Americans Still Like Marriage
- 67 percent of Americans disagree with the idea that marriage is outdated.
- 75 percent of Americans are either married or would like to get married.
- Marriage culture around a child is the greatest factor for his or her social mobility.
- The strongest predictor is the percentage of children with single parents in a community.
- The unwed birth rate remains high at over 40 percent of all births.
- Children in single-parent homes are five times as likely to be poor compared to children in married-parent homes.
- Married men earn significantly more than single men.
- 32% of the growth in family income inequality since 1979 can be linked to the decline in the marriage rate.
- For the past 10 years, America’s fertility rate has been trending downward.
- In 2014, the number of single Americans hit an all-time high, now at 50.2%. In the mid-1970s, the percentage was 37.4%.
- Most couples live together before they wed.
- 44% of Americans think that cohabitation before marriage is a good idea. However, research suggests the opposite: cohabitation is linked to poorer marital quality.
- Americans report having between 4 and 6 sexual partners over their lifetime.
- Research indicates that those who only have sex with the person they marry report higher marital quality.
- 63% of births are outside of marriage.
- Among college-educated young women, 71 percent of births occur within marriage. This leaves children in lower-income, and increasingly more so in working-class communities, without the multiple benefits of marriage.
- Fathers today spend significantly more time with their children than they did just two decades ago.
- Children with involved fathers on average have better outcomes, including an increased likelihood of graduating from college.
- However, fewer youth live with their fathers today than in past decades.
