More Americans are staying unmarried because of changes in economic circumstances and shifting societal ideas of the importance of marriage, according to a recent study by Pew Research Center.
The percentage of American adults who have never married is a “record high,” according to a Pew Research Center study released Wednesday.
Pew found that in contrast to 1960, during which one-in-ten adults ages 25 and older have never married, in 2012, one-in-five adults in that age range have reported that they have never married.
Adults are also marrying later and are choosing cohabitation more increasingly than before. The median age of first marriage has increased from 20 for women and 23 for men in 1960 to 27 for women and 29 for men in 2012, according to Pew. Additionally, 24% of adults from 25-34 years old are currently living with a partner.
The study found various factors that contribute to these trends, the most significant of which include changes in attitude toward marriage, and changes in economic circumstances.
Half of the study participants responded that society is just as well off if people have priorities other than marriage and children, whereas 46% said that society is better off if marriage and children were a priority. Young adults were much more likely to agree with the former statement, as 67% of those ages 18-29 chose the former over the latter statement.
Study participants also expressed that the financial reality of marriage is also one of the reasons that they have been putting it off. 34% of young adults ages 25 to 34 pointed to financial security as one of the reasons they haven’t gotten married yet. A vast majority of never-married women, 78% of them, said that one of the key aspects they look for in a potential spouse is whether they are steadily employed.
For those never-married women seeking a steadily employed spouse, the challenge is becoming increasingly difficult. Pew says that in 2012, for every 100 women who were employed, only 91 men were also.
“In other words, if all never-married young women in 2012 wanted to find a young employed man who had also never been married, 9% of them would fail, simply because there are not enough men in the target group,” wrote Wendy Wang and Kim Parker, two of the leaders of the study.
A little over half (53%) of those who have never married said that they would like to marry eventually in the Pew study, while 32% said they are not sure, and 13% said they do not want to marry at all.
