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By Jasmine Laws
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Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows which states have the oldest and youngest average age of marriage for both men and women.
The average age of newlyweds in the U.S. has been increasing over the last several decades, from a low of 22.5 for men and 20.1 for women in 1956, to an average of 30.2 for men and 28.4 for women in 2023, according to the Census.
Why It Matters
Due to the increased financial hardship felt by America's young people, many now push marriage back until they've completed their education, secured a stable job and minimized their debt, among other factors.
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As a result, the shift in marriage ages not only reflects cultural change, like more couples living together for some time before marrying, but also the increasing economic challenges faced by the younger generation.
What To Know
The Census data reported the states with the oldest average age of marriage included New York (31.4), Massachusetts (31.3), California (31.2) and Connecticut (31.1).
Utah saw the youngest average age for newlyweds, at 26.8 for men and 25.2 for women, marking the only state with 26 as the overall average age. Other states with younger overall average ages for marriage included Idaho (27), South Dakota (27.1), Arkansas (27.1), Kentucky (27.1), West Virginia (27.1) and Oklahoma (27.2), per the Census.
Nearly all states had older average newlywed ages among men than women, with some gaps as wide as around five years. In Hawaii, the average marriage age among men was 32.5 and 27.1 among women. Conversely, South Dakota's gap was razor-thin, showing men marrying at age 27.2 and women at 27.
The one state with an older average age to wed among women was Mississippi, where men were 27.6 years old and women 28.2, the Census reported.
Due to the cultural shifts in the U.S., marriage, once deemed a "cornerstone event," is now becoming a "capstone" event, according to a study by the Journal of Marriage and Family. Couples would previously marry and establish their lives and finances together, but today, many feel the need to secure their finances and wider aspects of their lives before wedding.
Concerned with America's historically low birth rates, the administration of President Donald Trump has been pushing to foster healthy marriages and support young families. The Department of Health and Human Services last month, through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), announced more than $100 million in Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood grants to 109 organizations across 38 states.
The administration even went so far as to incentivize marriage and having children, by directing the Department of Transportation to prioritize communities with higher birth and marriage rates.
What People Are Saying
Susan L. Brown, co-author of the journal study mentioned above, professor of sociology and director of the Center for Family and Demographic Research at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, told Newsweek: "One of the reasons the average age of marriage differs across states has to do with the age distribution of the state's population. In Northeastern states, for example, the population tends to be older than elsewhere in the U.S., skewing marriage entry to later ages. In a state such as Utah, the population is very young, which helps to explain why we see earlier average marriage ages. On balance, later ages at first marriage entry tend to be associated with greater marital stability. The age at which half of American women and men have ever married stands at a record high of roughly 28 for women and just over 30 for men. People are waiting longer to marry as marriage is now a "capstone experience," meaning that the bar for marriageability is high. Increasingly, completion of one's education, having a steady, well-paying job, and minimizing one's debts are prerequisites for marriage. For many young people, these are difficult hurdles to surmount and thus marriage can feel out of reach."
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