Married Twenty-Somethings

Marriage appears to be going out of style among Americans in their twenties, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the Pew Research Center. In 1960, two-thirds (68%) of all twenty-somethings were married. In 2008, just 26% were joined in wedlock. How many of today’s youth will eventually marry is an open question. For now, the survey finds that the young are much more inclined than their elders to view cohabitation without marriage and other new family forms — such as same-sex marriage and interracial marriage — in a positive light. Even as marriage shrinks, family — in all its emerging varieties — remains resilient. Americans have an expansive definition of what constitutes a family. And the vast majority of adults consider their own family to be the most important and most satisfying element of their lives. Read More