AMERICAN FAMILIESmark the end of a golden age of family life. Howev-
er, historical data show that for a number of family
patterns, the 1950s was an unusual period. Lower
rates of divorce, lower ages at marriage, and high-
er rates of childbearing observed during the 1950s
have been attributed mainly to greater economic
prosperity following the Great Depression and
World War II (Cherlin 1992).
Age at First Marriage. According to U.S. cen-
sus data, the average (median) age at first marriage
in the United States was twenty-five years for wom-
en and 26.7 years for men in 1998 (U.S. Bureau of
the Census 1998). These average ages are higher
than for most U.S. population censuses of the past
century, but the current median age for men is
comparable to that documented for (white) men
near the turn of the twentieth century. In 1890, the
median age at first marriage was twenty-two for
women and 26.1 for men. The average age at
marriage declined until 1956, when the median
age at first marriage was 20.1 for women and 22.5
for men. The average age at marriage subsequent-
ly began to rise (Saluter 1996). Comparison of
non-Hispanic whites, blacks, and Hispanic whites
shows that age at first marriage climbed more
rapidly for blacks than for non-Hispanic whites,
with blacks marrying later than non-Hispanic whites.
In contrast, Hispanics marry at younger ages than
do other groups. It is difficult to assess whether
Hispanics’ lower age at marriage reflects long-
term trends within the United States due to the
large numbers of Mexican Americans who im-
migrated in the 1980s and 1990s (Sweet and
Bumpass 1987).
Factors promoting later age at marriage in-
clude greater societal acceptance of singlehood
and cohabitation as well as greater emphasis on
educational attainment. The relationship between
age at marriage and level of education is nearly
linear for non-Hispanic white men and women,
with more education associated with later age at
marriage. This relationship is more complex for
minority groups, and especially for black and His-
panic men. For these men, later age at marriage is
associated both with lower and higher educational
levels, producing a U-shaped relationship between
education and age at marriage. Minority men with
low education are likely to have especially poor job
prospects, which in turn affect prospects for mar-
riage. Overall, less racial and ethnic diversity in age
at marriage is shown for those with higher educa-
tional attainment (Sweet and Bumpass 1987).
Interracial Marriage. Most American marriages
are homogamous with regard to race. In 1997,
there were 1.3 million interracial marriages, repre-
senting only 2.3 percent of all marriages. Many
Americans equate interracial marriage with black-
white marriage, but only one-quarter of American
interracial marriages are between blacks and whites.
Currently, 4 percent of black men and 2 percent of
black women are married to a white partner. Mar-
riage between African Americans and Asian Ameri-
cans is even less common than black-white mar-
riages (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1998). Asian
Americans are more likely than African Ameri-
cans to marry a partner of another race. A 1990
study found that 23 percent of Asian Americans
intermarry, and that over 40 percent of Japanese-
American women are married to a man of a differ-
ent race (Lee and Yamanaka 1990).Although the total number of interracial mar-
riages is quite small, the rate of growth in these
marriages has been increasing. The number of
interracial marriages in the United States increased
fourfold between 1970 and 1998. During this peri-
od, the total number of marriages grew by only 24
percent (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1998).
Singles. Throughout U.S. history a propor-
tion of individuals have remained unmarried. High
levels of singlehood were recorded in the late
1800s, when 15 percent of women and 27 percent
of men had not married by the age of thirty-four.
In 1940, 15 percent of women and 21 percent of
men had not married by this age, but by 1970,
these proportions had dropped dramatically. By
1970, just 6 percent of women and 9 percent of
women had not married by the age of thirty-four
(Kain 1990). The size of the unmarried population
has been increasing since the 1970s. In 1994, 20
percent of women and 30 percent of men had not
married by age thirty-four (Saluter 1996). Wom-
en’s changing roles have been linked with the rise
in singleness: Women with higher education and
higher personal income are less likely to marry or
have children. Also, in contrast to earlier eras,
there is greater societal tolerance of singlehood,
providing greater freedom for both women and
men to choose a single lifestyle.
Since few individuals marry for the first time
at the age of sixty-five or older, a more accurate