...you have a lot of company. Just 35 years ago, almost everyone under age 34 had already gotten married, but now a large number of American men and women are still single, according to data from the Current Population Survey released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau. Call it the culture of cold feet.
The Associated Press reports that 33 percent of men between the ages of 30 and 34 have never married, compared with 22 percent of women in that age group who have never tied the knot. These figures are four times what they were in 1970. What does it mean? Experts say it's more evidence that young people are focusing on their careers before settling down. In addition, more couples are living together before they marry. The average age for marriage is now 25.3 for women and 27.1 for men, compared with 20.8 for women and 23.2 for men in 1970.
"The majority of people still want to get married, but they see it sort of as dessert now, something that's desirable rather than necessary," Dorion Solot, executive director of the Albany, N.Y.-based Alternatives to Marriage Project, told AP. The organization fights discrimination based on marital status and to seek equality and fairness for unmarried people. "People want to be more sure that they don't make a marriage mistake," she added.
Another interesting fact: Young women may not be marrying, but they are having babies. Fully 35 percent of all births in 2003 were to single mothers, up 11 percent from 1970.
