《经济学人》用1960年以来的人口普查数据观察到：在过去一年搬入新居的年轻已婚夫妇中，1960年超过四分之三为单一养家者，而如今这一比例已低于三分之一，使得《辛普森一家》那种“单收入也能舒适中产”的设定显得更不现实。与此同时，壮年女性劳动参与率在1960至2000年间从约40%跃升至超过75%，此后基本停滞，但单收入购房者占比仍从40%继续降至30%，且2012至2023年（房价快速上涨期）降幅最为明显。

民调显示，约一半美国母亲表示更愿意在家而非工作，这一比例约为实际在家人数占比的两倍，暗示许多人之所以继续工作主要是出于收入需要。若住房更便宜、家庭预算更宽松，可能会有更多人选择停止工作或转为兼职。

对2010至2024年间有子女的年轻夫妇按丈夫收入分组的数据表明：当丈夫收入上升到某一水平后，妻子的全职参与率会下降，且在有房家庭中的下降远快于租房家庭。在有房家庭中，丈夫约赚到中位工资时，近80%的妻子全职工作；当收入进入前三分之一并超过10万美元后开始下滑，若年薪达50万美元则降至约50%，大致等同于民调中“想工作”的母亲占比。

The Economist’s census-based look at young married couples who moved into a new home shows single-breadwinner households falling from more than three-quarters in 1960 to less than one in three today, undermining the once-plausible idea of a comfortably middle-class life on one high-school-educated income. Over the same long arc, prime-age women’s labor-force participation rose from about 40% in 1960 to more than 75% by 2000 and then plateaued, yet single-income homebuyers still slid from 40% to 30%, with the steepest drop from 2012 to 2023 as house prices surged.

Polling suggests about half of American mothers would prefer to stay home rather than work, roughly double the share who actually do, implying earnings pressure rather than pure preference drives much of the extra labor supply. If housing costs were lower and budgets stretched further, more families might shift toward part-time work or a single income.

In a 2010–2024 sample of young couples with children grouped by husbands’ earnings, wives’ full-time participation declines past an income threshold, and the drop-off is far sharper among homeowners than renters. For homeowners with husbands around the median wage, nearly 80% of wives work full-time; in the top third (above $100,000) the rate starts to dip, and at $500,000 it falls to about 50%, roughly matching the share of mothers who tell pollsters they want to work.

Source: The decline of single-earner housebuyers in America

Subtitle: A tale of opportunities and costs

Dateline: 2月 12, 2026 05:49 上午