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Business Environment Profiles - United States

Marriage rate

Published: 06 May 2025

Key Metrics

Marriage rate

Total (2025)

6 Units

Annualized Growth 2020-25

2.6 %

Definition of Marriage rate

The marriage rate is measured by the annual number of marriages in the United States per 1,000 people. Data is sourced from the National Center for Health Statistics.

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Recent Trends – Marriage rate

The marriage rate has fallen consistently since the mid-1980s as unmarried cohabitation has become increasingly common. Two prominent trends have supported this decline. First, women's wages have increased against men's wages in recent decades, which could affect some women's desire to marry. Second, changing public sentiment and demographic shifts have reduced the marriage rate. These changes range from opinions on the necessity of marriage to the use of contraceptives. Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting, the use of contraceptives has increased significantly since 1985. Moreover, according to data from the Pew Research Center, opinions on marriage are rapidly changing. While older demographics may remain tied to marriage, younger demographics are less likely to view marriage the same way. As a result, the marriage rate is not supported as younger generations reach the typical marriage age range. Moreover, the number of adults that have never been married has reached a record high, with 20.0% of adults never being married, largely driven by young adults aged 25 to 34 not marrying. Comparatively, in 1960, just 9.0% of adults aged 25 and older had never been married. This downward trend has been further facilitated by higher rates of divorce. Ultimately, the marriage rate is being pushed down by fewer new entrants, as well as a greater rate of exit from the data set.

In addition to long-term trends, economic uncertainty generally constrains the marriage rate. Uncertainty increases during recessions, which explains the substantial 4.2% decline in this metric in 2009. IBISWorld estimates that the long-term decline in the marriage rate temporarily slowed in the years following the recession, as many couples who married in these years had previously delayed their marriages due to uncertain futures and higher wedding expenses.

The long-term trend toward a declining marriage rate has continued more recently. According to the Pew Research Center, shifting cultural attitudes regarding cohabitation and changing demographic trends support the decline in the marriage rate. For example, from 1960 to 2012, the number of never-married Caucasians doubled, whereas the number of never-married African Americans aged 25 and older rose 36.0%. Labor force participation rates may also be inextricably tied to marriage rates. For instance, as the labor force participation among men has fallen over the past several decades, with 82.0% of men aged 25 to 34 currently in the labor force, down from 93.0% in 1960, the number of employed young men (per 100 women) has declined as well, likely hindering the marriage rate.

Amid the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic that began in 2020, the marriage rate dropped 16.4% as business closures, travel restrictions and social distancing requirements forced many couples to postpone their weddings. Nevertheless, many couples chose to just postpone their celebrations into 2021 and 2022. Increased availability of coronavirus vaccines and boosters, the availability of venues and pent-up demand from 2020, caused the marriage rate to increase 17.6% and 3.3% in 2021 and 2022, respectfully. However, as pent-up demand was satisfied, the marriage rate is expected to return to pre-pandemic trends, with decreases in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

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5-Year Outlook – Marriage rate

IBISWorld projects the marriage rate will continue to fall at a moderate rate over the five years...

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