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The number of Americans who have always been single and will likely never marry is at a historic high.
According to a 2014 Pew Research report, “about 20 percent of Americans older than 25 had always been single in 2012, up from 9 percent in 1960.” And if things trend in this direct, their analysis suggests that 25 percent of millennials will never marry.
Why is marriage on the downtrend? It could be that marriage is starting to lose the status it once had, or that unemployment is preventing people from settling down. Though wedding bells might not be ringing as often throughout the country as a whole, there are still some places where marriage is very much alive and thriving.
MooseRootsused census data to see how marriage rates have changed in different parts of the country over time. We then ranked each state by the change in percentage of married couples to find the top cities where marriage is going out of style and where it seems like it’s here to stay. We focused on cities with populations over 100,000 and ranked them by the percentage change of married couples in 1970 and 2010. The first 10 are ordered by the smallest negative change (meaning marriage is trending down, but not as quickly as the rest of the country), and the last 10 are ordered by the biggest negative change (meaning marriage is fading the fastest).
10 cities where marriage has stayed relatively stagnant:
10. Cambridge, MA
Population: 103,506
Married Couples in 1970: 40.3%
Married Couples in 2010: 34.5%
Difference: -5.8%
9. Olathe, KS
Population: 120,774
Married Couples in 1970: 66.1%
Married Couples in 2010: 61.2%
Difference: -4.9%
8. Rochester, MN
Population: 104,201
Married Couples in 1970: 59.7%
Married Couples in 2010: 55.2%
Difference: -4.5%
7. Brownsville, TX
Population: 169,599
Married Couples in 1970: 53.9%
Married Couples in 2010: 49.9%
Difference: -4.0%
6. Provo, UT
Population: 110,201
Married Couples in 1970: 44.2%
Married Couples in 2010: 40.3%
Difference: -3.9%
5. Gilbert, AZ
Population: 195,046
Married Couples in 1970: 62.8%
Married Couples in 2010: 59.4%
Difference: -3.4%
4. Naperville, IL
Population: 140,838
Married Couples in 1970: 65.9%
Married Couples in 2010: 62.8%
Difference: -3.0%
3. McKinney, TX
Population: 118,652
Married Couples in 1970: 60.9%
Married Couples in 2010: 62.0%
Difference: 1.1%
2. Frisco, TX
Population: 103,158
Married Couples in 1970: 69.0%
Married Couples in 2010: 70.2%
Difference: 1.1%
1. Surprise, AZ
Population: 103,767
Married Couples in 1970: 64.0%
Married Couples in 2010: 66.5%
Difference: 2.5%
10 cities where marriage is on the outs:
10. Memphis, TN
Population: 654,876
Married Couples in 1970: 57.6%
Married Couples in 2010: 32.5%
Difference: -25.1%
9. Cleveland, OH
Population: 409,221
Married Couples in 1970: 52.9%
Married Couples in 2010: 27.6%
Difference: -25.3%
8. Birmingham, AL
Population: 216,392
Married Couples in 1970: 55.9%
Married Couples in 2010: 30.2%
Difference: -25.7%
7. Pompano Beach, FL
Population: 100,417
Married Couples in 1970: 66.4%
Married Couples in 2010: 40.1%
Difference: -26.3%
6. Rochester, NY
Population: 211,977
Married Couples in 1970: 53.2%
Married Couples in 2010: 26.8%
Difference: -26.4%
5. Jackson, MS
Population: 175,489
Married Couples in 1970: 57.5%
Married Couples in 2010: 30.9%
Difference: -26.6%
4. Killeen, TX
Population: 120,052
Married Couples in 1970: 78.4%
Married Couples in 2010: 51.2%
Difference: -27.2%
3. Sunrise Manor, NV
Population: 194,258
Married Couples in 1970: 74.1%
Married Couples in 2010: 46.0%
Difference: -28.1%
2. Detroit, MI
Population: 759,340
Married Couples in 1970: 53.5%
Married Couples in 2010: 25.0%
Difference: -28.5%
1. Flint, MI
Population: 107,807
Married Couples in 1970: 60.0%
Married Couples in 2010: 28.4%
Difference: -31.6%
