Pew Social & Demographic Trends » Marriage and Divorce

Demographics of Asian Americans

Adam Nekola — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:00:14 +0000

The demographic data shown here display the varied population sizes and characteristics of the largest Asian origin groups. The numbers shown here come from two Census Bureau sources. The population rankings use counts from the 2010 Census for the total Asian-American population and for 20 Asian origin subgroups. The adult characteristics table is derived from [...]

Love and Marriage

D’Vera Cohn — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 20:24:55 +0000

This posting explores statistics about marriage rates, median age at first marriage and attitudes about marriage. Although the marriage rate is at a record low, most never-married Americans say they would like to marry. "Love" is cited more than other factors as a reason to get married, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

No Reversal in Decline of Marriage

Richard Fry — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 19:29:00 +0000

The number of Americans who recently wed has been declining for years, and 2011 was no exception, according to estimates from the American Community Survey. An estimated 4.2 million Americans were newlyweds in 2011, about the same as in 2010 and sharply lower than in 2008.

Divorce and the Great Recession

D’Vera Cohn — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:40:27 +0000

At the Population Association of America’s annual conference in San Francisco this week, papers on the recession’s impact on families, wealth, children, young adults, older Americans and other realms of life will be presented in at least 10 of the 200-plus sessions. Much of the research is preliminary, but it raises intriguing questions. One paper tries to assess whether the poor economy has affected divorce rates.

Intermarried Couples: Trends and Characteristics

D’Vera Cohn — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:46:35 +0000

A new report from the Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends project analyzes the rising prevalence of racial and ethnic intermarriage, and compares rates among different ethnic and racial groups. The report also uses public opinion data to look at changing attitudes toward intermarriage.

The Rise of Intermarriage

Wendy Wang — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 05:00:11 +0000

The share of new marriages between spouses of a different race or ethnicity from each other increased to 15.1% in 2010, more than double the share in 1980.

Marriage Rate Declines and Marriage Age Rises

D’Vera Cohn — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:42:42 +0000

A new Pew Research Center report analyzes trends in marriage rates, age at first marriage and number of new marriages. It finds that barely half of U.S. adults are married, continuing a downward trend. In addition, the median age at first marriage for men and women has never been higher. And the number of people who married within the past year fell 5% from 2009 to 2010.

Barely Half of U.S. Adults Are Married – A Record Low

D’Vera Cohn, Jeffrey Passel, Wendy Wang and Gretchen Livingston — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:01:35 +0000

Barely half of all adults in the United States—a record low—are currently married, and the median age at first marriage has never been higher for brides and grooms.

Family Meals, Cohabitation and Divorce

D’Vera Cohn — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 19:32:07 +0000

More than 2,000 demographers, sociologists and others converged on Washington, D.C., last week for the Population Association of America’s annual meeting.

For Millennials, Parenthood Trumps Marriage

Wendy Wang and Paul Taylor — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 16:00:13 +0000

Today’s 18 to 29 year olds – members of the so-called Millennial Generation – see parenthood and marriage differently than today’s thirty-somethings (members of Generation X) did back when they were in their late teens and twenties, according to a new analysis of Pew Research Center survey findings. Unlike their older counterparts, Millennials value parenthood much more than marriage.