Barely half of all adults in the United States—a record low—are
currently married, and the median age at first marriage has never been higher
for brides (26.5 years) and grooms (28.7), according to a new Pew Research
Center analysis of U.S. Census data...In 1960, 72% of all adults ages 18 and
older were married; today just 51% are. If current trends continue, the share
of adults who are currently married will drop to below half within a few years.
The full report states that approximately 44% of 18-
to 29-year-olds agree that marriage is “becoming obsolete,” compared to 41% of
30- to 49-year-olds, 34% of 50- to 64-year-olds, and 32% of those 65 and older.
Blacks and Hispanics were more likely to believe that marriage was becoming
obsolete than whites, and those without a college degree (some college: 41%,
high school or less: 45%) were far more likely to agree that marriage was
becoming obsolete than Americans with a college degree (27%).
However, the report also states that
“attitudes toward the institution of marriage do not always match personal
wishes about getting married. Asked whether they want to get married, 47% of
unmarried adults who agree that marriage is becoming obsolete say that they
would like to wed.”
In its reporting on this Pew
publication, the Washington Post included an interactive map showing the family structure and
population density of the United States by county and state. The map showed
that 44% of residents in the District of Columbia live alone, 14.1% are married
with no children, 10.6% are single parents, and a mere 7.9% are married with
children.
For more on marriage trends and on
the economic and social need to preserve marriage, see the Pew Research Center’s
series The Decline of Marriage and MARRI Original
Research papers “Decline of Economic Growth: Human Capital & Population
Change,” “Our Fiscal Crisis: We Cannot Tax, Spend and Borrow Enough
to Substitute for Marriage” and “Marriage,
Contraception & The Future of Western Peoples.”
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