FRISKY FRIDAY FOREGOERS: 40-Year-Olds – Marriage Not Necessary Now

The times and the tastes are changing…  truly ticking away…  especially when it comes to that biological clock.

A look at 2021 US Census Bureau data found a quarter (25% or 1-in-4) of 40-year-olds in the United States had never been married, the research center announced, last week.

The findings were a “significant increase” from the 20% of unmarried 40-year-olds in 2010, according to the study.

According to CNN, the Pew Research report found that 40-year-old men were more likely not to have been married than women.  And Black 40-year-olds were “much more likely” to have never wed than their peers of different races.

It also showed people of that age, with at least a bachelor’s degree, were less likely to have never walked down the aisle than 40-year-olds who had reached fewer educational milestones.

The findings, which suggest a shift in Americans’ views of the importance of getting hitched, differed widely to the statistics reported decades ago in 1980, when just 6% of 40-year-olds had never married, Pew reported.

The research center conducted the analysis to look at how marriage rates have changed among 40-year-olds in the US from 1850 to 2021.  Think about THAT.

Seems to correlate with economic trends:  Those who aren’t afforded the opportunity of higher education – have to work hard, early on – and don’t get to live on campuses or in dorms.  That’s where lots of marriages are formed, in recent generations.

That said, if you pay for your degree, you’re not as likely to afford a wedding or a down-payment on a home.

And, for many generations of women, in particular, marriage was the only economic choice.