Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce Wedding Signals a Marriage Comeback
August 27, 2025
The long-term trends on marriage in the United States have been dismal. That’s disappointing for those who believe on religious grounds that marriage and family formation is a kind of holy covenant involving God. And it’s also troubling for those who believe on evidence-based utilitarian grounds that marriage is, on a net basis and as a general matter (two important caveats), better for health, wealth, and some other outcomes than the alternative options.
The Pew Research Center has a chart based on census data, showing of U.S. adults ages 18 and older who are married or have never been married. “Married” declines to 50 percent from 69 percent from 1970 to 2021, and “never married” increases to 31 percent from 17 percent.
