Love is in the air — but not everyone is in a pair.
About 46% of U.S. adults aged 20 and older are unmarried, and some cities have even higher populations of singles, according to a CBS News Data Team analysis of U.S. Census data.
For those looking for love, certain areas offer more opportunity. Among U.S. counties with at least 250,000 unmarried residents in this age group, Baltimore, Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania;, Suffolk County, Massachusetts (home to Boston) and New York County (which includes Manhattan) have the highest rates of unmarried adults.
The lowest rates of unmarried adults in this age group are found in Collin and Denton counties in Texas; Fairfax County, Virginia; DuPage County, Illinois; and Bergen County, New Jersey — where marriage appears to be more common.
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By age group
The majority of unmarried people are in their early twenties to thirties, with an increase among those in their mid-sixties too.
A Pew Research analysis of similar data found that for the first time in almost 20 years, the share of unpartnered adults in the U.S., married or unmarried, declined in 2023. And while there was not an increase in new marriages, there were slightly fewer divorces.
The Pew analysis also found that partnered adults tend to be slightly more financially secure. Some 64% of single adults said they were doing “at least okay” financially, compared with 77% of partnered adults.
By sex
Among unmarried men aged 20 and older, about 71% have never been married, higher than the 54% of women in the same category.
On the other hand, women were more likely to be divorced or widowed.
Higher rates of widowhood for women could be attributed to life expectancy. The average life expectancy for men in the U.S. is 74.8 years. For women, it’s 80.2 years, according to the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention.
