From nationalsinglesday.us, “Did you know that nearly 50% of U.S. adults are single? That’s 126.9 million unmarried and unacknowledged people according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics released annually in conjunction with Unmarried and Single Americans Week, established in the 1980’s by the Buckeye Singles Council of Columbus, OH and observed during the third week of September. National Singles Day is celebrated on the last day of Unmarried and Single Americans Week.”

Note: In this edition of Stats for Stories, unmarried people include those who were never married, widowed or divorced, unless otherwise noted.

Key Stats

Source: Decennial Censuses, 1890 to 1990, and Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplements, 1947-2021.

Historical Marital Status Tables (November 2021)

Figure MS-1a. Men's marital status (see below) [<1.0 MB]

Figure MS-1b. Women's marital status (see below) [<1.0 MB]

Figure MS-2. Median age at first marriage: 1890 to present [<1.0 MB]

More Stats

Source: Current Population Survey (CPS), 2021 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2021 (all table series)

Table A1. Marital Status of People 15 Years and Over, By Age, Sex, and Personal Earnings: 2021 [<1.0 MB]

Table UC3. Opposite Sex Unmarried Couples by Presence of Biological Children Under 18, and Age, Earnings, Education, and Race and Hispanic Origin of Both Partners: 2021 [<1.0 MB]

Table 2. Educational Attainment of the Population 25 Years and Over, by Selected Characteristics: 2021 (see Marital Status) [<1.0 MB]

Source: 2020 Current Population Survey (CPS).

Table 9. Reported Voting and Registration, by Marital Status, Age, and Sex: November 2020 [<1.0 MB]

Source: 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-Year Estimates.

Table B10057, Marital Status by Grandparents Living With Own Grandchildren Under 18 Years by Responsibility for Own Grandchildren and Age of Grandparent

Table B11009, Coupled Households by Type

Table B13002, Women 15 to 50 Years Who Had a Birth in the Past 12 Months by Marital Status and Age

From Census.gov / Topics / Families and Living Arrangements:

Marriage and Divorce

Marriage and Divorce Data Tables

Marriage and Divorce Library

Marriage and Divorce News

Marriage and Divorce Publications

From the Library:

America Counts: Stories about Families & Living Arrangements

America Counts story: Living Arrangements of Young Parents: Solo, With Spouse, Partner or Parent (June 2021)

America Counts story: Unmarried Opposite-Sex Couples Living Together More Likely Than Married Couples to Both Work (June 2021)

Infographic: Never Married on the Rise (April 2021)

America Counts story: How State Marriage and Divorce Rates Stack Up (February 2020)

Interactive Visualization: U.S. Marriage and Divorce Rates by State: 2009 & 2019 (October 27, 2020)

From the Newsroom:

Press Release: Number, Timing and Duration of Marriages and Divorces (April 2021)

Stats for Stories: Singles Awareness Day: February 15

Outside Links

National Center for Health Statistics, Marriage and Divorce

Our World In Data: The rise of living alone: how one-person households are becoming increasingly common around the world

Social Security Administration, Benefits for Spouses

Unmarried Equality

You May Be Interested In

Page Last Revised - August 24, 2022

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