San Diego's unmarried population is above the national average
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Most San Diego adults are unmarried.
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: 52% of the 2.5 million people who are 20 or older in San Diego County are unmarried, with unmarried women (52.9%) slightly outpacing unmarried men (51.1%).
- That's a tick above the national average of 49.1%, per the latest Census.
- But it's a far cry from the country's most single cities. In Baltimore, 74% of people 20 and up are unmarried, and that number is 71.9% in the Bronx and 69.3% in Washington, D.C.
Yes, but: All three of those cities are urban areas only, with the suburbs that people might relocate to after marriage sitting in a neighboring county.
- San Diego County captures the full metro area, urban areas and suburbs alike.
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.