The National Benchmark of U.S. Mothers

Mothers see systems change before the data catches up.

The National Benchmark of U.S. Mothers is a recurring, nationally representative measurement of what mothers are experiencing across five areas of family life. Wave 1 fields Spring 2026.
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Why a Benchmark?

Mothers are the first to notice when a school stops responding to bullying reports. When a pediatrician's office stops answering the phone. When a benefits program adds a new administrative hurdle. When a new platform feature changes how their child behaves.

By the time these shifts register in clinical data, administrative filings, or issue-specific polling, families have already been adjusting — often for months or years.

The National Benchmark of U.S. Mothers is built to measure these shifts as they happen. Not what mothers think about the news today. What mothers are navigating today — across stress, trust, finances, and the environments shaping their children.

What We Measure

Five areas, tracked consistently, wave over wave.
Each area is built as a stable index — the items stay consistent across waves so findings can be tracked over time, not just captured in a single snapshot. Time-sensitive topics are addressed through rotating supplemental modules that do not alter the core indices.

Maternal Stress & Capacity

The overall barometer of household functioning and a leading indicator of child outcomes. Measures stress levels, the capacity to meet family needs, and the support mothers have to do so.

Family Economic Conditions

Financial strain as it is experienced, not just as reported by administrative data. Includes childcare and work constraints, healthcare affordability, and the cognitive load of navigating costs across essentials.

Institutional Trust & Responsiveness

Trust in schools, healthcare, technology platforms, and government. Perceived accountability, responsiveness, and whether the institutions mothers encounter are set up to serve families.

Youth Environment & Safeguard Conditions

Digital reliance, commercial design safeguards, and risk exposure across the environments shaping children — including schools, consumer products, and online platforms.

Maternal Stress & Capacity

Mental health access, school support confidence, peer-relationship ecosystem, and the navigation friction mothers encounter when seeking help for their children.

How the Benchmark Works

The Benchmark fields twice a year — Spring and Fall — with a fixed core instrument that remains stable across waves. Supplemental rotating modules address time-sensitive topics without altering the core indices.

Sampling blends two sources: mothers from The Count — Count on Mothers' community of subscribers across all 50 states — and mothers reached through a nationally representative paid panel. Responses are weighted to U.S. Census benchmarks.

All findings are governed by independent Count on Mothers research leadership and a Methodology Advisory Board of academic researchers at University College London. Institutional subscribers support the work; they do not shape the findings.
Read the full methodology 

Two Ways to Engage

For Mothers

Join the Count. Every mother who joins our community is invited to participate in Benchmark waves. Your voice belongs in the data shaping decisions about your family.
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For Institutions

Partner with us. Foundations, health systems, employer coalitions, think tanks, and policy organizations can access Benchmark findings, methodology documentation, and researcher briefings through institutional subscription. Founding Member enrollment is open during the Benchmark's inaugural phase.
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Built on Three Years of Research

Count on Mothers has published more than 20 national research reports since 2022 — drawing on over 20,000 survey responses from mothers across all 50 states. Our findings have been entered into the Congressional Record on childcare, paid leave, technology policy, and youth wellbeing, and covered in national press.

The National Benchmark of U.S. Mothers formalizes three years of research into a recurring measurement framework — establishing durable national indicators that institutions can track over time.
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Questions about the Benchmark?

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