Relationship Status Trends According to Age and Gender, 2019-2021

Family Profile No. 25, 2021
Author: Adrianne R. Brown and Wendy D. Manning

Over the past few decades, there have been considerable changes in union formation in the U.S. Using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), we examine the relationship status trends of adults aged 18-40 by age group and gender from 2019 to 2021 (amid the COVID-19 pandemic). For this profile, single is defined as those who are neither married nor cohabiting with a partner. Between 2019 and 2021, the share of adults under the age of 40 who were married declined slightly for both men and women in all age groups (except for women aged 35-39 who remained relatively constant). There were no dramatic shifts in relationship status prior to the pandemic and during the pandemic.

18-24-Year-Olds

• The share of 18-24-year-olds who were married declined modestly from 2019 to 2021 among men and women (men – 6% to 5%, women – 10% to 8%).
• Cohabitation levels remained relatively constant for both genders, with about 7% of men and about 11% of women cohabiting.
• The percentage who were single increased slightly, from 87% to 89% of men and 80% to 82% of women.

Figure 1. Relationship Status of Adults Aged 18-24 by Gender, 2019-2021

Source: NCFMR analyses of IPUMS-CPS, 2019-2021, University of Minnesota

25-29-Year-Olds

• The share of 25-29-year-old men and women who were married decreased between 2019 and 2021 from 27% to 23% among men and 36% to 32% among women.
• Cohabitation increased by two percentage points for both men and women between 2019 and 2021.
• Between 2019 and 2021 the share of singles increased slightly, reaching 60% for men and 47% for women in 2021.

Figure 2. Relationship Status of Adults Aged 25-29 by Gender, 2019-2021

Source: NCFMR analyses of IPUMS-CPS, 2019-2021, University of Minnesota

30-34-Year-Olds

• Among adults aged 30-34, the share married decreased for both men and women—49% to 46% for men and 57% to 54% for women.
• The share cohabiting experienced a net increase over the 3-year period. Among men, the share increased from 13% in 2019 to 15% in 2021; among women, the share increased from 12% to 13%.
• Slight changes in singlehood occurred over the 3-year period. The share single in 2021 was 39% among men and 33% among women.

Figure 3. Relationship Status of Adults Aged 30-34 by Gender, 2019-2021

Source: NCFMR analyses of IPUMS-CPS, 2019-2021, University of Minnesota

35-39-Year-Olds

• The share of men aged 35-39 who were married decreased by two percentage points to 59% in 2021, and the share of women aged 35-39 who were married remained relatively constant, at 63%.
• Cohabitation levels remained steady over time, with about 10% of men cohabiting and about 9% of women cohabiting.
• The percentage of men who were single increased slightly from 28% to 30% during the period, while the percentage of women who were single remained relatively constant from 28% to 27%.

Figure 4. Relationship Status of Adults Aged 35-39 by Gender, 2019-2021

Source: NCFMR analyses of IPUMS-CPS, 2019-2021, University of Minnesota

Data Source:

Flood, S., King, M., Rodgers, R., Ruggles, S., Warren, J. R., & Westberry, M. (2021). Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Current Population Survey: Version 9.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS. https://doi.org/10.18128/D030.V9.0

Suggested Citation:

Brown, A. R. & Manning, W. D. (2021). Relationship status trends according to age and gender, 2019-2021. Family Profiles, FP-21-25. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-21-25