Marriage data reveals traditional nuclear families are disappearing across US — with a rate of just 13% in one major city
October 13, 2026
The nuclear family structure that once dominated American households is disappearing across the country — specifically in parts of major cities, according to a new report by the Institute for Family Studies.
The romance-less report on “marriage deserts” showed that fewer than a quarter of households with children are now headed by married couples in certain neighborhoods in Cleveland, Washington, DC, Milwaukee and Detroit, and emphasized a divide between these deserts and suburban-centric “married-family gardens.”
