Cohabitation in America: More Common Than Marriage for Young Adults

How many Americans have lived with a partner?

In Pew Research Center's 2019 analysis of federal data, 59% of Americans aged 18 to 44 had lived with an unmarried partner, compared with 50% who had ever been married ^[1][2]. The figures come from the National Survey of Family Growth. In 2002, the same comparison ran the other way: 54% of adults in that age range had cohabited and 60% had married ^[2]. The crossover happened between those two surveys.

Among those who had lived with a partner, 62% had done so with one partner and 38% with two or more ^[2]. These are lifetime figures for a specific age band, so they say nothing about how many people are cohabiting at any one moment.

The snapshot figure is much lower. Pew reported that 7% of American adults were living with an unmarried partner in 2019, up from 3% in 1995, while the share currently married fell from 58% to 53% over the same period, a trend Pew drew from the Current Population Survey ^[1][2]. A 2025 profile from the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University, drawing on the same survey for 2024, found that 10% of unmarried men and 10% of unmarried women aged 15 and over were cohabiting, up from 8% of men and 7% of women in 2009 ^[5].

Cohabitation was most common among adults 25 to 44 in both years, and the profile found the largest percentage increase among people 65 and older, whose rate rose by more than 40% for men and roughly doubled for women ^[5]. Cohabitation among 15- to 24-year-olds did not increase ^[5]. The practice is therefore spreading at both ends of adult life even as it has plateaued among the youngest adults.

Cohabitation, marriage and age at first marriage in the US (Pew, Census)

Measure	Earlier figure	Recent figure	Source
Ever lived with an unmarried partner, ages 18-44	54% (2002)	59% (2019)	Pew, National Survey of Family Growth
Ever married, ages 18-44	60% (2002)	50% (2019)	Pew, National Survey of Family Growth
Adults currently living with an unmarried partner	3% (1995)	7% (2019)	Pew
Adults currently married	58% (1995)	53% (2019)	Pew, Current Population Survey
Median age at first marriage, men	23.1 (1974); 23.5 (1975)	30.2 (2024); 30.8 (2025)	Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS ASEC)
Median age at first marriage, women	21.1 (1974 and 1975)	28.6 (2024); 28.4 (2025)	Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS ASEC)

Why are couples cohabiting more?

Couples cohabit for a mix of practical and relational reasons, and the move is often not a decision about marriage at all. Asked why they moved in together, 38% of cohabiting adults in Pew's 2019 survey cited finances and 37% cited convenience, while 23% said they wanted to test their relationship ^[1]. Among married adults, the reasons for getting married looked different: 63% said formal commitment was a major factor, and only 13% cited finances ^[1].

The later age at marriage creates the time in which cohabitation can happen. Using the Current Population Survey, the Census Bureau reported in November 2024 that the median age at first marriage in 2024 was 30.2 for men and 28.6 for women, up from 23.1 and 21.1 in 1974 ^[3]. Its December 2025 release put the 2025 figures from the same survey at 30.8 for men and 28.4 for women, against 23.5 and 21.1 in 1975 ^[4]. The two releases cover different years, so they do not contradict each other. In the second release, married-couple households were down to 47% of all households, from nearly two-thirds 50 years earlier ^[4].

Living arrangements are changing along with marriage patterns. In 2025, 58% of adults aged 18 to 24 and 16% of those aged 25 to 34 lived in a parental home, and one-person households made up 29% of all households ^[4]. When a long stretch of adult life precedes a first marriage, living with a partner becomes one of several arrangements that fill the interval.

Pew also asked adults what they consider essential for a fulfilling life. Being married was named as essential by 16% of men and 17% of women, and having a committed romantic relationship by 26% of men and 30% of women, both well behind enjoying a job or career (57% of men and 46% of women) ^[1]. These answers help explain why cohabitation and marriage are treated by many people as points on a continuum of commitment rather than opposites.

Money matters, but it does not tell the whole story. Pew also found that couples who were not engaged when they moved in were common: 44% of cohabiters had not been engaged at the time, and 66% of married adults who had lived together first said they were not engaged when they moved in ^[1]. The sequence of dating, living together, engagement and marriage is therefore flexible rather than fixed.

How do Americans view living together?

Most Americans accept it: 69% told Pew in 2019 that living together is acceptable even if the couple does not plan to marry, 16% said it is acceptable only if they plan to marry, and 14% said it is never acceptable ^[2]. The survey was conducted online from June 25 to July 8, 2019, among 9,834 adults ^[1]. Acceptance varies sharply by age and faith.

By age, 78% of adults under 30, 71% of those 30 to 49, 65% of those 50 to 64 and 63% of those 65 and older found cohabitation acceptable without plans to marry ^[2]. By religious group, about 90% of the unaffiliated agreed, as did 76% of white non-evangelical Protestants and 74% of Catholics, while the share was 47% among Black Protestants and 35% among white evangelical Protestants ^[1]. The religious divide is discussed further in faith and sex outside marriage.

Americans see marriage as socially valuable even when they accept cohabitation. Pew found that 53% said society is better off if long-term couples eventually marry, and 46% said society is just as well off if they do not; 78% of white evangelicals took the first view, compared with 31% of the religiously unaffiliated ^[1][2]. When Gallup asked in May 2001 whether an unmarried couple living together is morally acceptable, 52% said yes and 41% said it was wrong ^[6]. The question Gallup asked in 2001 was framed differently from Pew's, so the 52% and the 69% figures should not be compared directly. Still, both show that a majority of Americans accepted living together at the start of the century and that acceptance had grown by 2019. That is a useful baseline, though Gallup's more recent readings on this question were not consulted for this article.

Does cohabitation lead to marriage?

For many couples it is a step toward marriage, but not for all. Of non-engaged cohabiters in the 2019 Pew survey, 41% said they wanted to marry someday, 24% said they did not and 35% were unsure ^[1]. Among those who wanted to marry, 58% said it was very likely they would marry their current partner ^[1].

What holds some couples back is often readiness rather than reluctance. About 29% of non-engaged cohabiters who wanted to marry named their partner's lack of financial readiness as a major reason they had not, and 27% named their own ^[1]. Questions of commitment came up too: 26% said their partner was not ready for commitment as a major reason, and 14% said they themselves were not ^[1].

Education appears to shape how couples see cohabitation. Among non-engaged cohabiters, 50% of college graduates saw living together as a step toward marriage, compared with 43% of those with some college and 28% of those with a high school education or less ^[1]. Pew also asked whether living together first improves a marriage's chances: 48% of all adults said yes, 13% said it worsens them, and 38% saw no difference ^[1]. Adults under 30 were far more likely than those 65 and older to say it helps (63% against 37%) ^[1].

How do cohabiting and married couples compare?

Married adults report somewhat higher relationship quality than cohabiting adults on most measures, although they are similar on sex life. In the Pew survey, 58% of married adults said things in their relationship were going very well, against 41% of cohabiting adults, and 78% of married adults said they felt closer to their partner than to anyone else, against 55% of cohabiters ^[1]. Satisfaction with the sex life was similar between the two groups, and the differences on other measures persisted after Pew controlled for demographics ^[1].

Children are part of cohabitation too. Pew reported that just over half of cohabiting adults aged 18 to 44 were raising children ^[1]. Asked whether unmarried cohabiting couples can raise children as well as married couples, 59% of all adults said yes and 40% said married couples do better; the share saying yes was 82% among cohabiting adults and 52% among married ones, and it was 73% among Democrats and leaners against 41% among Republicans and leaners ^[1].

Law is a third dimension. In 2019, 65% of adults favored legal rights for unmarried couples and 34% opposed them, with 77% of Democrats in favor and 50% of Republicans ^[1]. The legal treatment of unmarried couples is mostly a matter for state law, and a few states have kept old criminal provisions on cohabitation, as discussed in North Carolina's cohabitation law. Those statutes are considered unenforceable against consenting adults after Lawrence v. Texas.

Race and income enter the picture mainly through legal opinions. Pew found 66% of white adults, 68% of Hispanic adults and 58% of Black adults in favor of legal rights for unmarried couples ^[1]. The portions of the report read for this article give race differences only on this legal question; the gaps on cohabitation itself are reported by age and by religion.

Taken together, the data describe cohabitation as a mainstream stage of adult life. It comes before marriage for many, replaces it for some and follows it for others, and its prevalence has risen steadily since the 1990s ^[1][2][5].

Frequently asked questions

Is cohabitation more common than marriage?

Among adults 18 to 44, yes by one measure. Pew reported in 2019 that 59% had ever lived with an unmarried partner while 50% had ever married. Among all adults, the picture is different: 53% were currently married and 7% were living with an unmarried partner.

How many Americans live with an unmarried partner?

About 7% of adults in Pew's 2019 analysis, up from 3% in 1995. A 2025 profile based on 2024 Current Population Survey data found that 10% of unmarried adults aged 15 and over were cohabiting. The two figures measure different groups, so they cannot be compared directly.

Why do couples move in together before marriage?

Most often for money and convenience. In Pew's survey, 38% of cohabiters cited finances and 37% cited convenience, while 23% wanted to test the relationship. Love and companionship were top reasons for both cohabiting and married adults.

What is the median age at first marriage?

In 2025, 30.8 for men and 28.4 for women, according to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey. The 2024 figures from the same survey were 30.2 for men and 28.6 for women. In 1974, the medians were 23.1 and 21.1.

Do cohabiting couples raise children?

Many do. Pew found that just over half of cohabiting adults aged 18 to 44 were raising children. Among all adults, 59% said cohabiting couples can raise children as well as married couples.

Do cohabiting couples have legal rights?

It depends on the state and the issue. Family law is mostly decided at state level, so protections for unmarried couples vary. In Pew's 2019 survey, 65% of adults favored legal rights for unmarried couples.