2025/01/01 by Natalie Bankey · 1 voice
Medicine · Social Sciences · #Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences #Family Dynamics and Relationships #Reproductive Health and Technologies
paper · doi:10.25035/ncfmr/fp-25-01
openalex publication_date 2025/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/01/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Since 2008, the refined marriage rate in the U.S. has declined, dropping from 37.5 marriages per 1,000 unmarried males and females to 33.6 marriages per 1,000 in 2023 (Westrick-Payne, 2024). Over the same period cohabitation rates have continued to rise, reflecting a broader trend among younger adults to postpone marriage, with first marriages increasingly occurring at later ages (Brown et al., 2022; Manning & Loo, 2024). This shift positions marriage as a capstone experience, underscoring the importance of distinguishing first marriage rates from remarriage rates. Using the latest data from the American Community Survey, we examine the first marriage rate among males and females 18 and older. This Family Profile is an update to previous profiles on the first marriage rate (FP-23-17, FP-21-09, FP-20-01, FP-18-14, FP-16-18, FP-14-08, FP-11-12, and FP-10-05).