Fewer adults are getting married, and more and more are opting to live together instead, according to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2016.
About 18 million are cohabitating, up 29 percent from 2007. About half of that number is under the age of 35. But another quarter is from a growing sector — Americans age 50 and older. According to a Pew Research Center analysis, the number of older adults living together grew by 75 percent in the past nine years.
“This increase is faster than that of other age groups during this time period and is driven in part by the aging of baby boomers,” wrote Renee Stepler, a research analyst at Pew.
The rising number coincides with divorce rates, she wrote. “With the higher divorce rates … more individuals are unmarried and available for partnering or re-partnering.”
Most 50-and-older adults living with an unmarried partner have previously been married. But 27 percent have never married, according to Pew. (TAB)
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