- In 2006, 92 million Americans 18 and older were unmarried. This group comprised 42% of all U.S. residents 18 and older.
- 54% of unmarried Americans 18 and older are women.
- 60% of unmarried Americans 18 and older have never been married. Another 25% are divorced, and 15% are widowed.
- 15 million unmarried Americans are 65 and older. These older Americans comprise 16 percent of all unmarried and single people 18 and older.
- There are 86 unmarried men 18 and older for every 100 unmarried women in the United States.
- 50.7 million households are maintained by unmarried men or women. These households comprise 44 percent of households nationwide.
- 30.5 million people live alone. They comprise 27 percent of all households, up from 17 percent in 1970.
- There were 12.9 million single parents living with their children in 2006. Of these, 10.4 million were single mothers.
Now, one thing to keep in mind: Unmarried people are not necessarily single. They might be in a partnership. It is important to realize, though, that all people who seek alternatives to marriage face similar issues since many laws in our society use marriage as a dividing line.
Singles and unmarried people are a growing segment of the U.S. population. It’s time for us to come out and work on overcoming singlism!
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