From 1920 until 1970, marriage rates in the United States usually ranged between eight and eleven marriages per 1,000 population in most years. When looking at the marriage rate of unmarried women alone, rates generally ranged between 70 and 90 marriages per 1,000 unmarried woman. There were some periods of fluctuation, however, with the lowest marriage rates taking place during the Great Depression in the early-1930s, and the highest marriage rates coming after the Second World War in the late-1940s.
Marriage rates among the general population and among unmarried women in the United States from 1920 to 1970
Characteristic
Total population
Unmarried women*
1970
10.6
76.7
1969
10.6
80
1968
10.4
79.1
1967
9.7
76.4
1966
9.5
75.6
1965
9.3
75
1964
9
74.5
1963
8.8
73.4
1962
8.5
71.2
1961
8.5
72.2
1960
8.5
73.5
1959
8.5
73.6
1958
8.4
72
1957
8.9
78
1956
9.5
82.4
1955
9.3
80.9
1954
9.2
79.8
1953
9.8
83.7
1952
9.9
83.2
1951
10.4
86.6
1950
11.1
90.2
1949
10.6
86.7
1948
12.4
98.5
1947
13.9
106.2
1946
16.4
118.1
1945
12.2
83.6
1944
10.9
76.5
1943
11.7
83
1942
13.2
93
1941
12.7
88.5
1940
12.1
82.8
1939
10.7
73
1938
10.3
69.9
1937
11.3
78
1936
10.7
74
1935
10.4
72.5
1934
10.3
71.8
1933
8.7
61.3
1932
7.9
56
1931
8.6
61.9
1930
9.2
67.6
1929
10.1
75.5
1928
9.8
74.1
1927
10.1
77
1926
10.2
78.7
1925
10.3
79.2
1924
10.4
80.3
1923
11
85.2
1922
10.3
79.7
1921
10.7
83
1920
12
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US Census Bureau. (December 27, 2007). Marriage rates among the general population and among unmarried women in the United States from 1920 to 1970 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved January 08, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1316845/us-marriage-rates-historical/
US Census Bureau. "Marriage rates among the general population and among unmarried women in the United States from 1920 to 1970." Chart. December 27, 2007. Statista. Accessed January 08, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1316845/us-marriage-rates-historical/
US Census Bureau. (2007). Marriage rates among the general population and among unmarried women in the United States from 1920 to 1970. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: January 08, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1316845/us-marriage-rates-historical/
US Census Bureau. "Marriage Rates among The General Population and among Unmarried Women in The United States from 1920 to 1970." Statista, Statista Inc., 27 Dec 2007, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1316845/us-marriage-rates-historical/
US Census Bureau, Marriage rates among the general population and among unmarried women in the United States from 1920 to 1970 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1316845/us-marriage-rates-historical/ (last visited January 08, 2025)
Marriage rates among the general population and among unmarried women in the United States from 1920 to 1970 [Graph], US Census Bureau, December 27, 2007. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1316845/us-marriage-rates-historical/
