EMBARGOED UNTIL: 12:01 A.M. EDT, JUNE 29, 2001 (FRIDAY)
Public Information Office CB01-113
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Jason Fields
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U.S. Adults Postponing Marriage,
Census Bureau Reports
The Commerce Department's Census Bureau said today that between 1970 and
2000 the median age at first marriage for women increased by 4.3 years to
25.1 years; for men, the increase was 3.6 years to 26.8 years.
The Census Bureau cautions the public not to confuse these estimates,
based on survey data collected in March 2000, with Census 2000 data, which
are being released on a flow basis. Findings from these two sources may
not agree because of different data collection procedures.
"The postponement of marriage has led to a substantial increase in the
proportion of young, never-married adults," said Jason Fields, author of
America's Families and Living Arrangements: March 2000. "For example, in
the past three decades, the proportion of those who had never married
doubled for women ages 20 to 24, from 36 percent to 73 percent, and more
than tripled for women ages 30 to 34, from 6 percent to 22 percent."
Other findings:
- In the 30 years from 1970 to 2000, the average size of the nation's
households decreased from 3.14 to 2.62 persons.
- In 2000, 10 percent of the nation's households contained five or
more persons, down from 21 percent in 1970; 59 percent of households
had one or two persons in 2000, up from 46 percent in 1970.
- The proportion of households consisting of one person living alone
increased from 17 percent in 1970 to 26 percent in 2000.
- The number of single mothers increased between 1970 and 2000, from
3 million to 10 million; over the same time frame, the number of
single fathers increased also, from 393,000 to 2 million. (Single
mothers and fathers include all those who are not currently living
with a spouse.)
- Twelve percent of wives were two or more years older than their
husbands, while 15 percent earned at least $5,000 more than their
husbands annually.
The statistics were collected in the March 2000 Current Population
Survey, which uses the 1990 census as the base for its sample. Statistics
from sample surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling error.
