New Orleans is single and ready to mingle
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New Orleans metro has one of the highest percentages in the country of unmarried 20-and-older residents.
Why it matters: More Americans are delaying or foregoing marriage for a host of reasons, but it remains a bedrock of U.S. socioeconomic life and a strong predictor of happiness.
By the numbers: 61% of percent of 20-and-older residents in New Orleans, including Metairie, are unmarried, compared to the national average of 49.1%. That's according to the latest census data.
- New Orleans has the highest percentage for metros with at least 500,000 in the continental United States. Tampa is No. 2 and Shreveport/Bossier City is No. 4, the data shows.
- Baton Rouge is No. 16.
- Louisiana, at 55.1%, ranks 4th in terms of states with the highest percentage of unmarried people.
Zoom in: New Orleans has more single women than men, the data shows.
- 63.1% of women are not married, compared to 58.7% of men.
How it works: These figures include people who have never been married, plus those who were married at one point but have since gotten divorced or separated, or have been widowed.
Between the lines: Marriage rates are tied to a variety of socioeconomic factors, including income, employment, education and more — though there's some debate among social scientists over exactly how that all plays out.
- The modern era's historically low marriage rates can also be understood as a reflection of women's decreasing reliance on men compared to past decades.
- It was only 50 years ago that women needed a husband or male relative to co-sign with them for a loan or credit card, for instance.
The latest: The Trump administration is prioritizing at least some investment in communities with higher-than-average marriage and birth rates — an effort that's perhaps tied to Trump ally Elon Musk's long-standing fixation on falling birthrates.