Age Variation in the Remarriage Rate, 1990 & 2022

This profile is an update to
FP-13-17, FP-17-21, & FP-20-13.

Family Profile No. 9, 2024
Author: Jaden Loo

Nearly one-quarter (23%) of all adults who married in 2022 entered a remarriage. In recent decades, the remarriage rate has plummeted, falling from 50 per 1,000 previously married adults (individuals divorced or widowed) in 1990 to 24.1 per 1,000 by 2022. However, there is substantial variation in the remarriage rate by age group. In this Family Profile, we examine age-related change in the remarriage rate from 1990 to 2022 using 1990 U.S. Vital Statistics and the 2022 American Community Survey data.

The Remarriage Rate

• The decline in the remarriage rate is especially pronounced among younger age groups.
  • The remarriage rate for 20 to 24-year-olds dropped by more than 50% from 1990 (237.5) to 2022 (101.8).
  • Among adults aged 25 to 34 years old, the remarriage rate declined from 171.9 in 1990 to 93.4 in 2022, representing a 46% drop.
• Midlife remarriage rates also fell, but not to the degree of the declines observed at younger ages.
  • For 35 to 44-year-olds, the remarriage rate declined by 33% from 94.0 in 1990 to 62.3 in 2022.
  • A smaller decline occurred among 45 to 54-year-olds for whom the remarriage rate decreased from 52.1 in 1990 to 40.4 in 2022.
• Among older adults, remarriage rates have remained relatively stable since 1990.
  • Among those aged 55 to 64, the remarriage rate declined slightly from 20.5 to 19.0.
  • Adults aged 65 and older are the only group who experienced an increase in their remarriage rate from 4.6 to 5.1.

Figure 1. Remarriage Rates by Age Groups, 1990 & 2022

Gender Variation in the Remarriage Rate

• From 1990 to 2022, the remarriage rate dropped for both men and women across most age groups.
  • In 1990, adults aged 20-24 exhibited the highest remarriage rates for both men and women. However, in 2022, the peak remarriage rate for men was among those aged 25 to 34 years old. For women, it remained highest among 20-24 year olds.
• The largest gender gap in the 2022 remarriage rate was among those aged 20 to 24 years old with women’s remarriage rate (135.5) nearly triple the rate for men (47.8).
  • Women aged 20 to 24 years old had higher remarriage rates than men in the same age group in both 1990 (245.9 vs. 220.4) and 2022 (135.5 vs. 47.8).
• From ages 35 onward, men experienced higher remarriage rates than women at every age group at both time points.
• For women aged 45 to 54, the remarriage rate remained stable from 1990 (34.5) to 2022 (33.1), but for men this rate decreased from 82.4 to 49.9.
• From 1990 to 2022, men in the 55 to 64 and 65 or older age groups experienced decreases in their remarriage rates (45.3 to 27.1 and 15.0 to 10.6, respectively). However, women in the same age groups saw increases in their remarriage rates (10.7 to 13.4 and 2.0 to 2.9, respectively).

References:
Brown, S. L. & Lin, I.-F. (2013). Age variation in the remarriage rate, 1990-2011. Family Profiles, FP-13-17. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://www.bgsu.edu/content/dam/BGSU/college-of-arts-and-sciences/NCFMR/documents/FP/FP-13-17.pdf

Schweizer, V. (2020). Age variation in the remarriage rate, 1990 & 2018. Family Profiles, FP-20-13. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-20-13

Wu, H. (2017). Age variation in the remarriage rate, 1990-2015. Family Profiles, FP-17-21. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-17-21

Suggested Citation:
Loo, J. (2024). Age variation in the remarriage rate, 1990 & 2022. Family Profiles, FP-24-09. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-24-09  

This project is supported with assistance from Bowling Green State University. From 2007 to 2013, support was also provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s) and should not be construed as representing the opinions or policy of any agency of the state or federal government.