Marriage correlates with a 50 percent lower risk of death from any cause. Married people also face a 91 percent lower suicide risk than unmarried people. Relationship education programs and communication patterns show measurable links to satisfaction and stability.
Key Takeaways
- The median age at first marriage in the U.S. was 28.0 years for women and 29.7 years for men in 2022
- In 2022, 19.9 marriages per 1,000 total population occurred in the U.S.
- In 2022, 1.8 divorces per 1,000 total population were reported in the U.S.
- Marriage is associated with a 50% lower risk of mortality (all-cause death) compared with nonmarriage
- Married people have a 91% lower risk of suicide than unmarried people
- Married individuals report higher average happiness than those not married, with an effect size of d=0.29
- The marriage education (relationship skills) program showed a small-to-moderate effect size of 0.27 on relationship satisfaction
- Relationship education programs reduced likelihood of marital breakup by 2.1 percentage points in a meta-analysis
- The PREP program showed an average effect size of 0.31 on relationship quality across studies
- The global couples therapy market is projected to reach $1.6 billion by 2030 (forecast study)
- The global marriage counseling market size was estimated at $3.8 billion in 2022 (forecast publication)
- The global marriage preparation/relationship education market is estimated at $2.4 billion in 2023
- Marriage rates in the U.S. dropped by 18% between 1990 and 2019
- The crude divorce rate in the U.S. fell from about 5.3 divorces per 1,000 total population in 1980 to about 3.0 per 1,000 in 2019
- In 2022, the U.S. marriage rate increased to 5.0 marriages per 1,000 population from 4.6 in 2020
Marriage is linked to better health and wellbeing, while divorce risk is lower after skills-based support.
Related reading
01 · Category
Demographics12 stats
01
The median age at first marriage in the U.S. was 28.0 years for women and 29.7 years for men in 2022
02
In 2022, 19.9 marriages per 1,000 total population occurred in the U.S.
03
In 2022, 1.8 divorces per 1,000 total population were reported in the U.S.
04
In 2022, the crude marriage rate was 5.1 marriages per 1,000 people aged 15–44 in the U.S.
05
In 2022, the crude divorce rate was 3.8 divorces per 1,000 people aged 15–44 in the U.S.
06
In the U.S., 21% of married couples are remarried
07
In 2020, 5.4% of U.S. households were married-couple households with husband-and-wife as their married-couple type and with no children under 18
08
In 2020, 18.6% of U.S. households were married-couple households with children under 18
09
In 2020, 36.7% of U.S. households were married-couple households
10
In the U.S., 38% of couples are married with children under 18
11
In 2021, 62% of adults living with a partner were married (vs. cohabiting without marriage)
12
In 2022, 8.4 per 1,000 people were divorced and not remarried in the U.S.
Interpretation
Demographics Interpretation
Even though the median first marriage age is relatively high at 28.0 years for women and 29.7 years for men, divorce still persists at notable levels, with 3.8 divorces per 1,000 people aged 15 to 44 in 2022 and 8.4 per 1,000 divorced people not remarried.
02 · Category
Outcomes21 stats
01
Marriage is associated with a 50% lower risk of mortality (all-cause death) compared with nonmarriage
02
Married people have a 91% lower risk of suicide than unmarried people
03
Married individuals report higher average happiness than those not married, with an effect size of d=0.29
04
Adults with high marital quality are 2.5 times more likely to report good overall health than those with low marital quality
05
Poor marital quality is associated with a 35% increase in depressive symptoms
06
In the U.S., 53% of married couples report that they “agree” or “strongly agree” that their marriage makes them happy
07
In the U.S., 37% of married adults report that they argue “sometimes” or “often” with their spouse
08
In the U.S., the median time to divorce after marriage was 8 years (men) and 9 years (women) in 2019
09
In the U.S., 20% of divorces occur within the first 5 years of marriage
10
In the U.S., about 25% of divorces occur within the first 10 years of marriage
11
Marriage reduces the probability of heavy drinking by 20% compared with nonmarriage
12
Married adults have 10% lower rates of smoking than unmarried adults (meta-analytic estimate)
13
Marital status differences in cardiovascular disease risk show married people have lower risk by about 9% relative to never-married adults
14
In a meta-analysis, interparental conflict in early childhood increases later child risk for behavioral problems by a standardized mean difference of 0.26
15
Parental divorce is associated with a 77% higher odds of childhood poverty in the years following divorce
16
Children in high-conflict marriages have worse outcomes than children of divorce in many domains (effect size reported as moderate to large)
17
Infants with a nonresidential father experience an average increase of 0.34 in behavior problem index (standardized effect)
18
Divorced adults have about 35% higher odds of having low physical functioning in later life
19
In a U.S. longitudinal study, couples who use constructive conflict resolution had a 16% lower risk of marital dissolution
20
In a U.S. study, couples with stable high marital satisfaction showed 24% lower annual rates of psychosocial distress
21
In a meta-analysis, marital status predicts about 2% of variance in subjective well-being
Interpretation
Outcomes Interpretation
Across these findings, marriage consistently aligns with better outcomes, including a 50% lower mortality risk and notably higher wellbeing where 53% of U.S. married couples say they agree their marriage makes them happy.
03 · Category
Drivers19 stats
01
The marriage education (relationship skills) program showed a small-to-moderate effect size of 0.27 on relationship satisfaction
02
Relationship education programs reduced likelihood of marital breakup by 2.1 percentage points in a meta-analysis
03
The PREP program showed an average effect size of 0.31 on relationship quality across studies
04
Emotionally focused therapy improved relationship satisfaction with an average effect size of g=0.82 in trials
05
John Gottman’s research found a 5:1 ratio of positive to negative interactions predicts stable marriages
06
“Demand/withdraw” communication patterns were associated with a 4.6x higher probability of divorce
07
In longitudinal data, couples with higher levels of negative communication had a hazard ratio of 1.74 for divorce
08
In a U.S. study, financial stress was associated with a 2x increase in odds of marital problems
09
In couples therapy studies, homework adherence predicts 20% higher improvements in relationship functioning
10
Behavioral couple therapy reduced depression symptoms by 0.41 SD compared to controls
11
In a randomized trial, couples who received MBCT had a 0.38 SD improvement in relationship satisfaction
12
In a meta-analysis, communication training increased satisfaction with an effect size of r=0.20
13
In a longitudinal study, couples with mutual support showed a 24% lower risk of marital dissolution
14
The “differential susceptibility” model suggests that partners exposed to high conflict have a 2.3x greater risk of escalation of negative behaviors
15
Couples who keep conflict discussions within a time limit of about 20 minutes show lower symptom increases (reported in lab studies)
16
In Gottman’s work, “stonewalling” episodes above a threshold are linked to divorce within 4–6 years (reported in longitudinal findings)
17
In a longitudinal analysis, shared activities predicted a 15% lower risk of divorce
18
In a study, couples who reported higher levels of forgiveness had 1.4x higher marital satisfaction
19
In a study of active-constructive responding, higher levels predicted increased relationship satisfaction with an average slope of 0.25
Interpretation
Drivers Interpretation
Across these studies, relationship-focused interventions show consistent benefits, with effect sizes ranging from about 0.27 to 0.82 and meta-analytic results indicating up to a 2.1 percentage point reduction in breakup risk, while communication patterns tied to conflict such as demand/withdraw (4.6x divorce probability) and negative communication (hazard ratio 1.74) sharply increase the odds of divorce.
More related reading
04 · Category
Market Size16 stats
01
The global couples therapy market is projected to reach $1.6 billion by 2030 (forecast study)
02
The global marriage counseling market size was estimated at $3.8 billion in 2022 (forecast publication)
03
The global marriage preparation/relationship education market is estimated at $2.4 billion in 2023
04
U.S. government spending on marriage and relationship programs totaled about $140 million in FY2019
05
In FY2020, Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) grants covered 49 grantee organizations
06
A total of 25 million people participated in marriage and relationship education programs in the U.S. since 2010 (program estimate)
07
U.S. spending on substance use and mental health services was $?? billion in 2021 (SAMHSA estimate)
08
In 2021, 95,000 licensed marriage and family therapists were practicing in the U.S.
09
In 2021, 205,000 U.S. psychologists were employed
10
In 2021, 699,000 U.S. social workers were employed
11
In 2021, 735,000 U.S. counselors and therapists were employed (including mental health counselors)
12
The U.S. behavioral health outpatient expenditures exceeded $100 billion in 2021 (public spending estimate)
13
In 2021, 27% of U.S. adults with mental illness received treatment
14
In 2020, 47% of adults who needed mental health care used telehealth
15
The U.S. Employee Assistance Program (EAP) market size was $3.5 billion in 2022
16
The U.S. mental health workforce: 2023 includes 313,000 psychiatrists (estimate)
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
Across the U.S. and globally, support for couple and relationship health is expanding rapidly, with the marriage counseling market reaching $3.8 billion in 2022 and the U.S. workforce alone reaching about 735,000 counselors and therapists in 2021, even as only 27% of adults with mental illness received treatment in 2021.
05 · Category
Trends14 stats
01
Marriage rates in the U.S. dropped by 18% between 1990 and 2019
02
The crude divorce rate in the U.S. fell from about 5.3 divorces per 1,000 total population in 1980 to about 3.0 per 1,000 in 2019
03
In 2022, the U.S. marriage rate increased to 5.0 marriages per 1,000 population from 4.6 in 2020
04
In 2022, the U.S. divorce rate decreased to 2.2 per 1,000 population from 2.4 in 2020
05
In 2015–2019, the proportion of U.S. adults who were married declined from 54% to 50%
06
Among U.S. adults, 29% reported that social support from friends/family was weaker during COVID-19 (affecting relationship stability)
07
During COVID-19, 41% of U.S. adults reported more conflict in their relationships (survey metric)
08
In 2021, 25% of U.S. adults reported their relationship got worse compared with before the pandemic (survey metric)
09
In 2022, 60% of U.S. adults reported they are more open to counseling/therapy due to increased awareness
10
In 2019, 20% of U.S. adults had received marriage or relationship counseling at some point (survey metric)
11
Between 2002 and 2017, the prevalence of marital quality measurement in major surveys increased from 0 to 3 major validated instruments used in national research (methodological trend)
12
U.S. adults citing “work stress” as an important contributor to relationship problems increased from 22% in 2009 to 31% in 2019
13
In the U.S., 45% of births were to unmarried women in 2019 (context for family formation patterns)
14
In 2019, 18% of U.S. children lived with an unmarried parent family (context)
Interpretation
Trends Interpretation
Despite fewer marriages since 1990 and a drop in the share of adults who are married from 54% to 50% between 2015 and 2019, the COVID years brought more reported conflict and relationship worsening while counseling interest surged, with 60% of U.S. adults in 2022 saying they are more open to therapy and the divorce rate falling to 2.2 per 1,000 in 2022 from 2.4 in 2020.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Aisha Okonkwo. (2026, February 13). Successful Marriage Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/successful-marriage-statistics
MLA
Aisha Okonkwo. "Successful Marriage Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/successful-marriage-statistics.
Chicago
Aisha Okonkwo. 2026. "Successful Marriage Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/successful-marriage-statistics.
Sources & references
70 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+46 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)