More than three-quarters of adults in the United States have, by their early 40s, lived with a partner they’re not married to, a report from Pew Research Center found.
More than a third of adults have lived with two or more partners, according to Pew’s estimates. About two-thirds of couples who have lived together eventually marry, according to the report, which found that figure jumps to 77 percent for those with at least a bachelor’s degree.
For decades, marriage rates have generally fallen in the U.S., contributing to concerns from some observers about a shrinking population. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, developed a plan for “marriage bootcamp” to boost matrimony rates, The Washington Post reported in January.
Pew based its estimates on interviews the Bureau of Labor Statistics conducted yearly or every two years with nearly 9,000 participants born between 1980 and 1984. The latest round of interviews was in 2023, when participants were between 38 and 43 years old.
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