Nearly 40% of women today have never been married

Nearly 40% of women today have never been married

By Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY
Updated 8h 46m ago

Nearly 40% of women have never been married, and fewer are in a first marriage, according to a new government report that takes a detailed look at first marriages and their chances for survival.

The federal report shows the median age at first marriage was 25.8 for women and 28.3 for men.

The federal report shows the median age at first marriage was 25.8 for women and 28.3 for men.

The data, out today from the National Center for Health Statistics, are based on 22,682 in-person interviews from 2006 to 2010 with men and women (not couples) ages 15 to 44. Among the 12,279 women studied, the percentage of never-marrieds rose to 38% from 33% in 1995.

The highest percentage of women who have never married was among blacks (55%), followed by U.S.-born Hispanics (49%), Asians (39%) and whites (34%).

The percentage of women who said they were in a first marriage declined to 36%, from 44% in 1982. Similar data on men were not collected until 2002.

The data reflect not only the "delay in getting married for the first time" but also "that more people are cohabiting," says Galena Rhoades of the University of Denver's Center for Marital and Family Studies.

Researchers consider the numbers reliable: "Of all the government reports, this series has the best methodology about marriage and divorce," says sociologist Andrew Cherlin, a demographer at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

The data show that nearly one in two marriages break up within 20 years; 1995 data found that 50% of all women's first marriages survived. The new data show that 52% of women's first marriages survived the 20-year mark. Among men, 56% of marriages did.

The study has been conducted since 1973 among women ages 15 to 44. Men were added later. With 44 as the age limit, 20 years is the longest marriage duration that can be analyzed, says Casey Copen, the report's lead author.

A number of factors affect the likelihood of divorce, experts say, including education. For women with at least a bachelor's degree, for example, 78% were still married after 20 years, compared with 49% for those with some college and 41% for high school graduates.

For men, 65% of those with at least a bachelor's degree were still married after 20 years, compared with 54% for those with some college and 47% for high school graduates.

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