United States · Ages 25–34

Changing Marriage Rates

In 1970, most young adults were married. Today, most aren't. Here's the shift — from 1970 to 2025.

Among Americans aged 25 to 34, the share who are married fell from 86 in every 100 in 1970 to just 34 in every 100 in 2025. Scroll down to explore the change — and to find out whether you would have been married.

The long decline

Share of 25–34-year-olds who were married, 1970 to 2025.

100 75 50 25 0 Married per 100 (ages 25–34) 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2025 86 69 60 44 35 34 Married Not married

Pick a year

Move through time and watch how the odds change.

1970
In 1970, 86 of every 100 people aged 25–34 were married.
86% 14%
Married Not married

Would you be married?

Click Spin to see if you would be married in 1970

What changed?

A young married couple in front of a suburban house in 1970.
1970
86 in 100 married

Marriage came early and nearly universally. By their late twenties, most had a spouse, a home, and often kids.

Young adults balancing careers and school in 1990.
1990
60 in 100 married

College and careers stretched the runway to adulthood. People married later, and apartments replaced starter homes.

Independent young adults living solo in a city in 2025.
2025
34 in 100 married

Living solo, renting, and staying single into one's thirties is now the norm — not the exception.

Data & notes

Figures show the share of U.S. adults ages 25–34 who were married, per 100 people. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "Living Arrangements" (2024), with marriage-rate figures for 2025 and earlier years drawn from Census Bureau data. census.gov