Cohabitation became a much more common way for American women to begin their first serious union between 1995 and 2010.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 48% of women ages 15 to 44 interviewed from 2006 through 2010 had lived with a male partner before marriage as their first union. The share was 43% in 2002 and 34% in 1995.
Marriage moved in the opposite direction. The percentage of women whose first union was marriage fell from 39% in 1995 to 23% in 2006 through 2010.
The study also found that first cohabiting relationships lasted longer than they had in the mid-1990s. They did not all follow the same path. Some led to marriage, some ended, and almost one-third were still continuing after three years.
Key Findings
- Cohabitation was the first union for 48% of women in 2006 through 2010, up from 34% in 1995.
- Marriage was the first union for 23% of women, down from 39% in 1995.
- The median first cohabitation lasted 22 months, compared with 13 months in 1995.
- After three years, 40% of first cohabitations had led to marriage, 32% remained intact and 27% had ended.
- By age 30, 74% of women had experienced premarital cohabitation.
- Pregnancy and marriage patterns differed sharply by age, education, race, Hispanic origin and place of birth.
Cohabitation Replaced Marriage As The Most Common First Union
The change between 1995 and 2010 was not small. Cohabitation moved from a less common first union to the most common one recorded in the survey.
| Survey Period | Cohabitation As First Union | Marriage As First Union | No Union By Interview |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 34% | 39% | 28% |
| 2002 | 43% | 30% | 27% |
| 2006 through 2010 | 48% | 23% | 29% |
A first union in the NCHS report means the first time a woman either married or began living with a male partner. Women who had done neither by the interview date were placed in the no-union group.
The figures describe how relationships began. They do not mean marriage disappeared. A large share of first cohabitations later became marriages.
Cohabitation Began Earlier For More Women
The probability of entering a first premarital cohabitation increased at every age measured by NCHS.
| Age | 1995 | 2002 | 2006 Through 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|
| By age 20 | 19% | 23% | 26% |
| By age 25 | 46% | 52% | 55% |
| By age 30 | 62% | 70% | 74% |
By age 20, more than one-quarter of women in the 2006 through 2010 survey had already cohabited. The proportion passed one-half by age 25 and reached nearly three-quarters by age 30.
The younger survey groups were also more likely to have cohabited by age 25 than older groups had been. Among women who were 25 to 29 at the time of the survey, 62% had cohabited by age 25. The figure was 47% among women ages 35 to 44.
Such generational difference shows that cohabitation was becoming more common among younger adults, rather than rising only because older women had accumulated more relationship experience.
First Cohabiting Relationships Lasted Longer
The median length of a first premarital cohabitation increased from 13 months in 1995 to 20 months in 2002 and 22 months in 2006 through 2010.
Median means half of the relationships lasted longer and half ended sooner. It should not be described as the average duration.
| Survey Period | Median Duration Of First Cohabitation | Median Duration When It Led To Marriage | Median Duration When It Ended |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 13 months | 14 months | 11 months |
| 2002 | 20 months | 19 months | 15 months |
| 2006 through 2010 | 22 months | 21 months | 18 months |
Relationships that were still intact at the interview date had a median duration of 32 months in 2006 through 2010. Cohabitations that later became marriages lasted a median of 21 months before marriage. Those that ended without marriage lasted 18 months.
What Happened Within The First Three Years
Cohabitation did not serve one single purpose for every couple.
Three years after a first premarital cohabitation began, 40% had transitioned to marriage. Another 32% were still intact without marriage, and 27% had ended.
| Outcome | After One Year | After Three Years |
|---|---|---|
| Still cohabiting | 67% | 32% |
| Married | 19% | 40% |
| Relationship ended | 14% | 27% |
Most first cohabitations were still continuing after one year. The picture changed by year three as more couples married or separated.
The data support two different descriptions of cohabitation. For some couples, living together was a stage before marriage. For others, it remained a longer-term relationship without marriage or ended before marriage occurred.
Education Was Closely Connected To Cohabitation Patterns
Women at every education level became more likely to cohabit before marriage, but the increase was not equal across groups.
Among women ages 22 to 44, 70% of those without a high school diploma or GED had cohabited as their first union in 2006 through 2010. The figure was 47% among women with a bachelor degree or higher.
| Education Level | Cohabitation As First Union | Median Duration | Married Within Three Years | Still Cohabiting After Three Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No high school diploma or GED | 70% | 30 months | 30% | 43% |
| High school diploma or GED | 62% | 24 months | 39% | 36% |
| Some college | 59% | 22 months | 40% | 32% |
| Bachelor degree or higher | 47% | 17 months | 53% | 20% |
Women with less education were more likely to begin their first union through cohabitation and tended to remain in that arrangement longer.
Women with bachelor degrees were less likely to have cohabited as their first union. When they did cohabit, their relationships were more likely to lead to marriage within three years.
The report does not prove that education caused those outcomes. Education is also connected to age, earnings, employment, financial security and the timing of marriage and childbearing.
Differences By Race, Hispanic Origin And Place Of Birth
The NCHS report found differences in the timing, duration and outcome of first cohabiting relationships.
By age 25, U.S.-born Hispanic women had the highest probability of having cohabited, at 65%. The probability was 57% among white women, 53% among foreign-born Hispanic women and 51% among Black women. Asian women had a considerably lower probability at 19%.
| Group | Cohabited By Age 25 | Median Duration | Married Within Three Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S.-born Hispanic women | 65% | 25 months | 31% |
| White women | 57% | 19 months | 44% |
| Foreign-born Hispanic women | 53% | 33 months | 42% |
| Black women | 51% | 27 months | 31% |
| Asian women | 19% | Not reported in the duration table | Not reported in the outcome table |
Foreign-born Hispanic women had the longest median first cohabitation at 33 months. White women had the shortest at 19 months.
Marriage within three years was more common among white women and foreign-born Hispanic women than among U.S.-born Hispanic and Black women.
Almost half of first cohabitations among foreign-born Hispanic women remained intact after three years. The figure was 41% for both U.S.-born Hispanic and Black women.
The survey presents associations, not explanations for each difference. Economic conditions, age, education, cultural expectations, immigration history and access to stable employment may overlap, but the tables did not control for all of those factors.
Pregnancy Became More Common During First Cohabitation
Nearly one in five women experienced a pregnancy during the first year of their first premarital cohabitation in 2006 through 2010.
The probability rose from 15% in 1995 to 18% in 2002 and 19% in 2006 through 2010.
An important limitation applies to those numbers. The NCHS report counted only pregnancies that ended in a live birth. Pregnancies ending in miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion were not included in this measure.
| Group | Pregnancy Leading To A Live Birth During The First Year |
|---|---|
| Foreign-born Hispanic women | 40% |
| U.S.-born Hispanic women | 24% |
| Black women | 24% |
| White women | 14% |
| Asian women | 13% |
Age and education differences were also large. Among women who began cohabiting before age 20, 25% experienced a pregnancy leading to a live birth during the first year. The figure was 8% among women who began cohabiting from age 30 through 44.
One-third of women without a high school diploma experienced a pregnancy during the first year. The probability was 5% among women with a bachelor degree or higher.
Cohabitation was also becoming a more common setting for childbirth. NCHS reported that 23% of recent births among women ages 15 to 44 occurred within cohabiting relationships in 2006 through 2010, up from 14% in 2002.
Pregnancy Was Less Likely To Be Followed Quickly By Marriage
Among women who became pregnant during their first premarital cohabitation, the probability of marrying within six months of the start of the pregnancy fell from 32% in 1995 to 19% in both 2002 and 2006 through 2010.
NCHS used six months as an approximate measure of marriage before the child was born.
| Survey Period | Married Within Six Months After Pregnancy Began |
|---|---|
| 1995 | 32% |
| 2002 | 19% |
| 2006 through 2010 | 19% |
Education again produced a large difference. Among women who became pregnant during cohabitation, 45% of those with a bachelor degree or higher married within six months. The figure was 15% among women without a high school diploma.
White women had a 28% probability of marriage within six months after the pregnancy began. The estimates for the other racial and Hispanic-origin groups ranged from 9% to 11%.
The findings show that pregnancy during cohabitation was becoming more common at the same time that pregnancy was becoming less likely to be followed by a rapid marriage.
Methodology And Limits Of The Data
The main findings come from National Health Statistics Report No. 64, published by NCHS on April 4, 2013.
The report was based primarily on interviews with 12,279 women from the 2006 through 2010 National Survey of Family Growth. Respondents were ages 15 to 44 and lived in U.S. households. Historical comparisons came from the 1995 and 2002 surveys.
- The study covered women and their cohabitation with male partners.
- The survey interviewed individuals, not both members of a couple.
- The dates 2006 through 2010 refer to the interview period. Individual relationships may have started earlier.
- Pregnancy estimates included only pregnancies that ended in live births.
- Education comparisons were generally limited to women ages 22 to 44.
- Some estimates used life-table methods to account for relationships still continuing at the interview date.
- The findings show statistical associations and do not prove that education, race or any other single characteristic caused a relationship outcome.
The overall survey response rate was 77%. The response rate among women was 78%.
Conclusion
The NCHS data document a clear change in how American women formed their first unions between 1995 and 2010.
Cohabitation became more common, direct entry into marriage became less common, and first cohabiting relationships lasted longer. By 2006 through 2010, almost half of women ages 15 to 44 had started their first union through cohabitation.
The outcomes were not uniform. Four in ten first cohabitations led to marriage within three years. Almost one-third continued without marriage, and slightly more than one-quarter ended.
Education, age, race, Hispanic origin and nativity were connected to large differences in when women began cohabiting, how long the relationship lasted, the probability of pregnancy and the chance that the union led to marriage.
The report captures an important stage in U.S. family change. By the end of the survey period, cohabitation was no longer an uncommon arrangement before marriage. It had become the most common way for women in the study to enter a first union.
References
- National Center for Health Statistics, First Premarital Cohabitation in the United States, 2006 Through 2010 National Survey of Family Growth, National Health Statistics Reports No. 64, April 4, 2013.
- National Center for Health Statistics, First Marriages in the United States, Data From the 2006 Through 2010 National Survey of Family Growth, National Health Statistics Reports No. 49, March 22, 2012.
