More couples are living together despite fewer marriages

By the numbers: 53% of adults ages 18 and older are presently married, down from 58% in 1995. As of 2018, about 40% of adults ages 25–34 lived with a spouse, down from nearly 82% in 1968, the Current Population Survey shows.

• Unmarried couples who live together rose from 0.2% in 1968 to about 15% in 2018.

Key findings:

• Almost 40% of unmarried couples cite finance and convenience as reasons for moving in together. Just under 30% of cohabiting adults who are not engaged, but say they would like to get married, cite their partner's or their own lack of financial security as a primary motivation to wait.
• About 65% of adults say they approve of unmarried couples receiving the same rights as those who are married based on legal agreements, including shared health insurance, inheritance and tax benefits.

• 66% of married adults who lived with their spouses before they were married or engaged say they saw cohabitation as a step toward marriage.

Go deeper:

• The average marriage age since 1980
• New normal: Out of wedlock births have stabilized