Marriage Rates Fall: Who Can Afford It?

Marriage: Who needs, er, can afford it these days? Apparently quite a few can't, as there are more never-married young adults than married young adults for the first time in more than a century, the New York Times reports. The data, from last year’s census, suggest that the recession is to blame for this new trend, with more couples choosing to cohabitate as they face an uncertain future.

“Yeah, it definitely takes money to get married,” says one 26-year-old who’s been with his girlfriend for three years and recently lost his job. “Being married probably means eventually buying a house and having kids, right?” Young adults who’ve never married totaled 46% last year, up from 35% in 2000. But sociologists note that marriage rates may continue to fall regardless of what happens in the economy, thanks to the growing social acceptability of cohabitation.
(More marriage stories.)