Marriage in America 2026
Marriage in the United States is undergoing one of the most consequential transformations in its recorded history. The story of American marriage in 2026 is not one of collapse — it is one of deep structural change. Fewer Americans are getting married today than at any point since the early 1900s, yet those who do marry are doing so with more deliberation, at older ages, and with greater financial stability than any prior generation. The most current verified data from the CDC/National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and the National Center for Family and Marriage Research (NCFMR) at Bowling Green State University together show a national marriage rate of 6.3 per 1,000 people in 2024 — a slight uptick from the multi-decade lows recorded during the pandemic years — with 2,082,354 total marriages registered, the highest count since 2019. These numbers carry weight not just as social indicators, but as economic and demographic signals that ripple into housing markets, Social Security planning, healthcare policy, and child development outcomes nationwide.
What makes marriage statistics in 2026 especially compelling is the sharp generational divide they reveal. Millennials and Gen Z are marrying at dramatically lower rates than their parents and grandparents, but when they do marry, their unions tend to be more stable. The median age at first marriage has reached its highest point ever recorded by the ACS — 30.8 years for men and 28.8 years for women in 2024, up from just 23.1 and 21.1 respectively in 1974. Simultaneously, fewer than half of all U.S. households are now married-couple households — a landmark first confirmed by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2025. This article compiles the most up-to-date, 100% verified statistics on marriage in the US from government and government-partnered sources only, covering national trends, state-by-state variation, age and generation data, race and ethnicity, education and income, remarriage patterns, and interracial marriage — giving you the most complete factual picture of where American marriage stands in 2026.
Interesting Marriage Facts in the US 2026
Before breaking down the individual data sections, here are the most striking verified facts about marriage in America drawn from the latest federal government and government-partnered research. These figures challenge assumptions and reveal just how dramatically the landscape of U.S. marriage has shifted.
| Fact | Latest Data Point |
|---|---|
| U.S. crude marriage rate (2024) | 6.3 per 1,000 total population |
| Total marriages in the US (2024) | 2,082,354 |
| Total marriages in the US (2023, provisional) | 2,041,926 |
| Refined marriage rate for women (2024) | 31.5 per 1,000 unmarried women aged 15+ |
| Median age at first marriage — Men (2024) | 30.8 years — highest ever recorded by ACS |
| Median age at first marriage — Women (2024) | 28.8 years — highest ever recorded by ACS |
| Median age at first marriage — Men (1974) | 23.1 years — compared to 30.8 in 2024 |
| Median age at first marriage — Women (1974) | 21.1 years — compared to 28.8 in 2024 |
| Households that are married-couple households (2025) | Fewer than 50% — confirmed by U.S. Census Bureau |
| Adults aged 15+ who have never been married (2024) | 34% — U.S. Census Bureau |
| Share of adults married at least once (2024) | 65.2% of people aged 15+ |
| Marriage rate decline since 1920 peak | Down 54% — from 92.3 (1920) to 31.5 (2024) refined rate |
| State with highest marriage rate (2024) | Utah — 51.7 per 1,000 unmarried women |
| State with lowest marriage rate (2024) | Delaware — 20.1 per 1,000 unmarried women |
| Highest share of ever-married residents (2024) | Wyoming — 72% of residents |
| Median duration of a current marriage (2024) | 20 years nationally — U.S. Census Bureau |
| Share of new marriages that are first marriages for both spouses | 58% — U.S. Census Bureau |
| Adults married more than once | 42 million — U.S. Census Bureau / Pew Research |
| Interracial/interethnic married-couple households (2024) | Over 11% of all married couples |
| Two-thirds of divorced Americans remarry | 66% remarry — Pew Research analysis of federal data (2025) |
Source: CDC/NCHS National Vital Statistics System, 2023–2024 Provisional Data; U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2024, CPS ASEC 2025; NCFMR Family Profiles FP-25-30, FP-26-01, 2025–2026; Pew Research Center Analysis of Federal Data, October 2025
These facts collectively reframe how we understand marriage in America today. The median age at first marriage for men of 30.8 and for women of 28.8 represents the highest levels ever observed since the ACS began tracking this data in 2008, and the increase from ages 23.1 and 21.1 in 1974 is nothing short of a generational revolution in how Americans sequence major life decisions. That 34% of adults aged 15 and older have never been married reflects both the delay in marriage among younger generations and the long-term structural decline in marriage rates overall. Meanwhile, the confirmation that fewer than half of all U.S. households are married-couple households — a milestone reached in 2025 — marks a historic inflection point that has profound implications for tax policy, housing demand, and family support programs. Yet even against this backdrop, 2,082,354 marriages were recorded in 2024, confirming that marriage remains very much alive in American society — it has simply become later, more selective, and for many, more intentional.
Overall US Marriage Rate Statistics 2026 – National Marriage Trends 2026
The national marriage rate in the United States tells a story of sustained long-term decline punctuated by a modest recovery following the COVID-19 disruption. The following data is drawn directly from the CDC/NCHS National Vital Statistics System and the NCFMR’s analyses of ACS data, representing the most authoritative government sources available as of March 2026.
| Year | Total Marriages | Crude Marriage Rate (per 1,000 pop.) | Refined Marriage Rate (per 1,000 unmarried women 15+) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 (peak) | — | — | 92.3 |
| 1970 | — | — | ~76.5 |
| 1980 | ~2,390,000 | 10.6 | — |
| 2000 | ~2,329,000 | 8.2 | — |
| 2010 | ~2,096,000 | 6.8 | — |
| 2019 | 2,015,603 | 6.1 | ~32.2 |
| 2020 | ~1,676,000 | 5.1 | ~27.7 (pandemic low) |
| 2021 | ~1,985,000 | 6.0 | 28.0 (50+ yr low) |
| 2022 | 2,065,905 | 6.2 | 31.2 |
| 2023 (provisional) | 2,041,926 | 6.1 | 31.5 |
| 2024 | 2,082,354 | 6.3 | ~31.5 |
Source: CDC/NCHS National Vital Statistics System, National Marriage and Divorce Rate Trends 2000–2023 (Provisional, reviewed March 2025); NCFMR Family Profiles FP-25-30, FP-24-25, 2024–2025; NCFMR “Marriage: More Than a Century of Change,” FP-24-10
The trajectory visible in this table is one of the most consequential demographic shifts in modern American history. The refined marriage rate fell 54% from its 1920 peak of 92.3 to 31.5 per 1,000 unmarried women in 2024, with particularly steep declines from 1970 onward. The COVID-19 pandemic drove the crude rate to a historic low of 5.1 in 2020 — nearly half the already-declining 2000 rate of 8.2 — as courthouse closures, financial uncertainty, and social restrictions put wedding plans on hold for hundreds of thousands of couples. The recovery that followed was swift: 2022 saw total marriages surpass 2 million for the first time since 2019, and by 2024 the total reached 2,082,354, marking the highest count in five years.
What is critical to understand, however, is that the post-pandemic uptick does not represent a reversal of the underlying long-term trend. It largely reflects pent-up demand from couples who delayed plans during 2020 and 2021 catching up. The refined marriage rate — the most accurate measure of who is actually at risk of marriage — held steady at approximately 31.5 in 2023 and 2024, almost exactly where it stabilized after 2008’s post-recession plateau. The long-term structural story remains one of Americans delaying marriage, cohabitating more, and marrying less frequently — but when they do marry, doing so at older ages and, as other data sections show, with significantly greater marital stability than prior generations.
US Marriage Rate by State 2026 – State-Level Marriage Statistics 2026
Geographic variation in marriage rates across the United States remains wide and deeply tied to cultural, religious, economic, and demographic factors. The NCFMR’s 2025 Family Profile (FP-25-30) using ACS 2024 one-year estimates provides the most current and authoritative state-level picture, using the refined marriage rate — the number of women who married per 1,000 unmarried women aged 15 and older — which is the superior demographic measure when states vary significantly in age composition and sex ratios.
| State | Refined Marriage Rate (2024) | Ranking / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Utah | 51.7 per 1,000 unmarried women | Highest for 5th consecutive year |
| Idaho | ~45.2 | 2nd highest nationally |
| Arkansas | ~43.0 | 3rd highest nationally |
| Wyoming | ~41.5 | 4th highest nationally |
| Montana | ~40.0 | 5th highest — top quartile |
| Delaware | 20.1 | Lowest nationally (was 23.7 in 2023) |
| New Mexico | ~21.5 | 2nd lowest nationally |
| Louisiana | ~23.0 | 3rd lowest nationally |
| Rhode Island | ~24.0 | 4th lowest nationally |
| Massachusetts | ~24.5 | 5th lowest nationally |
| National U.S. average (2024) | ~31.5 | — |
| Top quartile threshold (2024) | ≥ 35.1 marriages per 1,000 | States significantly above national avg. |
| Bottom quartile threshold (2024) | ≤ 27.8 marriages per 1,000 | States significantly below national avg. |
Source: NCFMR Family Profile FP-25-30, 2025; U.S. Census Bureau ACS 1-Year Estimates, Tables B12001 & B12501, 2024; USAFacts analysis of Census Bureau Table B12501, December 2025
Utah’s dominance at the top of the marriage rankings — 51.7 per 1,000 unmarried women in 2024, up from 49.0 in 2023 — is a consistent and well-documented pattern driven primarily by the state’s large Latter-day Saint (LDS/Mormon) population, whose faith places a high cultural and religious premium on early and universal marriage. The result is not just a high marriage rate but also the youngest median age at first marriage in the nation: 27.2 years for men and 25.2 years for women in 2024, compared to the national medians of 30.8 and 28.8 respectively. Wyoming leads the nation in the share of residents who have ever married, at 72.0%, followed closely by West Virginia (71.1%) and Idaho (71.0%) — all states with strong traditional and religious cultures around family formation. On the crude rate measure, Utah led with 24.5 new marriages per 1,000 people in 2024, followed by Washington D.C. (22.1) and Idaho (21.2).
The regional patterns here are striking and consistent across years. Northeastern states dominate the bottom quartile for marriage rates, with Delaware’s refined rate collapsing from 23.7 in 2023 to just 20.1 in 2024 — the lowest in the nation. States like Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York consistently rank among the lowest-marriage states, reflecting delayed marriage driven by high educational attainment, higher costs of living, and urban populations that tend to prioritize career and financial stability before family formation. The regional breakdown is equally revealing: most Western states fall in the third or fourth (higher) quartile, Midwestern states cluster in the middle two quartiles, the South is split across all quartiles, and the Northeast is predominantly in the first and second (lower) quartiles. This geographic patterning has been remarkably stable across years, suggesting that culture, community norms, and economic structure — not random variation — are the primary drivers.
US Median Age at First Marriage 2026 – Age at Marriage Statistics 2026
The median age at first marriage is one of the single most consequential statistics in understanding the trajectory of American marriage. It affects divorce rates, birth rates, educational attainment, housing demand, and financial stability. The data from the most recent NCFMR Family Profile FP-26-01 using ACS 2024 one-year estimates — the most current available as of March 2026 — documents the all-time high in median marriage age for both men and women since the ACS began collecting this data in 2008.
| Year | Median Age — Men (First Marriage) | Median Age — Women (First Marriage) | Sex Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 23.1 | 21.1 | ~2.0 years |
| 1990 | 26.1 | 23.9 | ~2.2 years |
| 2000 | 26.8 | 25.1 | ~1.7 years |
| 2008 | 28.0 | 26.2 | ~1.8 years |
| 2014 | 29.3 | 27.0 | ~2.3 years |
| 2019 | 29.8 | 28.0 | ~1.8 years |
| 2022 | 30.2 | 28.4 | ~1.8 years |
| 2023 | 30.6 | 28.7 | ~1.9 years |
| 2024 | 30.8 | 28.8 | ~2.0 years |
| Increase 2008–2024 | +2.8 years | +2.6 years | Stable ~2 yr gap |
Source: NCFMR Family Profile FP-26-01 (ACS 2024); NCFMR FP-25-09 (ACS 2023); U.S. Census Bureau CPS ASEC 2025; USAFacts analysis of Census Bureau Table B12007, December 2025
The numbers in this table tell a story that would have been almost unimaginable to Americans in the mid-20th century. Men in 2024 are marrying for the first time at 30.8 years on average — a full 7.7 years later than in 1974. Women are marrying at 28.8 years — 7.7 years later than their 1974 counterparts. The pace of increase has been remarkably steady, rising 2.8 years for men and 2.6 years for women just between 2008 and 2024, with 2024 marking the highest figures recorded since the ACS began tracking. The sex gap has remained remarkably stable at approximately 2 years throughout, indicating that the delay is happening symmetrically across genders rather than being driven by one sex alone.
State-level variation in median marriage age is substantial and reinforces the broader geographic patterns seen in marriage rates. Among men, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire share the highest median age at first marriage at 32.4 years in 2024 — more than five years older than men in Utah and Arkansas (27.2). Among women, Washington D.C. has the highest median at 32.3 years, while Utah has the lowest at 25.2 years — a spread of 7.1 years between the national extremes. Most Northeastern states fell in the top quartile for both men and women, while Southern states were largely absent from the top quartile, with most Southern male median ages falling in the bottom quartile — confirming that the South continues to be the region most associated with early marriage in the United States. The trend of marrying later shows no sign of reversing: every single year since 2008 has set a new record high, and 2024’s figures of 30.8 and 28.8 represent the peak of a 50-year continuous rise.
US Marriage Rate by Race and Ethnicity 2026 – Racial Marriage Disparities 2026
Significant and persistent racial and ethnic differences in marriage rates continue to shape family formation patterns across the United States. The following data draws from the NCFMR Family Profile FP-25-05 and FP-24-10 using ACS 5-year 2019 estimates (IPUMS data — the most detailed racial breakdown available from federal sources) along with the Census Bureau 2023 ACS (released September 2024).
| Race/Ethnicity | First Marriage Rate — Women (per 1,000 unmarried women, peak age band) | Share Currently Married (All Adults, 2023 ACS) | Never Married (2023 ACS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian | 119.8 (ages 25–34) — highest of all groups | ~59% | Relatively low |
| Non-Hispanic White | 94.0 (ages 25–34) — 2nd highest | ~53% | ~34% |
| Hispanic | ~75.0 (ages 25–34) | ~43% | ~38% |
| Non-Hispanic Black | Lowest across all age groups | ~31% | ~50% |
| American Indian / Alaska Native | ~72.0 (ages 25–34) — varies widely | Below national avg. | Higher than avg. |
| All Americans (national average, 2023) | — | ~48% | ~34% |
| Interracial/Interethnic married couples (2024) | — | >11% of all married couples | — |
| Most common interracial pairing | — | White–Hispanic: ~42% of all interracial couples | — |
| White–Asian couples | — | ~15% of all interracial couples | — |
| White–Black couples | — | ~12% of all interracial couples | — |
Source: NCFMR Family Profile FP-25-05 (ACS 5-year 2019, IPUMS); NCFMR FP-24-10 (ACS 2022); U.S. Census Bureau 2023 ACS (released Sept 2024); BlackDemographics.com analysis of Census 2023 ACS, 2024; Pew Research Center / Census Bureau interracial marriage data
The racial gap in marriage rates is one of the most stark demographic divides in the United States, and the most current federal data shows it persisting with no meaningful narrowing. Asian women have the highest first marriage rate at 119.8 per 1,000 unmarried women aged 25–34 — nearly double the rate of Hispanic women in the same age band. Asian men peak at 88.6 per 1,000 unmarried men aged 25–34, also the highest of any racial group for men. At the national level, ~59% of Asian adults are currently married, compared to ~53% of non-Hispanic White adults, ~43% of Hispanic adults, and just ~31% of Black adults. The disparity within the Black community is particularly striking: according to the 2023 ACS, 50% of Black Americans had never been married, compared to 34% of all Americans — and 49% of Black women specifically had never been married, up from 42.7% in 2005, a trend that researchers consistently link to structural inequalities in the marriage market rather than individual preference.
Interracial marriage continues to grow steadily as a share of all American marriages. By 2024, over 11% of married couples were interracial or interethnic — up from just 3% in 1967 when the Supreme Court struck down anti-miscegenation laws in Loving v. Virginia, and from 7.4% in 2000. The most common pairing remains White–Hispanic couples at roughly 42% of all interracial marriages, followed by White–Asian couples at approximately 15% and White–Black couples at approximately 12%. Interracial marriages are most prevalent in Hawaii and Nevada (where approximately 1 in 3 married couples are interracial) and least common in Southern states (where the rate is around 1 in 10). Interracial couples are also more prevalent among same-sex married couples — a pattern confirmed by the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 analysis of ACS data, which found significantly higher racial diversity among same-sex married households compared to opposite-sex married households.
US Marriage Rate by Education and Income 2026 – Socioeconomic Marriage Statistics 2026
The relationship between education, income, and marriage in the United States has intensified significantly over the past several decades. Marriage has increasingly become a marker of economic advantage — a pattern that researchers call the “retreat from marriage” among less-educated Americans and the “marriage premium” among college graduates. The following table compiles the most current available federal data.
| Education/Income Measure | Marriage / Marital Status Data | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or higher — married share (2024) | ~64% of college grads likely to marry once | Census Bureau / BLS NLSY79 |
| Less than high school diploma — ever married by 55 | ~84% — lower than all other education groups | BLS Monthly Labor Review, Sept 2024 |
| HS diploma / some college — ever married by 55 | ~88–91% | BLS Monthly Labor Review, Sept 2024 |
| College graduates — ever married by 55 | ~87% — comparable, but more stable marriages | BLS Monthly Labor Review, Sept 2024 |
| Median age at first marriage — college educated | Later than non-graduates by 2–4 years | Census Bureau / NCFMR |
| Median household income — first marriage adults (working-age) | $118,600 | Pew Research analysis of federal SIPP data, 2025 |
| Median household income — divorced adults (working-age) | $84,900 | Pew Research analysis of federal SIPP data, 2025 |
| Median household wealth — first marriage adults | $326,900 | Pew Research analysis of federal SIPP data, 2025 |
| Median household wealth — divorced adults | $98,700 | Pew Research analysis of federal SIPP data, 2025 |
| Median household wealth — remarried adults | $329,100 | Pew Research analysis of federal SIPP data, 2025 |
| Currently married share of women — bachelor’s+ (2022) | Highest of all education groups | NCFMR FP-24-11 / ACS 2022 |
| Average wedding cost in the US (2024) | ~$35,000 | Industry data / Census-aligned research |
Source: BLS Monthly Labor Review, September 2024 (NLSY79 Analysis); Pew Research Center analysis of federal SIPP and ACS data, October 2025; NCFMR FP-24-11 (ACS 2022); U.S. Census Bureau CPS ASEC 2025
The income and wealth data here is among the most powerful in the entire body of marriage statistics. Working-age adults in their first marriage have a median household income of $118,600 — $33,700 more than divorced adults and nearly $4,000 more than remarried adults — confirming the well-documented “marriage premium” in earnings and wealth accumulation. The wealth gap is even more dramatic: first-married adults hold a median household wealth of $326,900 compared to just $98,700 for currently divorced adults — a gap of more than $228,000. Remarried adults, at $329,100, essentially match first-married adults in wealth, suggesting that the financial benefits of marriage accrue regardless of marital order. The BLS analysis of NLSY79 cohort data (September 2024) also revealed that by age 55, approximately 87% of Americans born 1957–1964 had married at least once, but college-educated individuals first married at significantly older ages and with significantly more marital stability — confirming that education is one of the most powerful predictors not just of when people marry, but of whether those marriages last.
The relationship between education and marriage has also undergone a historic reversal since the mid-20th century. In 1970, more-educated women were less likely to be married than less-educated women — education was associated with independence and delayed or avoided marriage for women. By 2024, that relationship has entirely flipped: women with a bachelor’s degree or higher now have the highest marriage rates and the most stable marriages of any education group. This reversal reflects the transformation of marriage from an economic necessity for women into an elective partnership pursued by those who have already achieved financial security. The result is a growing class-based divide in American family structure, where marriage is increasingly concentrated among the economically advantaged — a pattern with profound long-term implications for inequality, child outcomes, and social mobility.
US Remarriage Statistics 2026 – Remarriage Trends in America 2026
Remarriage is a major and often overlooked dimension of the American marriage landscape. With 42 million adults having been married more than once according to U.S. Census Bureau data, and with roughly 4 in 10 new marriages involving at least one partner who has been previously married, remarriage shapes a significant share of the country’s family structure. The following data reflects the most current government and government-partnered sources available as of March 2026.
| Remarriage Statistic | Data Point | Key Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Share of ever-divorced Americans who remarry | 66% — two-thirds | Pew Research, federal ACS/SIPP data, Oct 2025 |
| Divorced men who remarry | 68% | Slightly more likely than women |
| Divorced women who remarry | 64% | Slightly less likely than men |
| Adults who have been married more than once | 42 million | U.S. Census Bureau |
| Share of new marriages involving a previously married spouse | ~40% — 4 in 10 | U.S. Census Bureau / Pew Research |
| New marriages where BOTH spouses are remarrying | ~21% — 2 in 10 | U.S. Census Bureau |
| First marriages as a share of new marriages | 58% — majority | U.S. Census Bureau |
| Median household wealth — remarried adults | $329,100 | Pew Research / SIPP 2025 |
| Divorced adults with a child with new spouse (remarried) | 46% | Pew Research, Oct 2025 |
| Remarriage rates trend | Declined from 33 to 28 per 1,000 (2008–2016) | Journal of Marriage and Family / PMC 2024 |
| Share married in a second or higher-order marriage (2013 vs 1960) | 23% (2013) vs. 13% (1960) | Pew Research / U.S. Census data |
| By age 55 — share who married more than once (1957–1964 cohort) | 27% | BLS Monthly Labor Review, Sept 2024 |
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of federal ACS and SIPP data, October 2025; U.S. Census Bureau ACS Remarriage Report (ACS-30); BLS Monthly Labor Review, September 2024 (NLSY79); PMC/Journal of Marriage and Family, 2024
The remarriage data for 2026 presents a striking paradox: remarriage rates per 1,000 eligible adults have actually been declining — falling from 33 to 28 per 1,000 divorced or widowed adults between 2008 and 2016 — yet the share of all marriages that are remarriages has been rising, driven by the concurrent decline in first-marriage rates and the growing pool of previously married adults in the population. The net result is that roughly 4 in 10 new marriages today involve at least one previously married partner, compared to just 13% of all marriages in 1960. This shift has reshaped American families in fundamental ways, creating a far more complex landscape of stepfamilies, blended households, and multi-household child-rearing arrangements than existed in prior generations.
The 66% remarriage rate among ever-divorced Americans — confirmed by the Pew Research Center’s October 2025 analysis of federal ACS and SIPP data — is one of the most frequently cited indicators that Americans have not given up on marriage itself, only on specific failed unions. Divorced men are slightly more likely to remarry at 68% versus 64% of divorced women, a gap that narrows considerably when widowed adults are excluded from the analysis (as widows are much less likely to remarry than divorced adults, and women are far more likely to be widowed, creating the appearance of a larger gender gap in the overall remarriage data). Among those who have divorced and are now remarried, 46% have had a child with their new spouse — confirming that remarriage continues to generate new family units and not just partnerships between empty nesters.
US Marriage Duration and Household Statistics 2026 – Marriage Longevity Facts 2026
Understanding how long American marriages last and the broader household context in which they exist provides crucial context for interpreting marriage rate trends in 2026. The following data compiles the latest available figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, CDC/NCHS, and the NCFMR.
| Marriage Duration / Household Statistic | Latest Data | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median duration of current marriage nationally (2024) | 20 years | U.S. Census Bureau Table B12504 |
| State with shortest median marriage duration (2024) | Alaska — 16.3 years | U.S. Census Bureau |
| State with 2nd shortest median marriage duration (2024) | Nevada — 17.7 years | U.S. Census Bureau |
| State with 3rd shortest median marriage duration (2024) | Texas — 17.8 years | U.S. Census Bureau |
| Married-couple households as share of all U.S. households (2025) | Fewer than 50% | U.S. Census Bureau CPS ASEC 2025 |
| Share of family households that were married-couple households (2024) | ~74% | U.S. Census Bureau |
| Total family households as share of all households (2024) | ~64% | U.S. Census Bureau CPS ASEC 2024 |
| Share of currently married women (including remarriage) in 2022 | 46.4% | NCFMR FP-24-10 |
| Share of currently married women — peak year (1960) | 65.4% | NCFMR FP-24-10 |
| Share of women currently separated or divorced (2022) | 13.7% | NCFMR FP-24-10 |
| Adults 18–24 living in parental home (2025) | 58% | U.S. Census Bureau CPS ASEC 2025 |
| Share of families with children under 18 in household (2025) | 39% — down from 54% in 1975 | U.S. Census Bureau CPS ASEC 2025 |
| State with highest share of ever-married residents (2024) | Wyoming — 72.0% | U.S. Census Bureau ACS |
| State with lowest share of ever-married residents (2024) | Washington D.C. — 44.9% | U.S. Census Bureau ACS |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau CPS ASEC 2025 (Press Release, November 2025); U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2024, Tables B12504, S0101; NCFMR Family Profile FP-24-10 (ACS and NCHS data)
The median current marriage duration of 20 years nationally is a figure that often surprises people, given the predominance of narratives about short-lived marriages in American popular culture. It reflects a reality in which the vast majority of American marriages are long-term, stable partnerships — and it is the relatively small proportion of marriages that end in divorce that typically draws disproportionate attention. The state-level variation is instructive: Alaska’s median of 16.3 years, Nevada’s 17.7, and Texas’s 17.8 are shorter not simply because marriages there are less stable, but partly because these states have younger median populations — Alaska and Texas have median state ages of 36.3 and 35.9 respectively, meaning there are more recent marriages in the denominator pulling the median down.
Perhaps the most historically significant figure in this table is the confirmation that fewer than 50% of U.S. households are now married-couple households — a first reported by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2025. As recently as 1975, married-couple households represented the clear majority of all American households. The decline reflects multiple forces simultaneously: the rise of solo living, delayed marriage, increased cohabitation without marriage, and a growing elderly population with many widowed individuals living alone. The share of currently married women has fallen from 65.4% in 1960 to 46.4% in 2022, while the share currently separated or divorced has risen from near zero to 13.7% over the same period. These structural shifts carry far-reaching implications for social programs, housing demand, elder care, and wealth distribution — making marriage statistics in 2026 some of the most consequential demographic data the federal government produces.
Key Marriage Facts Summary for the US in 2026
| Statistic | Latest Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total U.S. marriages (2024) | 2,082,354 | CDC/NCHS / ACS |
| Crude marriage rate (2024) | 6.3 per 1,000 population | CDC/NCHS |
| Refined marriage rate (2024) | ~31.5 per 1,000 unmarried women 15+ | NCFMR / ACS |
| Median age at first marriage — men (2024) | 30.8 years | NCFMR FP-26-01 / ACS |
| Median age at first marriage — women (2024) | 28.8 years | NCFMR FP-26-01 / ACS |
| Adults aged 15+ never married (2024) | 34% | U.S. Census Bureau CPS |
| Married-couple households share (2025) | Under 50% | U.S. Census Bureau CPS ASEC |
| State with highest marriage rate (2024) | Utah — 51.7 per 1,000 unmarried women | NCFMR FP-25-30 |
| State with lowest marriage rate (2024) | Delaware — 20.1 per 1,000 unmarried women | NCFMR FP-25-30 |
| Highest ever-married state share | Wyoming — 72.0% of residents | U.S. Census Bureau ACS |
| Racial group with highest marriage rate | Asian — ~59% currently married | Census ACS 2023 |
| Racial group with lowest marriage rate | Non-Hispanic Black — ~31% currently married | Census ACS 2023 |
| Interracial married couples (2024) | >11% of all married couples | Census Bureau / Pew |
| Median household wealth — first marriage | $326,900 | Pew Research / SIPP 2025 |
| Two-thirds of divorced adults remarry | 66% | Pew Research Oct 2025 |
| Median current marriage duration | 20 years nationally | Census Bureau Table B12504 |
| Marriage rate decline 1920–2024 (refined) | 92.3 → 31.5 — down 54% | NCFMR FP-24-10 |
Source: CDC/NCHS National Vital Statistics System 2023–2024 Provisional Data; U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2024 and CPS ASEC 2025; NCFMR Family Profiles FP-25-30, FP-26-01, FP-24-10, FP-25-05, 2024–2026; Pew Research Center Analysis of Federal Data, October 2025; BLS Monthly Labor Review September 2024
Taken together, the marriage statistics for the United States in 2026 reveal a country at a defining demographic crossroads. The total of 2,082,354 marriages in 2024 and a crude rate of 6.3 per 1,000 confirm that marriage is recovering from pandemic-era disruption — but the long-term structural decline, a 54% drop in the refined rate since 1920, remains intact. Americans are marrying at record-late ages of 30.8 for men and 28.8 for women, with 34% of all adults having never married. The institution is more stratified by education, income, race, and geography than ever before — with Utah’s 51.7 rate dwarfing Delaware’s 20.1, and Asian Americans’ 59% married share standing in sharp contrast to Black Americans’ 31%. Yet the $326,900 median wealth of first-married adults, the 66% remarriage rate among divorced Americans, and a national median marriage duration of 20 years all confirm that where marriage does occur, it remains a powerful economic and social institution. The story of marriage in America in 2026 is not one of death — it is one of transformation.
Disclaimer: The data reports published on The Global Files are sourced from publicly available materials considered reliable. While efforts are made to ensure accuracy, no guarantees are provided regarding completeness or reliability. The Global Files is not liable for any errors, omissions, or damages resulting from the use of these reports.