How many married couples are in the U.S.? In 2023, there were 62.18 million married couples in the United States. This is an increase from 40.2 million married couples in 1960. Marriage in the U.S. While the number of married couples in the U.S. has increased in the past few decades, this could very well just be due to population change, since while the U.S. population has been increasing, the marriage rate has decreased significantly since 1990. In addition, the divorce rate has almost halved since 1990 despite concerns that more people are getting divorced than in years past. Same-sex marriage in the U.S. After years of advocacy, same-sex marriage became legal in the United States in June 2015. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was legal in a landmark ruling in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. In 2015, a clear majority of Americans were in favor of the legalization of same-sex marriage, and approval has only been increasing in the years since.

In 2022, the marriage rate in the United States stood at *** per 1,000 people of the population. This is a decrease from 1990 levels, when the marriage rate was *** marriages per 1,000 people. Marriage Marriage is a union that can legally, culturally, and financially bind two people. Marriage occurs between all genders, races, and cultures, and is often drastically different all around the world, due to the diversity of cultures and religions. Marriage can be recognized by a state, religious authority, or an organization. Typically viewed as a contract, it brings people together through a multitude of avenues. A part of marriage is the wedding, for which couples can decide to partake in or not. Weddings are also incredibly diverse and vary in time, money, and customs. Marriage in the United States Marriage in the United States is viewed differently across all 50 states. The number of married couples in the United States has been steadily increasing since 1960. On the other hand, the divorce rate in the United States has decreased since 1990. Nevada was the state in 2021 that had the highest marriage rate in the United States, due to easy accessibility to get married there. In 2021, Nevada was also the state with the highest divorce rate in the country.

In 2022, there were 67.85 million married men and 68.45 million married women living in the United States. This is compared to 3.7 million widowed men and 11.48 million widowed women.

Marriage in the United States

Nevada had the highest marriage rate in the United States in 2021, followed by Hawaii and Montana. This can be attributed to marriage accessibility in the state. Las Vegas weddings are known for being quick, easy, and inexpensive chapel weddings. In comparison to the cheap weddings available in Las Vegas, the average expenditure for a wedding in the United States was the highest in New Jersey, clocking in at 51,000 U.S. dollars.

Same-sex marriage

The number of Americans who think that same-sex marriage should be recognized by law has more than doubled since 1996, while the number of Americans who think it should not be valid has decreased. It was not until June 26, 2015 that the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Before then, it was up to the states to decide if they allowed same-sex marriage. States in the Southeast are the most opposed to same-sex marriage, whereas the strongest support comes from Northern coastal states.

81 percent of the Silent generation were married between the age of 23 and 38. This is true for only 44 percent of Millennials.

In 2023, approximately *** marriages per 1,000 inhabitants were registered in China. The marriage rate increased from around *** in 2002 to nearly *** in 2013 and declined again thereafter. Marriages in China The peak of the marriage rate in 2013 and the corresponding wave in the number of marriages is strongly related to a larger size of age cohorts between 20 and 35 during that time which is reflected in China’s age pyramid. However, marriage habits have also changed significantly over the last two decades. While the share of people that do not get married is generally increasing, there is a strong shift towards later marriage, with the share of people aged 30 or above that get married increasing from **** percent in 2005 to **** percent in 2022. At the same time, both the number of divorces as well as the number of remarriages also increased. Current developments The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant effect on the divorce rate in China, which fell by more than one third between 2019 and 2021. However, the effect on marriages was comparatively small. As larger age cohorts are now entering marriage age, the number of marriages might increase again in the upcoming years. However, the general change of marriage habits mentioned above will most likely go on in the future.

The Europe Engagement Rings Market size will be USD 11,038.27 Million by the end of 2028, growing at a CAGR of 6.65% between 2023 and 2030.

What is Driving Engagement Rings Industry Growth?

Rise in the marriage rates in various countries of Europe

Population across European region on an average is rising due to various factors. The population of Europe was estimated to have increased by approximately 0.4 percent in 2020, reaching an overall total of approximately 747 million people. Growing advances in technology with each coming year has affected humanity in many ways. One of these has been the ability to save lives and create a better medical treatment for all. As the number of people in region is increasing, it directly affects the rate of marriages. Every year more and more couples are tying knots in order to have their family.

The choice of getting married is extremely personal. Most of them gets married due to love and companionship but some do it for children someday, convenience or finances. Due to rising disposable income, spending capacity in marriages has been increased substantially.

Wearing a ring as a visible sign of the wearer’s married status is a tradition. Hence, wearing of wedding rings has become a standardized aspect of the married state. Depending on the culture, a wedding ring is typically worn on the base of the left or right ring finger. However, every culture follows the concept of exchanging rings during wedding as a symbol of commitment.

Market Dynamics of Engagement Rings Market

Key Drivers for Engagement Rings Market

Engagement Rituals' Cultural and Social Significance: Demand is consistently driven by the long-standing custom of exchanging engagement rings, particularly in Western and emerging economies. These purchases, which are frequently motivated by emotions and regarded as significant life events, strengthen the ring's symbolic significance in society. Growing disposable incomes and spending on luxury: Economic expansion and rising disposable income are driving up demand for luxury goods like engagement rings, especially among urban millennials and Gen Z. Nowadays, buyers are prepared to spend money on larger diamonds, bespoke designs, or high-end metals.

Key Restraints for Engagement Rings Market

In mature regions, there is high price sensitivity and market saturation: The market is getting close to saturation in areas like North America and Europe where marriage rates are falling or leveling off. Furthermore, traditional pricing strategies are facing downward pressure due to consumers' growing value consciousness.

Environmental and Ethical Issues with Diamond Mining: Conventional engagement rings are coming under increased scrutiny due to growing awareness of the ethical and environmental consequences of diamond mining. Some consumer segments have become hesitant as a result, particularly younger consumers looking for more environmentally friendly options.

Key Trends for Engagement Rings Market

Increase in Demand for Lab-Grown Diamonds: Lab-grown diamonds are becoming more and more popular as an affordable and environmentally friendly substitute for stones that are mined. They appeal to both budget-conscious and environmentally conscious customers because they provide the same physical and visual qualities at reduced costs. Individualization and Preferences for Custom Designs: Unique, personalized engagement rings that express their individuality and sense of style are becoming more and more popular. Demand for custom-made rings, alternative gemstones like moissanite or sapphires, and unusual ring settings is being driven by this trend. Introduction of Engagement Rings

An engagement ring is a ring worn by someone who is engaged to be married. When a partner proposes marriage or when a marriage proposal is approved, they give their prospective partner an engagement ring. It is a formal agreement to marry in the future.

Numerous couples want to personalize their engagement rings so that they can incorporate personal symbolism. For instance, many engagement rings will have Celtic motifs or engraved inscriptions to better express the couple's connection. Other couples would opt for birthstone engagement rings rather than diamond engagement rings. There are several approaches to capturing the beauty and elegance of an engagement ...

In 2022, the median age for the first wedding among women in the United States stood at 28.6 years. For men, the median age was 30.5 years. The median age of Americans at their first wedding has been steadily increasing for both men and women since 1998.

The percentage of births to unmarried women in the United States has more than doubled since 1980, reaching 40 percent in 2023. This significant shift in family structure reflects changing societal norms and demographic trends over the past four decades. The rise in births outside of marriage has implications for family dynamics, social support systems, and public policy. Age and ethnicity factors in birth rates While the overall percentage of births to unmarried women has stabilized around 40 percent in recent years, birth rates vary significantly across age groups and ethnicities. Unsurprisingly, in 2023, women between 20 and 34 years old had the highest birth rate at 83 births per 1,000 women, while teenagers aged 15 to 19 had the lowest rate at 8 births per 1,000 women. Additionally, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women had the highest fertility rate among all race/ethnicities in 2022, with approximately 2,237.5 births per 1,000 women, compared to the national average of 1,656.5 births per 1,000 women. Changing household structures The increase in births to unmarried women has contributed to evolving household structures in the United States. In 2023, there were approximately 15.18 million families with a single mother, a significant increase from previous decades. This trend aligns with the overall rise in births outside of marriage and suggests a growing need for support systems and policies that address the unique challenges faced by single-parent households.

In 2022, the divorce rate in the United States stood at *** per 1,000 of the population. Divorce in the U.S. Divorce is the termination of a marital union. In the United States, as in most other countries, it is a legal process in which a judge or another legal authority dissolves the bonds of matrimony existing between two persons. The process of divorce also normally involves issues surrounding distribution of property, financial support of the former spouse, child custody and child support. A divorce also allows a person to marry again.In the United States, divorce is, like marriage, a matter for state governments, not the federal government. Although divorce laws vary from state to state, for example on which terms a divorce can be arranged, a divorce must be certified by a court of law to become effective. A declining divorce rate Over the last couple of years, both the marriage rate and the divorce rate have been declining in the United States. As of 2009, the average length of a first marriage in the U.S. was ***** years, while the average length of a second marriage was about ** years.

In 2019, the death rate for all causes among married individuals in the U.S. was around 747 deaths per 100,000 population. In comparison, the death rate among those who were never married was around 1,423 per 100,000 population. This statistic depicts death rates for all causes among adults aged 25 years and older in the United States in 2010 and 2019, by marital status.

In 2023, there were about 15.09 million children living with a single mother in the United States, and about 3.05 million children living with a single father. The number of children living with a single mother is down from its peak in 2012, and the number of children living with a single father is down from its peak in 2005.

Marriage and divorce in the United States

Despite popular opinion in the United States that “half of all marriages end in divorce,” the divorce rate in the U.S. has fallen significantly since 1992. The marriage rate, which has also been decreasing since the 1990s, was still higher than the divorce rate in 2021. Half of all marriages may not end in divorce, but it does seem that fewer people are choosing to get married in the first place.

New family structures

In addition to a falling marriage rate, fewer people in the U.S. have children under the age of 18 living in the house in comparison to 1970. Over the past decade, the share of families with children under 18, whether that be married couples or single parents, has stayed mostly steady, although the number of births in the U.S. has also fallen.

According to the 2020 UNIDOMO questionnaire, Portugal clearly led the list of European countries with the highest divorce rate per 100 marriages. With 91.5 divorces the Portuguese Republic led the list, followed by Spain and Luxembourg. All three countries boast a significantly higher share than the other European countries, each reporting a divorce rate over 80 divorces.

A different way to look at Portugal

While Portugal clearly has the most divorces per 100 marriages, looking at divorce rates per 1.000 inhabitants in other European countries alters the picture of the country as one unsettled by significant numbers of divorces. With nearly 1.7 divorces per 1,000 inhabitants Portugal has roughly the same divorce rate as Germany and the Netherlands. Interesting is furthermore that although marriages in Portugal tend to result in divorce lightly more often as in Luxembourg (80.3%), the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg experienced a 0.6 point higher divorce rate.

What about the rest of the World?

While compared with Latin American countries like Guatemala or Peru, ranked among the countries with the lowest divorce rates in the world, Luxembourg’s divorce rate seems excessive. However, when compared with divorce rates (per 1.000 inhabitants) of countries like the United States (2.7) or China (3.5) divorce rates from Luxembourg and Europe are not out of the ordinary.

As of 2025, Sri Lanka had the lowest divorce rate in the world, with 0.15 divorces per 1,000 population. Vietnam and Guatemala followed with 0.2 divorces per 1,000 inhabitants.

The average American family in 2023 consisted of 3.15 persons. Families in the United States According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a family is a group of two people or more (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together; all such people (including related subfamily members) are considered as members of one family. As of 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau counted about 84.33 million families in the United States. The average family consisted of 3.15 persons in 2021, down from 3.7 in the 1960s. This is reflected in the decrease of children in family households overall. In 1970, about 56 percent of all family households had children under the age of 18 living in the household. This percentage declined to about 40 percent in 2020. The average size of a family household varies greatly from state to state. The largest average families can be found in Utah, California, and Hawaii, while the smallest families can be found in Wisconsin, Vermont and Maine.

Couples in the United States spend the most on weddings. As of 2019, a wedding in the United States cost on average 29.2 thousand U.S. dollars. Spain and Italy followed, with 23.4 thousand and 22.5 thousand U.S. dollars, respectively. The study is based on interviews of couples in 14 countries worldwide.

In 2022, about ** percent of male-male couples in the United States were White, compared to *** percent of gay couples who were Black or African American. Gay marriage in the United States In the mid-1990s, a majority of the U.S. population believed that same-sex couples should not be recognized by law, although this figure has been on the decline since then. In 2011, more than ** percent of Americans believed the opposite, saying that homosexual couples should be recognized by law. 2015 saw a spike in support, and on June 26 of that year, the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. Being LGBT in America The share of Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) has been on the rise since 2012 and it is estimated that there are about *********** same-sex couples in the U.S. Additionally, about **** of surveyed people in 2019 believe that one is born gay or lesbian – a significant increase from 1977, when only ** percent of respondents said the same.

The typical American picture of a family with 2.5 kids might not be as relevant as it once was: In 2023, there was an average of 1.94 children under 18 per family in the United States. This is a decrease from 2.33 children under 18 per family in 1960.

Familial structure in the United States

If there’s one thing the United States is known for, it’s diversity. Whether this is diversity in ethnicity, culture, or family structure, there is something for everyone in the U.S. Two-parent households in the U.S. are declining, and the number of families with no children are increasing. The number of families with children has stayed more or less constant since 2000.

Adoptions in the U.S.

Families in the U.S. don’t necessarily consist of parents and their own biological children. In 2021, around 35,940 children were adopted by married couples, and 13,307 children were adopted by single women.

In 2022, reported dowry death cases in India amounted to nearly *** thousand. This was a gradual decrease from the 2014, in which this number was approximately *** thousand. The dowry system in India incorporates payments in the form of capital, durable goods, real estate among others, made to the bridegroom from the family of the bride as a condition for marriage. The Hindu Succession Act Until its amendment in 2005, the Hindu Succession Act of 1956 was biased towards the male next of kin when it came to property inheritance. The amendment stated that women had right to their parents’ property irrespective of being married. However, in practice, the inheritance of the women is socially imparted to her as dowry in marriage leading to financial dependence on the husband or the in-laws. This economic handicap has hindered progress towards equality among men and women the most. To prevent the economic abuse of women, The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 was passed by the government which prohibits the giving or taking of dowry in India. How well are policies for women implemented? Domestic violence against women, assault, religious and cultural traditions are the predominant perpetrators of endangering women’s safety around the world. In 2018, India was the world’s most dangerous country for women. The general consensus regarding women’s safety suggested that the citizens of the country perceived the efforts to increase women’s safety as ineffective. Although public opinion about the central government’s policy is changing, the capital territory of the country was one of the most unsafe regions for women in India, thus questioning the effectiveness of the government regulations for women’s safety.