National Center for Family and Marriage Research

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Valentine’s Day honors love and romance. The National Center for Family and Marriage Research charts marriage trends. In 2024 there were about 2.4 million marriages and U.S. marriage rates have remained relatively stable since 2010. tinyurl.com/ysa6p4e2 tinyurl.com/3u6x3tfm

I am a big fan of the data viz section of @sociusjournal.bsky.social Proud that this one was ranked in the top 10. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... @ncfmr-bgsu.bsky.social osf.io/preprints/so...

Image with text that says, "I only have data for you, Valentine!" and "Love Data Week #LoveData26"

💘 Calling all data lovers! From pun-filled notes to clever data jokes, you’ll find customizable Valentines at ICPSR for your Love Data Week celebrations. https://myumi.ch/ICPSRLoveDataWeek #LoveData26

Celebrate Valentine Day with facts about marriage. There is state variation. Utah has the highest marriage rate. 💕 @NCFMRBGSU #ValentinesDay tinyurl.com/58966u7m

📊 New #FamilyProfile from @ncfmr-bgsu.bsky.social
In 2023, about 380,000 U.S. children (0.7%) lived in households headed by a same-sex couple.
Learn more 👉 doi.org/10.25035/ncf...
#LGBTQFamilies #Demography #NCFMR

The U.S. marriage–divorce ratio rose to 2.42 in 2024—its highest level since 2008. That’s about 2.4 marriages for every 1 divorce.
See the full analysis → doi.org/10.25035/ncf...
#Marriage #Divorce #FamilyDemography

💔 The U.S. refined divorce rate in 2024 was 14.2 per 1,000 married women, down slightly from 14.4 in 2023.
Nearly a million women divorced nationwide.
Read more → doi.org/10.25035/ncf...

⚭ Marriage in the U.S. varies widely. In 2024, the national refined marriage rate was 31.2 per 1,000 unmarried women. Utah ranked highest (51.7), Delaware lowest (20.1). 📖 Read the new @NCFMR Family Profile → doi.org/10.25035/ncf...

👶 Average age at first birth hit 27.5 in 2023 — the highest ever. By education: 21 yrs (<HS) vs 33 yrs (Doctoral). By geography: 24.5 in Mississippi vs 30.8 in DC. 📖 Explore the new @NCFMR Profile → doi.org/10.25035/ncf...

👶 In 1960, most women had their first child by age 22. By 2023, the median was 27. Education plays a role: <HS = 20 yrs vs BA+ = 31 yrs. 📖 See the new @NCFMR Profile → doi.org/10.25035/ncf...

💍 Families take many forms. In 2023, about 1 in 8 newlyweds were in a LAT marriage—up from 1 in 20 in 1980. Younger couples (15–24) had the highest share to live apart (27%). 📖 See the new @NCFMR Family Profile → doi.org/10.25035/ncf...

In a new Family Profile, we examine newlywed same-sex and different-sex couples according to marital history and age at first marriage. Check it out here: doi.org/10.25035/ncf....

The share of same-sex couples was highest in Washington, D.C. (8.21%), followed by Vermont at 2.70%. The state with the lowest share of same-sex couples was South Dakota (0.59%). Learn more in our latest Family Profile: doi.org/10.25035/ncf....

As fertility rates in the U.S. and elsewhere continue to fall, standard demographic theories that focus on objective micro- and macroeconomic conditions seem unable to explain these trends. New approaches, such as the Narrative of the Future framework and the “uncertainty” paradigm, have emphasized the potential for subjective perceptions to be important for fertility decision-making, net of objective characteristics. We use a unique new source of data—the National Couples’ Health and Time Study, a nationally representative sample of cohabiting and married adults interviewed between September 2020 and April 2021—to examine short-term fertility intentions and better understand if and how including a general subjective evaluation (overall life satisfaction) and domain-specific subjective evaluations (economic stress and relationship satisfaction) are related to fertility intentions. We find that most respondents did not intend to have a child in the next year, though about one in seven respondents were unsure about if/when to have a(nother) child. Net of objective characteristics, overall life satisfaction was positively associated with short-term intentions to have a child, and greater economic stress was linked to uncertainty about short-term intentions. We did not observe a link in multivariable models between relationship satisfaction and intentions. Further, models stratified by parenthood indicated that both objective characteristics and subjective perceptions were more strongly linked to first-birth intentions than higher-parity intentions. Our results add to the growing body of work suggesting that (a) subjective perceptions have modest but significant links to fertility decision-making and (b) uncertainty in decision-making is important to consider.

Another new paper on fertility intentions! Using @nchatstudy.bsky.social data, we consider whether cohabiting & married people's short-term fertility intentions are subjective perceptions of well-being.

The answer? Yes! 1/

link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...

Our newest Family Profile examines the age composition of same-sex and different-sex couples. Learn more here: doi.org/10.25035/ncf....

There were 63,687 new marriages among same-sex couples in 2019, compared to 60,046 in 2021 and 72,835 in 2023. Check out our new Family Profile on newlywed same-sex couples here: doi.org/10.25035/ncf....

The Family and the LGBTQ Population Over the past two decades, attention to LGBTQ+ adults and their families in the U.S. has grown significantly due to advocacy movements, policy debates, and improved data collection. Early U.S. Census ...

In honor of today, check out this #freshout grand review of the demographic LGBT family lit. From data gains to persistent gaps, we trace how family structures, identities, and outcomes are (and aren’t) captured in mainstream research. #LGBTQ #Demography #FamilyStudies w/ @chrisajulian.bsky.social

4% of marriages each year are now to same-sex marriage! 10 years of love wins! www.bgsu.edu/ncfmr/resour...

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges. Explore our Fast Facts on same-sex couples and dive into our latest Family Profiles highlighting same-sex families: www.bgsu.edu/ncfmr/resour....

In this new Family Profile, we chart union and childbearing characteristics of women aged 40-44 from 2000 to 2024, drawing on the Current Population Survey June Fertility Supplement. Learn more here doi.org/10.25035/ncf....

Using the 1979 and 2024 Current Population Survey June Fertility Supplement, we examine the share of women aged 40-44 who ever had a birth and ever married by race/ethnicity and educational attainment. Learn more here: doi.org/10.25035/ncf....

LGBTQ+ Population Resources for Research on Same-Gender Couples and Families Family Profiles FP-25-21 Marriages to Same-sex and Different-sex Couples: 2019, 2021, & 2023 FP-25-20 Geographic

Check out profiles of marriages to same-sex couples. In 2023 there were newly 73,000 marriages to same-sex couples, representing about 4% of all marriages that year.

www.bgsu.edu/ncfmr/resour...

Want to know more about same-sex couples? Check out our work. www.bgsu.edu/content/dam/...

In our new Family Profile, we chart forty years of change in the median age at first marriage and birth. Learn more here: doi.org/10.25035/ncf....

In this new Family Profile, drawing on the Current Population Survey June 2024 Fertility Supplement, we estimate the number of children born to women aged 45-50 overall and according to race/ethnicity and educational attainment. Learn more here: doi.org/10.25035/ncf...

Our new Family Profile, “Forty Years of Change in Adulthood Milestones Among 30-34 Year Olds,” explores trends in independent living, marriage, full-time employment, completed education, and homeownership. Learn more here: doi.org/10.25035/ncf....

Figure showing the shares of women aged 45-50 in the US in 2024 with 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 or more children.

I want to talk population panic & understanding demography.

New estimates from @ncfmr-bgsu.bsky.social on completed fertility in the US show that, among women 45-50 in 2024, about 15% were childless. Two-thirds of women had 2 or more children. 1/ doi.org/10.25035/ncf...

The U.S. median age at first marriage remains at record highs for both men and women, but there's significant variation across states. Read our latest Family Profile to learn more: doi.org/10.25035/ncf....

About 6% of older adult households were cohabiting in 2023. Check out our latest Family Profile on older adult cohabiting and married couples here: doi.org/10.25035/ncf....

Our latest Family Profile examines the share of same-sex married and cohabiting couples raising children. Learn more here: doi.org/10.25035/ncf....