As part of the annual survey in the Detroit Area Study, the following question was asked of 718 Detroit area adults, "In your opinion, what would be the ideal number of children for a young couple to have if their standard of living is about like yours?" Less than 2 children were considered ideal by 6% of those questioned, 2 children by 35%, 3 by 29%, 4 by 24%, and over 4 by only 6% of the group. The mean "ideal" for the entire group was 2.94 children. On the basis of annual income of the family head, those with incomes of less than $3000 expressed a wish for 2.59 children while those in the $7000 and more bracket desired 3.15 children. Clerical, sales, and kindred workers desired larger families than other occupational groups. More highly educated individuals expressed a preference for more (3.10) children per "ideal" family than less highly educated (2.82). Rural or urban experiences made little difference in preference for the ideal family but race did. The negro mean "ideal" was 2.28 as compared with the white mean "ideal" of 3.05. Older people preferred more children than the younger ones, and women who worked felt fewer children were to be preferred as compared with non-working women. Roman Catholics expressed a mean "ideal" of 3.29, while Protestants desired 2.73. Only Catholics who attended church regularly showed any significant difference from the Protestant preference. With Protestants there is a regular deer, in family size with deer, in frequency of church attendance.