Does the Age You Get Married Impact Divorce Rates?

There are many factors in a marriage that can cause or contribute to a divorce. The truth is, the causes for divorces in the United States, like relationships, are very complicated. Even though the divorce rate in America has dropped, in large part due to the Millennial Generation, there are numerous reasons why married couples do not make it until death do they part – one of which is the age they got married.

All Marriages Require Hard Work

Unfortunately marriages do not last based solely on personal chemistry or physical attraction. When you choose to get married, you are vowing to love your partner for better or worse. No one gets married expecting to divorce. However, studies have shown that variables such as age, income, employment status, and education have significant impacts on U.S. marriages.

How Age, Income, and Education Affect Divorce

According to The Institute for Family Studies the ideal age to get married is in your late twenties, but why? When you decide to get married at an older age, your odds of divorce decline because at this stage in your life you usually have a higher education, a more stable job and are more established financially. With a higher level of education, your potential to earn more money is greater. Couples who experience more tension in their marriage from things such as a lack of money and maturity, frequently find themselves turning what were just thoughts of divorce into a reality.

The Divorce Rate Is Dropping Thanks to Millennials

Younger Americans are waiting much longer to get married. The national median marriage age as of 2011 for a woman’s first marriage was 27 years old, and for men was 29 years old; the highest median marriage age in decades for men and the highest ever for women. In 2005 the national median marriage age for a woman’s first marriage was 25 and for men was 27.

Many young folks have decided not to get married at all and choose instead other arrangements. It is much more common now, and many consider it more convenient, to move in with his or her partner without having to worry about the social pressures from society to get married first. With the average divorce happening about 12 years in to the marriage, we will have to wait and see if this recent generation of newlyweds will continue to keep their vows.