-rearing followed at 18.3%, a stable home atmosphere at 9.9%, and individual career and self-actualization at 8.2%.

The survey results show that preferences for working methods change after children are born, and that expectations of single people differ from the reality of those with marriage experience regarding household management. In particular, while the satisfaction response was higher for households managing money together, it is difficult to determine a causal relationship between management methods and satisfaction based solely on these survey results.

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