Americans are about evenly divided in their views of whether smaller versus larger families are preferable. When asked about the ideal number of children for a family to have, a 44% plurality of U.S. adults think having two children is best, and 3% say a single child is ideal, totaling a 47% preference for smaller families.

At the same time, 45% of Americans favor larger families, including 29% who say having three children is ideal, 12% who think four is best, and 2% each who prefer having five or six or more children. …

Americans’ belief that the ideal family size includes three or more children has been rising steadily in recent years, currently up four percentage points from the previous reading in 2018 to its highest point since 1971.

[That’s curious, given the cultural abandonment of the family structure and the increasingly narcissistic focus on pleasure over responsibility. It also may not fit the current sexual/courtship model, where adults are dating less and putting family building off for many years. Maybe all of that adds up to a yearning for a better culture. — Ed]