Age at first marriage over time statistics
Published October 21, 2026 · StatsGalore
estimated median age at first marriage for men in 2025, in years [1]
The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2025 release on America’s Families and Living Arrangements reports a clear over-time shift in the estimated median age at first marriage. In the two benchmark years stated in the release, the median for men was 30.8 in 2025 compared with 23.5 in 1975, while the median for women was 28.4 in 2025 compared with 21.1 in 1975. These figures are medians, not means, and they refer specifically to age at first marriage. [1]
The numbers
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Men, 2025 estimated median age at first marriage | 30.8 | [1] |
| Women, 2025 estimated median age at first marriage | 28.4 | [1] |
| Men, 1975 estimated median age at first marriage | 23.5 | [1] |
| Women, 1975 estimated median age at first marriage | 21.1 | [1] |
What changed between 1975 and 2025
The Census Bureau reports that the estimated median age at first marriage increased for both men and women between 1975 and 2025. For men, the reported median was 23.5 in 1975 and 30.8 in 2025. For women, the reported median was 21.1 in 1975 and 28.4 in 2025.
The important point is that the source presents the figures as estimated medians. This article therefore treats them as median ages at first marriage rather than average ages, counts of marriages, or shares of people who married. The data summarize timing among men and women in the Census Bureau’s historical families and living arrangements tables.
[1]How to read the men’s and women’s figures
In 2025, the reported estimated median age at first marriage was higher for men than for women: 30.8 for men and 28.4 for women. In the earlier comparison year, 1975, the reported medians were also higher for men than for women: 23.5 for men and 21.1 for women.
The release does not provide a full annual time series in the supplied passage. It gives a comparison between the 2025 estimates and the corresponding 1975 estimates. For that reason, the table in this reference keeps the scope limited to those two stated years and does not fill in intervening years.
[1]Source and survey basis
The figures come from the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement, identified by the Census Bureau as CPS ASEC. The release states that the relevant statistics come from CPS ASEC years 2025 and 1975, and that CPS ASEC has collected statistics on families for more than 60 years.
The same release describes the data as part of historical America’s Families and Living Arrangements tables. Those tables cover household characteristics, living arrangements, couple types, and children, but the marriage statistic used here is specifically the estimated median age at first marriage for men and women.
[1]Limits and interpretation
This reference should not be read as a complete history of every year’s first-marriage age. The supplied source supports the 1975 and 2025 comparison, but it does not provide annual values between those years in the quoted passage. It also does not provide separate estimates by state, race, education, or other subgroups in the supplied text.
The Census Bureau notes that definitions, confidentiality protection, methodology, and sampling and nonsampling error are covered in technical documentation. It also states that comparative statements in the tip sheet underwent statistical testing unless otherwise noted. Those cautions matter because the figures are estimates from survey-based data, not exact counts of every first marriage.
[1]Sources & notes
Definitions and limitations: the measure is the estimated median age at first marriage, not a mean age. The supplied evidence supports Census Bureau CPS ASEC comparison years 2025 and 1975 only. The release was issued December 02, 2025, and says comparative statements were statistically tested unless otherwise noted.
Source review: 2026-10-21. Article publication and underlying data dates are separate. How we use statistics · Suggest a correction