Many Americans are on the lookout for love, and some have found it. According to a Pew Research Center’s analysis of Census Bureau statistics released on Wednesday, for the first time in almost 20 years, the number of Americans who are not married or living with an unmarried partner has decreased. Pew Research Center found that this decline was accompanied by a slight increase in the number of couples reporting being married. This increased from 50% to 51%.
Richard Fry, who has been a research analyst at Pew Research for 23 years and is a labor economist, said that “singledom has reached its peak.” Fry could not say if the trend would continue but said that the changes indicated a possible change in direction for America’s relationships. The survey respondents said that they were not married, in a romantic relationship, or living with someone. Only a small percentage of single adults say they are casually dating.
Fry, the head of a research team focusing on American family life and work, told a group of researchers that in 2000, 38% of adults were unpartnered. These numbers rose rapidly, reaching a high of 44% by 2019. Fry said that in 2023, the numbers would drop to 42%.
While some groups, such as young adults ages 18-24 and older women, or those without a diploma, reported more unpaired people than the overall adult population, the trend of romantic relationships was on the rise across the board. The number of adults reporting to the Census Bureau they live with an unmarried spouse increased from 6% in the same period to 7%. Data from the Bureau shows that the number who report they are married has gone up from 50% from 2019 to 2103, according to Pew.
Census Bureau data shows that divorces have decreased, but marriages are not increasing. In 2012, 2% of married couples reported getting divorced the year before. Pew reported that in 2023, only 1.4% of married couples will divorce. This is a record low.
These numbers have a financial impact, too, because partnered adults are more likely to be financially successful. The Ohio State University conducted a survey of about 9,000 individuals and found that divorce reduced a person’s wealth by approximately three-quarters when compared with that of an individual, whereas being married nearly doubled comparative wealth.
This finding is in line with a Pew study, which, citing a Federal Reserve survey from 2023, found that single adults are more likely to be worse off financially than couples. Pew reported that 64% of unpartnered adults felt they were at least doing okay financially compared to 77% of couples.
Fry said that adults with partners are better off from a financial standpoint.
Fry said that married men are better off financially. According to Fry, research shows that single men are less likely to have a job than men who are married because women gravitate towards men they perceive as providers.
“Economically successful men make better partners. But marriage makes them more successful at work.” Fry said that married men are more productive.
Zach Thompson is not single and prefers to be that way. He met Jenna in middle school. The couple were friends throughout high school. They got engaged and then married in 2020.
Thompson, an American filmmaker, told a reporter that he grew up seeing many members of his family in relationships, and he knew he too wanted to be in one. It felt natural when he met her. He said. The 26-year-old couple now lives in Charleston. Thompson said that fighting to make a relationship work is worth it if you find someone with whom you want to spend the rest of your life.
