Marital Status of the Population by Sex, 1900-2010

Updated October 31, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

(numbers are in thousands)

The following table shows the number and percent distribution of men and women in the United States who never married, married, divorced, or widowed from 1900 to 2010.

  Males Females
  Total Never
married
Married Widowed Divorced Total Never
married
Married Widowed Divorced
1900 25,493.0 10,262.0 13,919.0 1,173.0 84.0 24,176.0 7,549.0 13,781.0 2,706.0 114.0
1910 32,311.0 12,521.0 18,065.0 1,467.0 156.0 29,993.0 8,918.0 17,664.0 3,167.0 185.0
1920 36,828.0 12,940.0 21,820.0 1,754.0 234.0 35,122.0 9,601.0 21,295.0 3,909.0 273.0
1930 43,829.0 14,938.0 26,311.0 2,023.0 489.0 42,795.0 11,294.0 26,156.0 4,728.0 572.0
1940 49,336.0 16,377.0 30,191.0 2,144.0 624.0 49,362.0 12,752.0 30,087.0 5,700.0 823.0
1950 53,511.0 13,319.0 36,859.0 2,262.0 1,070.0 56,055.0 10,379.0 37,570.0 6,734.0 1,373.0
1960 59,913.0 13,919.0 42,623.0 2,072.0 1,299.0 63,616.0 10,990.0 42,891.0 7,880.0 1,855.0
1970 69,349.0 18,315.0 46,981.0 2,128.0 1,925.0 75,861.0 15,604.0 47,644.0 9,610.0 3,002.0
1980 83,836.0 25,132.0 52,009.0 2,156.0 4,539.0 91,420.0 21,027.0 52,497.0 11,318.0 6,577.0
1990 93,817.0 28,805.0 55,678.0 2,378.0 6,957.0 101,325.0 23,755.0 55,821.0 12,122.0 9,627.0
2000 107,027.0 32,381.0 62,692.0 2,699.0 9,255.0 114,121.0 27,532.0 62,309.0 11,975.0 12,305.0
2002 106,819.0 34,229.0 61,268.0 2,636.0 8,686.0 114,639.0 28,861.0 62,103.0 11,408.0 12,268.0
2004 103,641.0 29,561.0 62,483.0 2,641.0 8,956.0 110,883.0 23,655.0 63,282.0 11,141.0 12,804.0
2006 106,256.0 30,345.0 63,632.0 2,623.0 9,654.0 113,443.0 24,994.0 64,062.0 11,284.0 13,104.0
2009 109,973.0 32,444.0 64,772.0 2,808.0 9,949.0 116,889.0 26,655.0 65,499.0 11,437.0 13,298.0
2010 111,120.0 33,748.0 64,437.0 2,968.0 9,966.0 118,000.0 27,792.0 65,096.0 11,364.0 13,748.0
Percent distribution
1900 100.0% 40.3% 54.6% 4.6% 0.3% 100.0% 31.2% 57.0% 11.2% 0.5%
1910 100.0 38.8 55.9 4.5 0.5 100.0 29.7 58.9 10.6 0.6
1920 100.0 35.1 59.2 4.8 0.6 100.0 27.3 60.6 11.1 0.8
1930 100.0 34.1 60.0 4.6 1.1 100.0 26.4 61.1 11.0 1.3
1940 100.0 33.2 61.2 4.3 1.3 100.0 25.8 61.0 11.5 1.7
1950 100.0 24.9 68.9 4.2 2.0 100.0 18.5 67.0 12.0 2.4
1960 100.0 23.2 71.1 3.5 2.2 100.0 17.3 67.4 12.4 2.9
1970 100.0 26.4 67.7 3.1 2.8 100.0 20.6 62.8 12.7 4.0
1980 100.0 30.0 62.0 2.6 5.4 100.0 23.0 57.4 12.4 7.2
1990 100.0 30.7 59.3 2.5 7.4 100.0 23.4 55.1 12.0 9.5
2000 100.0 30.3 58.6 2.5 8.6 100.0 24.1 54.6 10.5 10.8
2002 100.0 32.0 57.4 2.5 8.1 100.0 25.2 54.2 10.0 10.7
2004 100.0 28.5 60.3 2.5 8.6 100.0 21.3 57.1 10.0 11.5
2006 100.0 28.6 59.9 2.5 9.1 100.0 22.0 56.5 9.9 11.6
2009 100.0 29.5 58.9 2.6 9.0 100.0 22.8 56.0 9.8 11.4
2010 100.0 30.4 58.0 2.7 9.0 100.0 23.6 55.2 9.6 11.7
Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States.

 

Percent Never Married, 1970-2006 Marital Status Characteristics of Unmarried Partners and Married Spouses, 2000

 

 
 
Marital Status
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