Marriage facts & stats

Question 1

By 2021, as pandemic restrictions eased, the US marriage rate recovered to what level?

Accepted Answer

6.0 per 1,000 people. Many couples who had delayed weddings during the pandemic finally tied the knot in 2021.

Question 2

By 2018, what share of Americans aged 25-50 had never been married, up from just 9% in 1970?

Accepted Answer

35%. People are marrying later and more often not at all compared with a half-century ago.

Question 3

In 2006, about what share of Americans age 18 and older were currently married?

Accepted Answer

55.7%. That share has continued to slide in the years since, as more adults stay single or delay marriage.

Question 4

A 2011 estimate from the National Center for Family and Marriage Research found what share of first marriages were preceded by living together?

Accepted Answer

66%. Living together before marriage has become the norm rather than the exception in the US.

Going deeper