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Changing Marriage Rates

Ruddington Photos (Flickr Creative Commons)

http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Tucker/Where%20We%20Live%201312.mp3

Today, just 51% of adults over 18 are married, dropping from 72% in 1960. It’s a record low.

Instead, more people are living in alternate arrangements, including cohabitation, single-person households and as single parents.

The numbers come from a Pew Research Center analysis of census data - and we’ll be trying to figure out what it means on today’s Where We Live.

Although marriage rates have declined about 5% during this economic recession, the study shows longer-term trends started before our current economic conditions.

The most dramatic decline in marital rates is seen in young adults. Today, just 20% of adults age 18 to 29 are married, compared with 59% in 1960. So, are young adults abandoning marriage or just delaying it?

In addition, the marriage rate has declined far less for adults with college educations than among those less educated.

Have you delayed marriage? Or are you bucking the trends?

***Special thanks to Betsy Kaplan***

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.