Singles Still Want Marriage, on a Longer Timeline

Forty-five percent of U.S. singles say they want to marry someday, up from 33% in 2010 — they just want more time first. [They still want marriage. They want a longer road — GoldenCubClub research summary]

Match and the Kinsey Institute's 15th Singles in America survey, about 5,000 singles answering in March and April, found the ideal first-marriage age and the preferred dating period before marriage both moved later than in earlier waves. [They still want marriage. They want a longer road — GoldenCubClub research summary]

The biggest group now puts the ideal first-marriage age at 25 to 29, the next at 30 to 34. A fifth, 20.5%, want to date for two to three years before marrying. Of singles who want to marry, only about one in nine wants a wedding within a year; more than a third point to two to three years out, and about a quarter to more than five. [They still want marriage. They want a longer road — GoldenCubClub research summary]

Money sits on the on-ramp. Fifty-two percent say a hard economy made them more interested in finding someone to share a life with, nearly double the share in 2013, and 29% want a savings target met first. Thirty percent are open to a long-term committed relationship with no plan to marry, and the share who want no relationship at all fell to 24%, down from a 2021 peak of 32%. [They still want marriage. They want a longer road — GoldenCubClub research summary]

Standards haven't slipped with the timeline: 34% now keep a checklist for a long-term partner, up from 25% in 2021, and mutual respect and open communication each cleared 50% as the essentials of a healthy relationship. [They still want marriage. They want a longer road — GoldenCubClub research summary]