First Marriage Rate by Age and Race/Ethnicity

Family Profile No. 5, 2025
Author: Natalie Bankey

The first marriage rate has been relatively stable between 2008 and 2021 (Westrick-Payne, 2023). However, these overall patterns mask considerable variation in marriage rates when examined by race, ethnicity, and age group. In 2023, the first marriage rate was highest among individuals aged 30-44 (Bankey, 2025), underscoring the decline in first marriage rates among younger adults. Blacks tend to have lower first marriage rates compared with Whites (Bloome & Ang, 2020; Ruggles, 2022). Ruggles (2022) found that as age increased, first marriage rates declined for both Black and White men suggesting delayed marriage may not be evenly distributed across racial groups. This family profile expands on our earlier analysis of first marriage rates (Bankey, 2025) by incorporating more detailed racial/ethnic identities across age providing estimates separately by gender using data from the 5-year 2019[1] American Community Survey (ACS) provided by IPUMS-USA (Ruggles et al., 2024).

[1] To minimize margins of error and account for ACS race question changes in 2020, the 2019 five-year ACS data file was used.

Men’s First Marriage Rate by Age and Race/Ethnicity

Generally, the first marriage rate declined with age. Across each racial and ethnic group examined, the highest first marriage rates were among those aged 25-34. The lowest first marriage rates for a majority of racial and ethnic identities examined here were among those aged 65 and older.

• Non-Hispanic Black men experienced the lowest rates across each age group (with an exception for those aged 35-44). Their lowest rate reached 7.2 among those 65+.
• American Indian and Alaska Native men also experienced relatively low first marriage rates, with their highest rate at 44.2 for those aged 25-34.
• Men with another/multiple racial or ethnic identities experienced slightly more uniform first marriage rates outside of the expected ages where rates peaked (ages 25-34 and 35-44). Their highest first marriage rates were among those aged 25-34 (61.9).
• Non-Hispanic White men, on average, experienced the second highest first marriage rates across the racial and ethnic groups examined here. Their highest rates were among those aged 25-34, reaching 75.6 marriages per 1,000 unmarried men.
• Asian men experienced the highest first marital rates overall, peaking at 88.6 among those aged 25-34.

Figure 1. Men’s First Marriage Rate by Age and Detailed Race/Ethnicity

Women’s First Marriage Rate by Age and Race/Ethnicity

• As age increased, older women tended to experience lower first marriage rates, with the lowest rate among those 65 and older only reaching 0.8 among American Indian or Alaska Native women.
• Across each racial and ethnic group, non-Hispanic Black women experienced the lowest first marriage rates overall. By age, their highest rate was among those aged 25-34 (35.5).
• American Indian and Alaska Native women also experienced relatively low first marriage rates. The highest rate was among those aged 25 to 34, reaching a rate of 45.7 marriages per 1,000 previously unmarried women.
• Hispanic women experienced average first marriage rates, with their highest rates occurring around early-to-mid adulthood. Their highest rate was among those 25-34 years old (68.9).
• Women who identified with another/multiple racial or ethnic identities experienced slightly higher first marriage rates. Their highest rate was 70.7 among those aged 25 to 34.
• Non-Hispanic White women’s highest rate was also among those aged 25-34 (94.0)—the second highest for this age group across the racial and ethnic identities examined here. The remaining age groups were relatively similar or slightly lower in their first marriage rates compared to the other groups.
• Asian women experienced the highest first marriage rates overall, and the highest among those aged 25 to 24 at 119.8 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women.

Figure 2. Women’s First Marriage Rate by Age and Detailed Race/Ethnicity

Data Source:
Ruggles, S., Flood, S., Sobek, M., Backman, D., Chen, A., Cooper, G., Richards, S., Rodgers, R., & Schouweiler, M. (2024). IPUMS USA: Version 15.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS. https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V15.0  

References:
Bankey, N. (2025). First marriage rate, 2023. Family Profiles, FP-25-01. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-25-01

Bloome, D., & Ang, S. (2020). Marriage and union formation in the United States: Recent trends across racial groups and economic backgrounds. Demography, 57(5), 1753-1786. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-020-00910-7

Ruggles, S. (2022). Race, class, and marriage: Components of race differences in men's first marriage rates, United States, 1960-2019. Demographic Research, 46, 1163–1186. https://doi.org/10.4054/demres.2022.46.39

Westrick-Payne, K. K. (2023). First marriage rate, 2021. Family Profiles, FP-23-17. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-23-17

Suggested Citation:
Bankey, N. (2025). First marriage rate by age and race/ethnicity. Family Profiles, FP-25-05. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-25-05

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.