• Unmarried People

There are nearly 93 million unmarried Americans over age 18, representing roughly 42% of the adult population. - U.S. Census Bureau. “America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2007.”

Unmarried Americans head more than 51 million households. - U.S. Census Bureau. “America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2007.”

In 2005, unmarried households became the majority of all U.S. households. - U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey: 2005.

Marital Status of American Adults: 

- Marital status data for 1890 - 1970 from U.S. Census Bureau, Historical Abstracts of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970,Series A 160-171, 1989. Data for 1980 -2000 from U.S. Census Bureau, MS-1. "Marital Status of the Population 15 Years and Over, by Sex and Race: 1950 to Present." 2001.

The average American spends the majority of his or her life unmarried. - Kreider, Rose and Jason Fields. 2002. "Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 1996." Current Population Reports.

68% of divorced or widowed Americans plan to remain unmarried. - Gallup. 2006.

There are more than 56 million American adults who have always been single, representing roughly 60% of the adult unmarried population. - U.S. Census Bureau. “America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2007.”

In 2008, 29.4% of men and 22.7% of women ages 18 and over had never married. - U.S. Census Bureau. “America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2008.”

Median Age at First Marriage: 

 - Age data from the U. S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports (2000), "Estimated Age at First Marriage"

Economy

There are more than 56 million unmarried American workers, representing roughly 40% of the workforce. - U.S. Department of State. 2005. “Income and Employment Statistics.”

Annually, unmarried Americans contribute more than $2 trillion to the economy. - U.S. Department of Labor. 2006. “Consumer Expenditure Survey.”

Living Alone

As of 2000, the most common household type in the U.S. is a person living alone. - Hobbs, Frank. 2005. “Examining American Household Composition: 1990 and 2000.” U.S. Census Bureau.

There are more than 31 million one-person households in the U.S., representing roughly 27% of all households. - U.S. Census Bureau. “America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2007.”

Living Together

Over 12 million unmarried partners live together in 6,008,007 households. - U.S. Census Bureau. “American Community Survey: 2005-2007.”

The number of cohabiting unmarried partners increased tenfold between 1960 and 2000. - U.S. Census Bureau. “America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2000.”

The number of cohabiting unmarried partners increased by 88% between 1990 and 2007. - U.S. Census Bureau. “America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2007.”

The majority of couples marrying today cohabited first. - Bumpass, Larry and Lu, Hsien-Hen. 2000. "Trends in Cohabitation and Implications for Children's Family Contexts in the United States." Population Studies, 54: 29-41.

About 75% of cohabiters plan to marry their partners. - Smock, Pamela. 2000. "Cohabitation in the United States." Annual Review of Sociology.

55% of different-sex cohabiters do marry within five years of moving in together. 40% break up within that same time period. About 10% remain in an unmarried relationship for five years or more. - Smock, Pamela. 2000. "Cohabitation in the United States." Annual Review of Sociology.

41% of American women aged 15-44 have cohabited at some point. - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2002. “Cohabitation, Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage in the United States.” Vital Health and Statistics, 23; 22.

In 1995, 24% of women aged 25-34 were cohabiting, compared to 22% of women aged 35-39, and 15% of women aged 40-44. In every age group, the percentages have increased since 1987. - Bumpass, Larry and Lu, Hsien-Hen. 2000. "Trends in Cohabitation and Implications for Children's Family Contexts in the United States." Population Studies, 54: 29-41.

Parenting

39.7% of all births are to unmarried women. - National Center for Health Statistics. 2007.

41% of first births by unmarried women are born to cohabiting partners. - Bumpass, Larry and Lu, Hsien-Hen. 2000. "Trends in Cohabitation and Implications for Children's Family Contexts in the United States." Population Studies, 54: 29-41.

About two-fifths of children are expected to live in a cohabiting household at some point. - U.S. Census Bureau. 2000.

In 2006, nearly 13 million unmarried American parents lived with their children. Among them, more than 80% were unmarried mothers. - U.S. Census Bureau. “America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2007.”

In 2006, the percentage of American households headed by unmarried parents was nearly double the percentage in 1970. - U.S. Census Bureau. “America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2007.”

Nearly 40% of opposite-sex, unmarried American households include children. - U.S. Census Bureau. “America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2007.”

Nearly one-third of American grandparents who are responsible for their grandchildren are unmarried. - U.S. Census Bureau. “American Community Survey: 2005-2007.”

Public Opinion

In a 1995 Harris poll, 90% of people believed society “should value all types of families.” - Stephanie Coontz. 1997. The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms With America's Changing Families.

43% of Americans in their twenties believe that cohabiting couples should receive the same benefits as married couples. - Gallup. 2001.

45% of Americans in their twenties believe that government should not be involved in licensing marriage. - Gallup. 2001.

55% of Americans approve of men and women living together without being married. - Gallup. 2007.

57% of Americans consider an unmarried couple who have lived together for five years just as committed in their relationship as a married couple who have lived together for the same time. -Gallup. 2008.

The majority of Americans aged 18-64 consider living in unmarried households as having either no effect or a positive effect on children. - Gallup. 2008.

Voting

In 2004, more than one-third of voters in the presidential election were unmarried. - U.S. Census Bureau. “Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2004.”

In 2004, more than 55 million unmarried Americans were registered to vote. Among them, nearly 47 million actually voted. - Lake Research Partners and Women’s Voices, Women Vote. “Unmarried America, 2007: America’s New Majority.”

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How we get our numbers

We take seriously the accuracy of the information we provide. If you have a question about a source or find data that doesn't match ours, please let us know. For instance, here's why our numbers don't match some other sources about the number of people living with an unmarried partner in the U.S.

* 11 million is the number of people who live with an unmarried partner in the United States, according to the 2000 decennial Census. This number includes members of same-sex and different-sex couples who told the Census they were "unmarried partners," not roommates, in the 2000 decennial Census.

* 5.5 million is the number of unmarried partner households in the United States, according to the 2000 decennial Census. Each household contains a couple; therefore, 11 million people.

* 4.9 million is the number of different-sex unmarried partner households in the United States, according to the 2000 decennial Census. This number excludes same-sex couples.

* 9.7 million is the number of people living with a different-sex unmarried partner in the United States, according to the 2000 decennial Census. This is double the number of different-sex unmarried partner households, since each household contains a couple. This number excludes same-sex couples.

* 4.7 million is the number of households containing two different-sex, unmarried people (it's a count based on POSSLQ, People of the Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters), according to the Census' 2000 Current Population Survey. This number counts households, not people (at least two unmarried people are in each household). There is no way to know if the people in the household are roommates or intimate partners. It excludes same-sex couples.

* 3.8 million is the number of different-sex unmarried partner households in the U.S., based on the Census' 2000 Current Population Survey. This number excludes same-sex partners, and it's a count of households, not people (there are at least two people in each unmarried partner household). The Current Population Survey is a smaller annual count which tends to undercount unmarried partners compared to the major decennial census, according to Census demographer Jason Fields. This is because it's done by telephone, with a survey-taker reading the questions. People may feel less comfortable admitting they are unmarried partners on the phone with a stranger, compared with filling out a form in the privacy of their home. Also, they may categorize their relationship before the survey-taker reads the whole list, and not realize that "unmarried partner" is an option.