If you feel you’re getting married later than your parents did, you’re right. By about 6 years later, on average.
According to the US Census Bureau, the median age of first marriages in 1970 was 22.5 years for men and for 20.6 years for women. In 2009, those ages jumped to 28.4 for men and 26.5 for women.
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The age distribution has also changed significantly over the last 40 years.
In 1970, believe it or not, 42% of women married as teens (under 20) and 88% of all woman were married by age 24. These numbers had dropped drastically by 2009, with only 7% of women under 20 married and 38% of woman married by age 24.
The distribution of age changed for men, too. In 1970 the majority – 57%- of men were married by ages 20-24. The majority has now dropped to 34% among the older 25 to 29 year-olds.
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