Married Couples now a minority for the first time in U.S. history

[Noop]

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><tr><td style="background-image: url('http://static.bbmp3.com/images/pie/4.gif')">
</td> <td bgcolor="white">Data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau shows married couples have found themselves in a new position: They're no longer the majority.

It's a trend that's been creeping along for decades, but in the 2010 Census, married couples represent 48 percent of all households. That's down from 52 percent in the last Census and, for the first time in U.S. history, puts households led by married couples as a plurality.

"I see a lot of people not having the typical 8-to-5 job, or couples where one person is employed and one isn't. There's other priorities before marriage," Leung said.

The flip in the 2010 Census happened in 32 states. In another seven states, less than 51 percent of households were helmed by married couples.

The reason, said Portland State University demographer Charles Rynerson, is twofold: The fast-growing older population is more likely to be divorced or widowed later in life, and 20-somethings are putting off their nuptials for longer stretches.

"People in their 20s are postponing marriage for many reasons, including money," Rynerson said. "We also have an aging population, so there's more people living alone."

Fears of not being able to hang onto a job, a widening labor market for women and a shift away from having kids at a young age have all proved to be a disincentive for people in their 20s and early 30s to join the ranks of the married.

Leung is indicative of that trend. She's got a marketing job in a trendy city, writes a personal blog on living a gluten-free lifestyle and has plans to get married — eventually.

"I think a lot of people make a mistake of saying, I've got a good job, I'm stable, I'm ready to take the next step," Leung said. "You never know what happens down the road. That's the whole purpose of dating.

"You're not there to just have fun."

The median age for first marriages has climbed steadily since the 1960s, when men got married at about 23 years old, and women at 20. Now, men are waiting until they're 28 and women are holding off until 26.

"Some of that is people coupling but not being married," Rynerson said. "There are not nearly as many people in their 20s who are married as in previous generations."

The data supports that, as the Census Bureau reported last year that opposite-sex unmarried couples living together jumped 13 percent from 2009 to 7.5 million.</td></tr></tr></tbody></table>

Married couples in less than half of US households - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110528/ap_on_re_us/us_census_cold_feet_on_marriage)

Not surprising.

[Drake]

Maybe guys are just realizing earlier than we did that chicks are crazy and the fewer ties to sever when they (inevitably) take the long dive off the cliff into Fucking Nutso Bay, the better.

But some people say I'm jaded.

[Young Drachma]

No, it's the anti-dowry (http://moneywatch.bnet.com/retirement-planning/blog/bank-dad/student-loans-the-anti-dowry/1028/).

[cuervo72]

Maybe guys are just realizing earlier than we did that chicks are crazy and the fewer ties to sever when they (inevitably) take the long dive off the cliff into Fucking Nutso Bay, the better.

Nutso Bay would make for a nice fake sports locale.

[larrymcg421]

Solution: Legalize gay marriage.

[cuervo72]

Btw, another institutional shift: "typical 8-to-5 job."

[AENeuman]

Almost a meaningless stat. I would imagine with more people waiting to get married the divorce rate will decrease.

[QuikSand]

Married Couples now a minority for the first time in U.S. history

Damn right, and I am sick and motherfucking tired of having to take all this shit from THE MAN.

http://blogs.sohh.com/dirty/img/power-fist-300x300-2008-01-09.jpg

[Lathum]

Almost a meaningless stat. I would imagine with more people waiting to get married the divorce rate will decrease.

This- it may be an anomaly, but almost evey person I know who was married in their early to mid 20's is divorced.

[cuervo72]

Related: U.S. Trends in Marriage, Divorce, and Cohabitation » Sociological Images (http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/05/29/u-s-trends-in-marriage-divorce-and-cohabitation/)

[DaddyTorgo]

Maybe guys are just realizing earlier than we did that chicks are crazy and the fewer ties to sever when they (inevitably) take the long dive off the cliff into Fucking Nutso Bay, the better.

But some people say I'm jaded.

This

[Matthean]

This- it may be an anomaly, but almost evey person I know who was married in their early to mid 20's is divorced.

Both my brothers and both of my best friends who have gotten married are all still married 10+ years.

[Lathum]

Both my brothers and both of my best friends who have gotten married are all still married 10+ years.

hence the anomaly comment. My sister and sister in law, cousin, and at least 5-6 good friends all married in their 20's and all divorced.

[Galaxy]

Maybe guys are just realizing earlier than we did that chicks are crazy and the fewer ties to sever when they (inevitably) take the long dive off the cliff into Fucking Nutso Bay, the better.



I think more males are wondering if marriage is worth it. One of the problems women may face is that being an older, successful woman (who might increase their standards for dating and marriage over time) is that it won't make you more "valuable" in terms of being attractive long-term to men. (Those who want to get married, do the family thing, and so on.)

[SteveMax58]

hence the anomaly comment. My sister and sister in law, cousin, and at least 5-6 good friends all married in their 20's and all divorced.

Same here. Of the marriages where one (or both) of the couple were under 27 I have been to in the past, say 10 years...only 1 of 4 are still married(or still married to their original spouse anyway). If I go back further (which includes more family...friends aren't old enough) to say 25 years...its about 2 of 10.

And that's just off the top of my head.

[RainMaker]

I don't think I'll ever get married. Maybe when I hit my late 30's, but I enjoy my setup too much. I still feel like I can live and have kids with someone I really care about someday, but don't think it's necessary to go through the ceremony.

I get shit for it but the girls I would have married 5+ years ago are not the girls I would want to be with right now.

[sabotai]

I get shit for it but the girls I would have married 5+ years ago are not the girls I would want to be with right now.

THIS!

[Matthean]

I get shit for it but the girls I would have married 5+ years ago are not the girls I would want to be with right now.

Pretty much this. The only one that I would actually think of dating moved out of state.

[Drake]

Married or not, chances are you're not going to get custody of the kids anyway, and I don't know any guys who simply co-habited who ended up paying alimony.

(I did, however know a guy who spent 15 years with his girlfriend, but moved to a new state every five years solely so they'd never officially qualify as common law. Which was brilliiant. And when she left him, one of the first things she griped about was the fact that he got his shit, she got her shit, and he didn't have to pay her a dime in maintenance. That struck her as distinctly unfair after giving him 20 years of her life.)

Then again, my state doesn't do alimony anyway. I've informed my wife (who was a stay-at-home-mom for the first 15 years of our marriage by her choice -- she's an RN now) that if Indiana ever becomes an alimony state, I will divorce her the day before the law goes into effect. The logic is typically that the working spouse (usually the husband) has a higher income potential because he's been in the workforce for all those years, and the stay-at-home parent will need time/cash to get their education credentials up to snuff and get established.

I don't know about other guys, but I made a ton of sacrifices over the years to let my wife pursue her dream of being a stay-at-home mom. It meant we didn't have really nice vacations. I drove cars 3-5 years older than I would have preferred. I didn't get cool gadgets, new clothes, etc., when I wanted them. I worked jobs I absolutely despised because they paid me more money than jobs I might have preferred.

If she ever wants to divorce me, that means we go our separate ways completely, both physically and financially. I'll take my half of the stuff and my half of the debt. Hell, I'll even give her half of my retirement. But the idea that I would have to subsidize her life going forward for decisions I've already sacrificed for once is too much. Decisions have consequences. Mine was going without. Hers was not building up income/experience/education in the meantime.

Evading the yoke of alimony seems like a perfectly reasonable argument not to get married. Ever.

[Galaxy]

Married or not, chances are you're not going to get custody of the kids anyway, and I don't know any guys who simply co-habited who ended up paying alimony.

(I did, however know a guy who spent 15 years with his girlfriend, but moved to a new state every five years solely so they'd never officially qualify as common law. Which was brilliiant. And when she left him, one of the first things she griped about was the fact that he got his shit, she got her shit, and he didn't have to pay her a dime in maintenance. That struck her as distinctly unfair after giving him 20 years of her life.)

Then again, my state doesn't do alimony anyway. I've informed my wife (who was a stay-at-home-mom for the first 15 years of our marriage by her choice -- she's an RN now) that if Indiana ever becomes an alimony state, I will divorce her the day before the law goes into effect. The logic is typically that the working spouse (usually the husband) has a higher income potential because he's been in the workforce for all those years, and the stay-at-home parent will need time/cash to get their education credentials up to snuff and get established.

I don't know about other guys, but I made a ton of sacrifices over the years to let my wife pursue her dream of being a stay-at-home mom. It meant we didn't have really nice vacations. I drove cars 3-5 years older than I would have preferred. I didn't get cool gadgets, new clothes, etc., when I wanted them. I worked jobs I absolutely despised because they paid me more money than jobs I might have preferred.

If she ever wants to divorce me, that means we go our separate ways completely, both physically and financially. I'll take my half of the stuff and my half of the debt. Hell, I'll even give her half of my retirement. But the idea that I would have to subsidize her life going forward for decisions I've already sacrificed for once is too much. Decisions have consequences. Mine was going without. Hers was not building up income/experience/education in the meantime.

Evading the yoke of alimony seems like a perfectly reasonable argument not to get married. Ever.

An argument to get a pre-nup? I absolutely hate the common law marriage laws. Just because you live together you are somehow determined by the government to be married after a x amount of time?

[Noop]

Drake has my heart.

[Drake]

An argument to get a pre-nup? I absolutely hate the common law marriage laws. Just because you live together you are somehow determined by the government to be married after a x amount of time?

You can't get a pre-nup after you're already married. Alas, I was once too (as the saying goes) young, dumb and full of cum to believe in anything but the complementary myths of true, eternal love and all women are a pure and wonderful as Mom if you dig deep enough.

[Galaxy]

You can't get a pre-nup after you're already married. Alas, I was once too (as the saying goes) young, dumb and full of cum to believe in anything but the complementary myths of true, eternal love and all women are a pure and wonderful as Mom if you dig deep enough.

You can get a post-nup.

[Lathum]

I'm really glad I am not as jaded as some of you. My marriage is everything I expected it and so much more. My wife is hands down the best thing to ever happen to me.

[Dutch]

Minority status makes me feel less bad about taking single people's tax money.

[BillJasper]

I'm really glad I am not as jaded as some of you. My marriage is everything I expected it and so much more. My wife is hands down the best thing to ever happen to me.

Minority status makes me feel less bad about taking single people's tax money.

+1

[Galaxy]

Minority status makes me feel less bad about taking single people's tax money.

:D

[Suburban Rhythm]

I'm really glad I am not as jaded as some of you. My marriage is everything I expected it and so much more. My wife is hands down the best thing to ever happen to me.

Waiting for saldana to confirm the feeling is mutual

[Rizon]

Married or not, chances are you're not going to get custody of the kids anyway, and I don't know any guys who simply co-habited who ended up paying alimony.

(I did, however know a guy who spent 15 years with his girlfriend, but moved to a new state every five years solely so they'd never officially qualify as common law. Which was brilliiant. And when she left him, one of the first things she griped about was the fact that he got his shit, she got her shit, and he didn't have to pay her a dime in maintenance. That struck her as distinctly unfair after giving him 20 years of her life.)

Then again, my state doesn't do alimony anyway. I've informed my wife (who was a stay-at-home-mom for the first 15 years of our marriage by her choice -- she's an RN now) that if Indiana ever becomes an alimony state, I will divorce her the day before the law goes into effect. The logic is typically that the working spouse (usually the husband) has a higher income potential because he's been in the workforce for all those years, and the stay-at-home parent will need time/cash to get their education credentials up to snuff and get established.

I don't know about other guys, but I made a ton of sacrifices over the years to let my wife pursue her dream of being a stay-at-home mom. It meant we didn't have really nice vacations. I drove cars 3-5 years older than I would have preferred. I didn't get cool gadgets, new clothes, etc., when I wanted them. I worked jobs I absolutely despised because they paid me more money than jobs I might have preferred.

If she ever wants to divorce me, that means we go our separate ways completely, both physically and financially. I'll take my half of the stuff and my half of the debt. Hell, I'll even give her half of my retirement. But the idea that I would have to subsidize her life going forward for decisions I've already sacrificed for once is too much. Decisions have consequences. Mine was going without. Hers was not building up income/experience/education in the meantime.

Evading the yoke of alimony seems like a perfectly reasonable argument not to get married. Ever.

I can't remember the exact numbers, but I got cornholed in a similar fashion. My ex-wife made significantly less than I did ... not that I made a ton of money or anything. But she went from a job folding clothes (25k/yr) to a job rubbing people's backs (around 10k a year). The courts determined that her job was about 10-15 hrs per week at around $15/hr. We argued that I shouldn't be punished for her laziness in not getting a 2nd job or "downgrading" in her career, and her expenses shouldn't consider the new SUV she bought a week after I left her (trading in a paid-off, well-functioning car that got great gas mileage). Courts sided with her, of course. I ended up having to pay $1000/mo in alimony for 3 1/2 years and around $9k up front. That was icing on the cake baked by myself, which included ingredients of personal sacrifice so she could pursue whatever career she was feeling like during that month.

So after that experience, I swore never to get married again. Or at least cut off my penis and marry a man so I could screw him financially. But after everything was said and done (and I was $35k poorer), I was able to build up my finances again, buy lots of toys, take trips, not hear bitching and moaning and not deal with BS. Then I met my current wife, who had more toys and gizmos and a better paying job, and I thought ... SYNCHRONIZE SWATCHES!

[Galaxy]

I can't remember the exact numbers, but I got cornholed in a similar fashion. My ex-wife made significantly less than I did ... not that I made a ton of money or anything. But she went from a job folding clothes (25k/yr) to a job rubbing people's backs (around 10k a year). The courts determined that her job was about 10-15 hrs per week at around $15/hr. We argued that I shouldn't be punished for her laziness in not getting a 2nd job or "downgrading" in her career, and her expenses shouldn't consider the new SUV she bought a week after I left her (trading in a paid-off, well-functioning car that got great gas mileage). Courts sided with her, of course. I ended up having to pay $1000/mo in alimony for 3 1/2 years and around $9k up front. That was icing on the cake baked by myself, which included ingredients of personal sacrifice so she could pursue whatever career she was feeling like during that month.

So after that experience, I swore never to get married again. Or at least cut off my penis and marry a man so I could screw him financially. But after everything was said and done (and I was $35k poorer), I was able to build up my finances again, buy lots of toys, take trips, not hear bitching and moaning and not deal with BS. Then I met my current wife, who had more toys and gizmos and a better paying job, and I thought ... SYNCHRONIZE SWATCHES!

If you don't mind me asking, what lead you to divorce the first time around?

[bulletsponge]

If you don't mind me asking, what lead you to divorce the first time around?

shes a bitch. seriously you couldnt figure that out?

[britrock88]

I left her

^The entirety of what the court cares about.

[Galaxy]

shes a bitch. seriously you couldnt figure that out?

Wow....Did you take her bitch pills too?

[path12]

My third one seems to be going well.

[Radii]

I'm really glad I am not as jaded as some of you. My marriage is everything I expected it and so much more. My wife is hands down the best thing to ever happen to me.

Its ok, I'm really glad I'm not as married as some of you. ;)

For a couple years I would admit that I was very jaded and bitter about my history of relationships. Now I really feel like I'm just much happier and much more content with my life the way it is. /shrug!

[JediKooter]

Yep, I'm pretty much done with marriage. The only thing that would get me to marry again is if she's rich, she likes spending her money on me, she has a nice ass, can cook, knows more about sports than I do, owns an Xbox, Wii and a Playstation, loves Star Wars, 'gets' the 3 Stooges, likes Family Guy and South Park, can kick ass in a bar fight...the list goes on. I really don't think a woman like that exists, so looks like I'm not getting married again. No lost sleep over it on my part though.

[Rizon]

If you don't mind me asking, what lead you to divorce the first time around?

shes a bitch. seriously you couldnt figure that out?

Haha, he's right ... she was a bitch :D
But she also had no ambition, no goals, she was a slob, didn't make enough money to support her share of the expenses. I wanted to move out of our condo, buy a real house, start a family, but I was never going to get that with her lack of drive. After 10 years and marriage counseling, it was clear I was just wasting my time and I needed to move on.

[Suburban Rhythm]

About 6-7 year ago I worked with a guy who was on his 5th marriage. He explained it to me like this:

Wife 1 - I married for love

Wife 2 - "the lovin' was good"

Wife 3 - I married for money

Wife 4 - re-married wife 2 (so I at least give him credit for going back to that ex)

Wife 5 - He was living in a 3rd floor apartment above a restaurant, in the middle of summer, where it would reach close to 100 degrees. The women he was dating at that point had whole house A/C, so he married her.

[Galaxy]

Haha, he's right ... she was a bitch :D
But she also had no ambition, no goals, she was a slob, didn't make enough money to support her share of the expenses. I wanted to move out of our condo, buy a real house, start a family, but I was never going to get that with her lack of drive. After 10 years and marriage counseling, it was clear I was just wasting my time and I needed to move on.

I wasn't arguing that she doesn't sound like one. It's more of a question of what created it in the first place?

Was she like that when you meet and got married?

[Easy Mac]

Yep, I'm pretty much done with marriage. The only thing that would get me to marry again is if she's rich, she likes spending her money on me, she has a nice ass, can cook, knows more about sports than I do, owns an Xbox, Wii and a Playstation, loves Star Wars, 'gets' the 3 Stooges, likes Family Guy and South Park, can kick ass in a bar fight...the list goes on. I really don't think a woman like that exists, so looks like I'm not getting married again. No lost sleep over it on my part though.

So you're saying you're gay.

[JediKooter]

So you're saying you're gay.

I didn't say anything about keeping the place clean and dressing nice.

[Galaxy]

Wife 5 - He was living in a 3rd floor apartment above a restaurant, in the middle of summer, where it would reach close to 100 degrees. The women he was dating at that point had whole house A/C, so he married her.

The guy has standards.

[cuervo72]

Just to add to the general debate (not the article, but the comments section): http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/listen-up-fellas-naked-man-parts-not-so-sexy/2011/06/01/AGMKSgGH_allComments.html?ctab=all_&#comments

[DaddyTorgo]

Minority status makes me feel less bad about taking single people's tax money.

Yeah, well...fuck you too! :D