Why Marriage Is Disappearing

Two red double-decker buses decorated for a wedding with Just Married signs

America’s marriage crisis is no accident—it is the predictable result of decades of cultural engineering, economic mismanagement, and anti-family policy that weakened the very institution that holds communities together.

Story Snapshot

Marriage in America is shrinking, not disappearing, with fewer people marrying at all and many delaying it into their 30s and 40s.
Divorce is at historic lows, but stable marriage is increasingly concentrated among college‑educated, higher‑income elites.
Less than half of U.S. households are now married couples, as cohabitation, single living, and non‑marital births expand.
Working‑class and lower‑income Americans bear the brunt of family decline, deepening inequality and social instability.

How America Went From Marriage Nation To Marriage Optional

Mid‑20th century America treated marriage as a near universal step into adulthood, tightly linking sex, childbearing, and responsibility. That culture began to fracture in the 1970s and 1980s with no‑fault divorce, liberalized sexual norms, and a growing belief that personal fulfillment matters more than covenant. Over time, federal policy, media, and academia pushed “alternative family forms” as equally valuable, eroding the expectation that young men and women would build a life together grounded in marriage and children.

Since the 1990s, the country has shifted from early, common marriage to later, rarer, more selective marriage. Fewer adults marry at all, and first marriages come years later than in their parents’ generation. A record share of 40‑year‑olds has never married, and today’s 20‑somethings are on track for even lower marriage rates. Marriage is no longer assumed; it has become conditional—something people pursue only after career security, debt management, and personal “readiness.”

The New Class Divide: Marriage As A Luxury Good

Data now show marriage turning into a status symbol of the college‑educated and financially secure. Higher‑income, degree‑holding Americans still marry at relatively high rates and are less likely to divorce, using marriage to stabilize wealth, raise children, and pass opportunity to the next generation. Meanwhile, working‑class and lower‑income adults see the steepest declines in marriage, reflecting weak job prospects for men, economic insecurity, and a culture that stopped reinforcing commitment.

This new “marriage gap” should alarm any conservative who cares about upward mobility and social order. When marriage is strongest where money and credentials are plentiful, the benefits of two‑parent stability concentrate at the top. Children in these homes enjoy more time, resources, and structure, while kids in fractured or unstable arrangements are asked to grow up in chaos. That pattern magnifies inequality far more quietly—but more powerfully—than any tax code tweak or spending bill debated in Washington.

From Wedding Aisle To Apartment Lease: How Households Are Changing

Federal data now show fewer than half of U.S. households are married couples, a striking break from the America many readers grew up in. In their place, more adults live alone, move through serial cohabiting relationships, or raise children outside marriage. Cohabitation has been normalized as a low‑commitment alternative, offering many of the daily benefits of marriage without its legal, moral, or spiritual weight. Popular culture and tech‑driven dating only accelerate this shift away from permanence.

These household changes carry real‑world consequences. Delayed or foregone marriage often means delayed childbearing, fewer children, and eventually a grayer, more dependent society. Housing markets tilt toward smaller rentals instead of family homes. Communities once anchored by long‑married couples now experience higher churn, weaker civic ties, and more loneliness. The very social capital that conservatives know is essential for limited government—neighbors helping neighbors, churches caring for families—erodes when stable families shrink.

Low Divorce, Fewer Weddings: A Smaller, Stronger, But Narrower Institution

On the surface, one statistic seems positive: divorce rates have dropped to historic lows. But that trend sits alongside the reality that fewer people marry in the first place and many avoid the altar out of fear. Those who do marry tend to be older, more financially established, and more selective, which naturally produces more stable unions. In effect, America has built a system where marriage is stronger on average but reserved for those who already have advantages.

For conservatives, this is a double‑edged sword. Stronger marriages among the committed are welcome, yet a nation where millions never experience family stability is not healthy or free. A people increasingly isolated, childless, and detached from responsibility becomes easier to manage from Washington. Rebuilding a culture of marriage will require more than speeches—it demands policies that reward work, reduce economic barriers for young families, and reject ideologies that treat fathers and mothers as optional.