Watch this short video exploring recent trends in marriage in the U.S. You can also read the transcript, review the methodology, or download the data and charts below.
Transcript
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce might be the most famous newlyweds in America, but they’re actually in line with a few marriage trends.
Hi, I’m Jake Hays, and I study families and relationships at Pew Research Center. Here are three ways that marriage is changing in the United States.
1. People are marrying later in life.
In 1990, the median age at first marriage was 26 for men and 24 for women. But as of 2024, it’s 30 for men and about 29 for women.
Taylor and Travis are a little beyond the median. They’re both 36. But when we asked Americans the best age to get married, about half said there is no best age.
2. A growing share of wives are the main breadwinner in their marriage
In 1990, 10% of marriages with opposite-sex partners had a wife who earned significantly more than her husband. By 2025, that had risen to 16%.
Taylor & Travis also reflect this trend – she earns way more than him. But of course, very few married couples have both spouses earning well over $1 million a year.
3. In a rising share of marriages, both spouses are getting married for the first time
In 1990, 55% of new couples had both spouses in their first marriage. By 2024, this had risen to 68%. Taylor and Travis check this box as well. Neither of them has married before.
About this research
This Pew Research Center analysis and video examines a few key trends in marriage in the United States, and how Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s marriage reflects these trends.
Why did we do this?
Pew Research Center conducts high-quality research to inform the public, journalists and leaders. This analysis builds on a larger body of work that explores how the American family is changing.
How did we do this?
Trends in median age at first marriage come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s historical marital status tables.
The trend in the share of ‘breadwinner wife’ couples come from a Pew Research Center analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS), Annual Social and Economic Supplement. The analysis is based on different-sex married couples in which both spouses are ages 25 to 64 and at least one spouse reports any earnings in the previous calendar year.
The trend in the share of newlywed couples comes from a Pew Research Center analysis of two sources. The first is the National Center for Health Statistics reporting of marriage and divorces, and relies on marriage certificates from reporting states. The second is the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS), which, in 2008, began collecting self-reported information on whether respondents married in the last 12 months and number of marriages.
The microdata files we used for the CPS and ACS were provided by IPUMS from the University of Minnesota. IPUMS standardizes variable names and coding across years as much as possible, making it easier to analyze data over time.
