Here’s why more young people are less likely to marry under thirty
December 16, 2025
For much of the 20th century, marriage marked adulthood for men, with most married by age 30 and often already starting families. In the 1970s, more than eight in ten men in countries like the United Kingdom were married. Today, among men born around 1990, fewer than one in four were married by age 30.
Similarly, U.S. Census data shows the average age of first marriage for men has risen from 25 in 1980 to 30 today, and for women from 22 to 28.
