EMBARGOED UNTIL: MARCH 13, 1996 (WEDNESDAY) Public Information Office CB96-33 301-457-3030 301-457-4067 (TDD) Arlene Saluter 301-457-2465AGE AT FIRST MARRIAGE AT RECORD HIGH, CENSUS BUREAU REPORTS EMBARGOED UNTIL: MARCH 13, 1996 (WEDNESDAY) - The estimated median age at first marriage in 1994 was 26.7 years for men and 24.5 years for women--the highest levels since these data were first recorded more than a hundred years ago in 1890, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said today.
In its annual report titled "Marital Status and Living Arrangements: March 1994," P20-484, the bureau also said that between 1970 and 1994 the number of never-married persons doubled from 21.4 million to 44.2 million and the currently divorced quadrupled from 4.3 million to 17.4 million.
Unmarried persons rose as a proportion of all adults aged 18 and over during the 24-year period from 28 to 39 percent, while currently married adults declined from 72 to 61 percent.
"The delay in first marriages and rise in divorce among adults are two of the major factors contributing to the growing proportion of children in one-parent living situations," said Arlene Saluter, the report's author.
Between 1970 and 1994, the proportion of children living with two parents (biological, step, or adoptive) declined from 85 to 69 percent.
"Children are considerably more likely to be living with only one parent today than in 1970," Ms. Saluter said. "In 1994, 27 percent of children under 18 lived with one parent, up from 12 percent in 1970. The majority--88 percent--of these children lived with their mothers, but an increasing proportion lived with their fathers (9 percent in 1970 vs 12 percent in 1994)."
Other highlights:
- In 1994, 23.6 million adults--about 12 percent of persons 15 years and over--lived alone. Between 1970 and 1994, the number of women living alone rose from 7.3 million to 14.2 million--a 94-percent increase, while the number of men living alone jumped from 3.5 million to 9.4 million--up 167 percent.
- In 1994, a child in a one-parent situation was about as likely to be living with a never-married parent (36 percent) as with divorced parent (37 percent). Another 23 percent lived with a parent who was separated from their spouse because of marital discord or some other reason.
- In 1994, there were 1.3 million interracial married couples, 296,000 of whom were African American/White, 909,000 were White/Other (other than African American), and 78,000 were African American/Other (other than White).
The report is based on results of the March 1994 Current Population Survey. As with all surveys, the data contained in the report are subject to sampling and other sources of error.
-X-Editor's note: media representatives may obtain a copy of the report from the Census Bureau's Public Information Office on 301-457-3030; fax: 301-457-3670; or e-mail: pio@census.gov. Non-media orders should be directed to the bureau's Fastfax on 1-900-555-2Fax (there is a nominal fee); Customer Services Branch on 301-763-INFO(4636) or fax: 301-457-3842.
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