Atlanta couples, get ready. It’s wedding season in one of the best cities to get married in this year — the Peach State’s capital. But how do you know 2025 is the right year for you to pop the question?
Researchers have asked thousands of adults in the United States and around the world for their opinions on the best ages to get married.
According to the results, many people don’t plan to waste much time.
What is the ideal age to get married?
The Pew Research Center asked 3,600 U.S. adults in April 2024 for their ideal age to get married. About half said there is no best age to wed, but 25% of respondents thought it should be between 25 and 29.
Think that’s too low? So did roughly 10% of people asked, who said they would prefer to get married between 30 and 34. Too high? Roughly as many respondents would rather get married between 20 and 24.
On average, the Pew Research Center discovered that U.S. adults want to get married at 26.5 years old.
In a separate survey, the research center asked adults worldwide for their ideal age, and the resulting average was almost identical. Across 18 countries, mostly middle-income, the Spring 2024 Global Attitudes Survey revealed the average age respondents wanted to get married was 25.9.
When choosing an ideal age, what are the deciding factors?
When determining what drives people to strive for a higher or lower ideal marriage age, everything from gender to education played a role.
“Men tend to say the best age for marriage is later in life, compared with women,” according to the report. “There’s a similar gender gap in the actual ages of men and women at their first marriage. Older adults generally say the best age to get married is earlier in life, compared with younger adults.
“In Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Thailand, the average ideal ages suggested by the oldest and youngest respondents differ by about three years. Ghana is the only country where younger adults say it is best to get married slightly earlier in life, compared with older adults.”
People who were more educated often wanted to marry later in life, while those who identified as religious wanted the opposite.
“Views also vary somewhat by education,” the report said. “On average, adults with more education say it is better to get married later in life, compared with those who have less education. This is especially the case across the Latin American countries surveyed.
“In 11 countries, people who say religion is very important in their life suggest a younger age for marriage, compared with those who say religion is somewhat or less important to them.”
In the U.S., specifically, some of the same patterns proved true. The Pew Research Center discovered that upper-income households wanted to get married later than lower-income ones by an average of 0.8 years. Americans who identified as religious wanted to get married at 25.7 years old, nearly 1.5 years younger than households that placed less importance on religion. Republicans wanted to get married 1.7 years sooner than Democrats.
When do people actually get married?
The surveys revealed the ideal ages many around the world would like to get married, but at what ages were they actually tying the knot? According to data, many have been hitting their ideal age ranges just fine.
“People in the countries surveyed, on average, actually do get married in their 20s, according to data from the United Nations," the Pew Research Center reported. “But there is a gender gap, with women typically marrying at a younger age than men. Our survey finds a similar gender gap in views of the ideal age for marriage: In 14 of 18 countries, women say the best age to get married is slightly earlier in life, compared with men.”
In the U.S., according to data from the Census Bureau, women were marrying a little after turning 28 last year. Men, meanwhile, married just after turning 30.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
