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As marriage rates have fallen, the number of U.S. adults in cohabiting relationships has continued to climb, reaching about 18 million in 2016. This is up 29% since 2007, when 14 million adults were cohabiting, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Roughly half of cohabiters – those living with an unmarried partner – are younger than 35. But an increasing number of Americans ages 50 and older are in cohabiting relationships, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of the Current Population Survey. In fact, cohabiters ages 50 and older represented about a quarter (23%) of all cohabiting adults in 2016.
Since 2007, the number of cohabiting adults ages 50 and older grew by 75%. This increase is faster than that of other age groups during this time period and is driven in part by the aging of Baby Boomers. In 2016, 4 million adults ages 50 and older were cohabiting – up from 2.3 million in 2007. By comparison, 8.9 million adults ages 18 to 34 were cohabiting last year, up from 7.2 million.
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While cohabitation is rising, cohabiters still make up relatively small portions of each age group – particularly among adults ages 50 and older. In total, 7% of U.S. adults were cohabiting in 2016. Just 4% of adults 50 and older were cohabiting. By comparison, 14% of Americans ages 25 to 34 were cohabiting – the highest share among the age groups analyzed here. Roughly one-in-ten adults ages 18 to 24 and 35 to 49 were cohabiting.
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The rising number of cohabiters ages 50 and older coincides with rising divorce rates among this group. With the higher divorce rates and a growing share of people who have never been married in this age group, more individuals are unmarried and available for partnering or re-partnering. In 2016, 61% of adults ages 50 and older were married, compared with 64% in 1990.
Most cohabiters ages 50 and older have previously been married, including a majority who are divorced (55%). Just over a tenth of cohabiters ages 50 and older (13%) are widowed – a share that rises to 27% among cohabiters 65 and older. Still, about one-fourth of cohabiters (27%) ages 50 and older have never been married.
By contrast, majorities of cohabiters younger than 50 have never been married, including nearly all cohabiters ages 18 to 24 (97%) and 85% of those 25 to 34. About half (52%) of cohabiters ages 35 to 49 have never been married, while roughly a third (36%) are divorced.
Among cohabiters ages 50 and older, a majority (57%) are in their 50s. Another three-in-ten are in their 60s, while one-in-ten are in their 70s. Just 3% of cohabiters ages 50 and older are in their 80s or older.