“Median age at first marriage” is a Census Bureau approximation derived indirectly from tabulations of marital status and age. See http://www.census.gov/population/www/cps/cpsdef.html (Marriage, Age at first.)
“Newly married” or “newlywed” is based on a question in the American Community Survey (ACS) asking respondents whether they got married in the past 12 months. The ACS is administered throughout the year, so the marriages could have taken place during the survey year or during the previous calendar year. In the 2010 ACS, for example, respondents could have been newly married as far back as January 2009 or as late as December 2010.
“New marriage rate” is computed using as the numerator the number of adults ages 18 and older who answered yes to the American Community Survey question asking whether they had married within the past 12 months. The denominator is the number of adults ages 18 and older who have never married, who are divorced or widowed, or who married within the past year.
Race/Ethnicity: References to whites, blacks and Asians are to the non-Hispanic components of those populations. Hispanics can be of any race. Asians also include Pacific Islanders.
About the Report
The demographic data in this report come from two Census Bureau surveys and the decennial censuses of 1960-2000. The Census Bureau’s analysis of Current Population Survey data is the basis for reporting trends in median age at first marriage. The American Community Surveys (ACS) of 2008, 2009 and 2010 are used to analyze the marital status of adults in those years and to analyze trends in new marriages. The decennial censuses of 1960-2000 are used to analyze the marital status of adults in those years.
Newlywed Trends
The decline in the number of newly married adults — from 4.4 million in 2009 to 4.2 million in 2010 — was shared among all age groups but was especially sharp for the youngest adults. Among adults ages 18-24, the number who recently married dropped 13% between 2009 and 2010, according to American Community Survey estimates (see appendix tables for details).
The decline in the number of newlywed men and women does not account for possible changes in population size or composition, but even when these factors are included, the trend does not change. For this analysis, the number of newlyweds was divided by the number of unmarried people and newlyweds in order to calculate a new-marriage rate.
In 2009, there were 40.1 newlyweds per thousand unmarried and newly married adults ages 18 and older. In 2010, that declined to 37.4, a 2.7 point drop. The number also declined from 2008 to 2009, though less sharply; there had been 41.4 newlyweds per thousand unmarried and newly married adults in 2008.
The trends in newlywed numbers and rates varied somewhat among different age groups. The youngest adults had the biggest decline from 2009 to 2010, but numbers and rates also dropped for adults ages 25-34 and those ages 45 and older. The number rose and the rate was stable for adults ages 35-44.
More Articles
- Gender and Labor Markets by Diego Mendez-Carbajo* : "Sure [Fred Astaire] was great, but don't forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did…backwards and in high heels." — Robert Thaves1
- Veterans Health Care: Efforts to Hire Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists
- Adrienne G. Cannon Writes: Those Lonely Days
- Jill Norgren Reviews a New Inspector Gamache Mystery: All the Devils Are Here
- Rose Madeline Mula Writes: Look Who's Talking
- GAO* Report on Retirement Security: Older Women Report Facing a Financially Uncertain Future
- Celebrating 100 Years of Women Voting; Virtual Sessions: United States Capitol Historical Society
- Supreme Court Surprises The Public in LGBTQ Ruling: What is Sex Discrimination?
- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi And Donald Trump Last Year
- Elaine Soloway's Hometown Rookie: Mirror, Mirror; Jealous; Terms of Endearment