Number 49 n March 22, 2012

First Marriages in the United States: Data From the

2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth

by Casey E. Copen, Ph.D.; Kimberly Daniels, Ph.D.; Jonathan Vespa, Ph.D.;

and William D. Mosher, Ph.D., Division of Vital Statistics

Abstract

Objectives—This report shows trends and group differences in current

marital status, with a focus on first marriages among women and men aged

15–44 years in the United States. Trends and group differences in the timing and

duration of first marriages are also discussed. These data are based on the

2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). National estimates of

probabilities of first marriage by age and probabilities of separation and divorce

for women and men’s first marriages are presented by a variety of demographic

characteristics. Data are compared with similar measures for 1982, 1995, and

2002.

Methods—The analyses presented in this report are based on a nationally

representative sample of 12,279 women and 10,403 men aged 15–44 years in the

household population of the United States. The overall response rate for the

2006–2010 NSFG was 77%—78% for women and 75% for men.

Results—The percentage of women who were currently cohabiting (living

with a man in a sexual relationship) rose from 3.0% in 1982 to 11% in 2006–

2010; it was higher in some groups, including Hispanic groups, and the less

educated. In 2006–2010, women and men married for the first time at older ages

than in previous years. The median age at first marriage was 25.8 for women and

28.3 for men. Premarital cohabitation contributed to the delay in first marriage

for both women and men.

Keywords: union formation • divorce • cohabitation

before ever marrying (1,2). Current Introduction

estimates of divorce indicate that about

The timing and duration of first half of first marriages end in divorce marriages in the United States changed (2,3). Since 1973, the National Survey dramatically during the second half of

of Family Growth (NSFG) has collected the twentieth century, continuing into

data on factors affecting family the twenty-first century. People are

marrying for the first time at older ages, formation, growth, and dissolution—

and many adults cohabit with a partner including histories of marriage, divorce, 

and cohabitation; contraception,

sterilization, and infertility; pregnancy

outcomes; and births. This information

is gathered from women and men aged

15–44—the age range in which 99.7%

of all births occur (4). The NSFG is

jointly planned and funded by the

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for

Health Statistics (NCHS) and several

other programs of the U.S. Department

of Health and Human Services (see

‘‘Acknowledgments’’).

The NSFG contains a full marriage

history for both women and men;

however, the focus of the current report

is on first marriages. First, this report

presents the current marital status of

women and men in 2006–2010 by

selected demographic characteristics,

with comparisons to prior NSFG

surveys in 1982, 1995, and 2002 (2,5,6).

Second, this report shows trends and

group differences in the timing of first

marriage and the outcomes of these

marriages in the United States in

2006–2010 and compares these

estimates with the same NSFG surveys,

noted above. Tables that show the

cohabitation experiences of women and

men are also presented; however, more

detail on cohabitation will be covered in

a forthcoming report. Several specific

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

National Center for Health Statistics 
Page 2 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012

questions are addressed for women and

men (aged 15–44 except where noted):

+ What are the current marital and

cohabiting statuses of women and

men (Tables 1 and 2)?

+ How old are women and men aged

18–44 when they marry for the first

time (Tables 3 and 4)?

+ How long do first marriages last

(Tables 5–7)?

+ How are prior experiences with

cohabitation, marriage, and births

associated with how long first

marriages last (Tables 5–7)?

+ How long are women and men

separated from their first marriage

before divorce (Table 8)?

Background

Premarital cohabitation and

first marriage

Marriage is one of the primary

events during the transition to

adulthood. Despite high expectations

that they will eventually marry, many

young adults in the United States are

postponing first marriage (7). While

deferring marriage, many young adults

may choose to cohabit with a partner.

Cohabitation has increasingly become

the first coresidential union formed

among young adults in the United States

(8). Among women, 68% of unions

formed in 1997–2001 began as a

cohabitation rather than as a marriage

(8). If entry into any type of union,

marriage or cohabitation, is taken into

account, then the timing of a first union

occurs at roughly the same point in the

life course as marriage did in the past

(9). Given the place of cohabitation in

contemporary union formation,

descriptions of marital behavior,

particularly those concerning trends over

time, are more complete when

cohabitation is also measured.

Accordingly, this report contains data on

premarital cohabitation to measure its

association with the stability of first

marriage.

Divorce from first marriage

Demographers use a variety of

approaches to describe trends and group

differences in marital dissolution. One

such measure, the crude divorce rate, is

defined as the number of divorces per

1,000 people in the population. In 2009,

the national rate of divorce was 9.7 per

1,000 for women aged 15 and over and

9.2 per 1,000 for men aged 15 and over

(10). Although useful for describing

changes in divorce over time, the crude

divorce rate does not provide

information on the percentage of first

marriages that end in divorce. Another

method used to describe the rate of

divorce is to calculate how many first

marriages end within a given year, or

set of adjacent years. In the 1995

NSFG, this type of measure was used to

show that 50% of all women’s first

marriages end in separation or divorce

after 20 years (6). Similarly, the 2002

NSFG showed about one-third of men’s

first marriages ended in divorce after 10

years (2). There are many factors that

influence the likelihood of divorce from

a first marriage, including educational

attainment, employment status, and

premarital cohabitation (11).

The link between premarital

cohabitation and divorce

from first marriage

One of the factors related to the

likelihood of divorce from a first

marriage is whether or not a person

lives with a partner before marrying. It

has been well documented that women

and men who cohabit with their future

spouse before first marriage are more

likely to divorce than those who do not

cohabit with their spouse before first

marriage (12–14). However, recent

research suggests that the association

between premarital cohabitation and

marital instability for first marriages

may have weakened over time because

it is less apparent for more recent birth

cohorts (15,16). There are several

explanations posited for these findings.

First, cohabitation has been practiced

among individuals at both low and high

risk of marital disruption, thus may be

less predictive of a marital dissolution

than in the past (17). Second, the

decision to marry from cohabitation is

conditioned by the attitudes and

expectations of cohabitors toward

marriage, which vary by sex, race and

ethnicity, and socioeconomic status

(18–20).

The inclusion of cohabitation in this

report is intended to show the

relationship between premarital

cohabitation and the stability of first

marriages. However, the multivariate

models needed to disentangle the

complex relationship between premarital

cohabitation and the stability of first

marriages are beyond the scope of this

report.

Methods

Data source

The NSFG has been conducted

seven times by CDC’s NCHS: in 1973

and 1976 with samples of married and

formerly married women; in 1982, 1988,

and 1995 with samples of women of all

marital status categories; and in 2002

and 2006–2010 with national samples of

both women and men aged 15–44.

The 2006–2010 NSFG was based

on 22,682 face-to-face interviews—

12,279 with women and 10,403 with

men, aged 15–44 years in the household

population of the United States. The

sample design of the NSFG is based on

independent samples of women and

men, not on couples. Men and women

living on military bases or in institutions

were not included in the survey. The

sample did include persons temporarily

living away from the household in a

college dormitory, sorority, or fraternity

(21). The interviews were administered

in person by trained female interviewers

primarily in the respondents’ homes.

The 2006–2010 sample is a nationally

representative multistage area

probability sample drawn from 110

areas, or ‘‘Primary Sampling Units’’

(PSUs) across the country. To protect

the respondent’s privacy, only one

person was interviewed in each selected

household. In 2006–2010, persons aged

15–19 and black and Hispanic adults

were sampled at higher rates than
National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012 Page 3

others. The sample is designed to

produce national, not state, estimates.

All respondents were given written

and oral information about the survey

and were informed that participation

was voluntary. The response rate for the

2006–2010 NSFG was 77% overall and

78% for women and 75% for men. The

interviews lasted an average of about 80

minutes for women and 60 minutes for

men. More detailed information about

the methods and procedures of NSFG

and its sample design, weighting,

imputation, and variance estimation has

been published (21,22).

Demographic variables used

in this report

Demographic characteristics of

respondents in this report include: age,

education, whether the respondent lived

with both parents at age 14, the religion

in which the respondent was raised,

parity (number of children the woman

has had), number of biological children

(men), timing of first birth (before or

after first marriage), race and Hispanic

origin, and for Hispanics, whether they

were born in the United States or a

foreign country.

Using marital and cohabitation

histories, this report also shows statistics

on the transition to first marriage and

how long these marriages last. Statistics

are shown on first marriages and

premarital cohabitation involving

opposite-sex partners because the NSFG

does not have a large enough sample to

study same-sex relationships. The

variables included in this report from

these marital and cohabitation histories

are:

+ Dates when the first marriage began,

and if applicable, dates of separation

or divorce.

+ Premarital cohabitation experiences:

whether the respondent had ever

cohabited before first marriage,

whether they had cohabited with their

first spouse, and whether they were

engaged to their first spouse when

they began living together.

+ First spouse characteristics: Whether

they had previously married, whether

they had children from prior

relationships.

In this report, cohabitation histories

are included in some tables to provide a

more complete picture of the union

status experiences of U.S. women and

men. However, this report focuses on

cohabitation principally as a factor

affecting first marriages. A forthcoming

report using the 2006–2010 NSFG data

will focus specifically on cohabitation as

a dependent variable, or outcome of

interest.

The definition of Hispanic origin

and race used in this report takes into

account the reporting of more than one

race, in accordance with the 1997

guidelines from the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) (23).

For most tables in this report, separate

estimates are presented for single race

and for non-Hispanic respondents who

are black, white, or Asian. Hispanic

respondents, regardless of their racial

identification, are shown separately, and

where sample sizes permit, are

categorized by whether they were born

in the United States. For convenience in

writing, the term ‘‘black’’ or ‘‘nonHispanic black’’ will be used instead of

the full phrase, ‘‘non-Hispanic black or

African American, single race.’’

Similarly, the term ‘‘white’’ or ‘‘nonHispanic white’’ will be used instead of

the full phrase ‘‘non-Hispanic white,

single race.’’ Further technical details on

the demographic variables in this report

can be found in ‘‘Technical Notes’’ and

in earlier NSFG reports (2,5,6).

Statistical analysis

Life table methodology—One of the

principal goals of the NSFG is to collect

histories of the cohabitation, marriage,

and divorce experiences of women and

men aged 15–44. The probabilities on

first marriages shown in this report were

estimated using life table or survival

techniques. There have been numerous

studies using life table techniques to

study marriage and divorce, many using

the NSFG (2,5,6,15,24–26). Because the

NSFG is limited to women and men

aged 15–44 years, the lifetime marriage

and cohabitation histories are

incomplete. For respondents whose

union has not yet ended as of the date

of interview, the end date of the union is

unknown, and it is not known how long

the union will last. The duration of such

unions with unknown (or unmeasured)

ending dates is referred to in statistical

literature as ‘‘censored.’’

Life table analysis can handle

censored cases by keeping such cases in

the analysis as long as they are at risk

of experiencing the event and then

dropping them out once the risk is

unknown (27). For example, when

calculating the proportion of first

marriages that disrupt in each duration

interval, a marriage that has existed for

24 months and remains intact at

interview would remain in the

denominator for each duration interval

until 24 months of duration is reached;

after that, the case would no longer be

used in the calculations. A detailed

explanation of life table methodology

can be found in the 1995 and 2002

NSFG reports on cohabitation, marriage,

and divorce (2,5,6). In the description of

the results, probabilities are presented as

percentages, such as the percentage of

first marriages lasting 20 years.

The NSFG is primarily a survey

about childbearing and reproductive

health, so it is limited to women and

men aged 15–44. The data in this report

show the probability that a first

marriage will last up to 20 years, not the

probability that a first marriage will last

a lifetime. Because the NSFG samples

of women and men are limited to age

44, the women and men whose first

marriage survived to 20 years had to

marry for the first time by age 24.

Women and men who had longer

marriages were younger when they first

married. In turn, estimates of first

marriage toward longer durations are

biased toward the experiences of women

and men who married at younger ages.

Readers of this report should keep this

limitation in mind when interpreting

estimates of first marriage at longer

durations.

The life table analyses in this report

estimate the probabilities for women and

men that:
Page 4 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012

Table A. Sample sizes for first marriages among women aged 15–44 years, by race and ethnicity: United States, 2006–2010

Non- Non- NonHispanic, Hispanic, Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic

Sample Total U.S. born foreign born white black other

All women ................................ 12,279 1,446 1,277 6,156 2,412 988

Marriages

First marriages ............................. 5,534 501 778 3,145 699 411

First marriages that ended in .................... 2,047 196 248 1,140 332 131

Separation .............................. 405 49 84 132 114 26

Divorce ................................ 1,574 144 151 980 201 98

Death ................................. 68 3 13 28 17 7

NOTE: The numbers of non-Hispanic Asian women was sufficient to produce reliable estimates separately for the analysis of the interval until first marriage and the analysis of first marriage

disruption. There were N=448 non-Hispanic Asian women and N=217 first marriages to Asian women in the 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG).

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, NSFG, 2006–2010.

Table B. Sample sizes for first marriages among men aged 15–44 years, by race and ethnicity: United States, 2006–2010

Hispanic, Non- Non- NonHispanic, foreign Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic

Sample Total1 U.S. born born white black other

All men .................................. 10,403 1,268 1,138 5,275 1,752 967

Marriages

First marriages ............................. 3,734 317 542 2,045 491 339

First marriages that ended in .................... 1,236 112 121 714 199 90

Separation .............................. 214 20 37 93 50 14

Divorce ................................ 1,004 90 81 616 144 73

Death ................................. 18 2 3 5 5 3

1 There were N=3 cases who were Hispanic and were missing on nativity status, not show separately.

NOTE: The numbers of non-Hispanic Asian men was sufficient to produce reliable estimates separately for the analysis of the interval until first marriage, but not for the analysis of first marriage

disruption. There were N=447 non-Hispanic Asian men and N=156 first marriages to Asian men in the 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG).

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, NSFG, 2006–2010.

+ A first marriage will occur, by age at

first marriage (Tables 3 and 4).

+ A first marriage remains intact

(without separation or divorce)

(Tables 5–7).

+ A separation from first marriage will

result in divorce (Table 8).

Tables A and B present the sample

sizes for first marriages among women

and men by Hispanic origin and race

used in estimating the probability tables

in this report. The probability that a first

marriage would remain intact was based

on a sample of N=5,534 women and

N=3,734 men who had ever been

married. Sample sizes for the

cohabitation statuses of women and men

are shown in Table C.

Statistics for this report were

produced using SAS software, version

9.2 (http://www.sas.com). Probabilities

in this report were calculated using the

Kaplan-Meier procedure in the software

program SUDAAN 10 (http://

www.rti.org/sudaan). The Kaplan-Meier

procedure fits the Kaplan-Meier model,

or product-limit estimator, to estimate

the survival function for a given

population (28). This method takes

censored data and the NSFG’s complex

survey design into account. Significant

differences between probabilities were

tested using the PROC SURVIVAL

procedure in SUDAAN. Each table in

this report includes standard errors as a

measure of the precision of each point

estimate.

For frequency tables, the PROC

SURVEYFREQ procedure in SAS

produced the percentages that took into

account the complex sample design of

the NSFG. Significance of differences

among subgroups was determined by

standard two-tailed t-tests using

percentages and their standard errors.

No adjustments were made for multiple

comparisons. The difference between

any two estimates is mentioned in the

text only if it is statistically significant.

However, if a comparison is not made,

it may or may not be significant. When

statistics are described as ‘‘similar’’ or

‘‘no significant differences,’’ this

indicates that the estimates being

compared were not significantly

different. A weighted least squares

regression method was used to test the

significance of trends that involved

more than two time points.

In the following description, when

the percentage being cited is below

10%, the text will cite the exact

percentage to 1 decimal point. To make

reading easier and to remind the reader

that the results are based on samples

and subject to sampling error,

percentages above 10% will generally

be shown rounded to the nearest whole

percent. In this report, percentages are

not shown if the sample denominator is

less than 100 cases, or the numerator is

less than 5 cases. Effective sample sizes

of less than 100 cases are not shown for
National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012 Page 5

Table C. Sample sizes for cohabitation among ever-married women and men aged 15–44

years: United States, 2006–2010

Characteristic Women Men

First marriages ............................. 5,534 3,734

Ever cohabited before first marriage ................ 3,212 2,346

Cohabited premaritally with first spouse .............. 3,076 2,155

Yes, cohabited and engaged ................... 1,678 1,169

Yes, cohabited but not engaged ................. 1,389 970

NOTE: Total includes women and men with inconsistent data on dates of cohabitation and marriage, not shown separately.

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth, 2006–2010.

life table analyses. The ‘‘effective

sample size’’ is not an actual measure of

sample size, but rather is an estimate of

the population size at the midpoint of a

particular interval in a life table (5).

When a percentage or other statistic is

not shown for these reasons, the table

contains an asterisk (*) signifying that

the ‘‘statistic does not meet standards of

reliability or precision.’’ The numerators

and denominators are much larger for

most statistics presented in this report

(Tables A–C).

Results

Current marital and

cohabiting status

Trends in the current marital

statuses of women using the 1982, 1995,

2002, and 2006–2010 NSFG indicate

that the percentage of women who were

currently in a first marriage decreased

over the past several decades, from 44%

in 1982 to 36% in 2006–2010 (Table 1

and Figure 1). At the same time, the

percentage of women who were

currently cohabiting increased steadily

from 3.0% in 1982 to 11% in 2006–

2010. In addition, the proportion of

women aged 15–44 who were never

married at the time of interview

increased from 34% in 1982 to 38% in

2006–2010.

In 2006–2010, black women had

the highest percentage never married

(55%) followed by U.S-born Hispanic

(49%), Asian (39%), and white women

(34%). Asian (49%) and foreign-born

Hispanic women (46%) had the highest

proportions who were currently married

for the first time. Foreign-born Hispanic

women also showed the highest

percentage cohabiting (16%) compared

with 11% white women and 9.3% black

women.

The proportion of women who were

currently married for the first time

44 

3 

40 

7 

38 

9 

36 

11 

0 

20 

40 

60 

Currently married for the first time Currently cohabiting 

1982 

Confidence interval 

Percent 

SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth, 2006–2010. Table 1 in this report. 

1995 2002 2006–2010 

Figure 1. Current marital and cohabiting status among women 15–44 years of age,

United States: 1982, 1995, 2002, and 2006–2010

increased with greater educational

attainment from 37% among those

without a high school diploma or

General Educational Development high

school equivalency diploma (GED) to

58% among those with a bachelor’s

degree and 63% of those with a

master’s degree or higher. The

proportion of women who were

currently cohabiting decreased as

educational attainment increased. One in

five (20%) women without a high

school diploma or GED were currently

cohabiting, while roughly 1 in 14

women (6.8%) with a bachelor’s degree

were currently cohabiting.

Similar trends are shown for men in

the 2002 and 2006–2010 NSFG. U.S.­

born Hispanic (56%) and black (55%)

men had the highest proportion

never-married, followed by Asian (49%)

and white (44%) men (Table 2). Asian

(45%) and foreign-born Hispanic (42%)

men had the highest proportion currently

in their first marriage of all racial

groups. Cohabiting unions were most

prevalent for foreign-born Hispanic men

(20%), followed by U.S.-born Hispanic

(15%), black (13%), and white men

(10%). Men with a bachelor’s degree

were more likely to be currently married

for the first time (49%), and less likely

to be currently cohabiting (9.6%) than

men with less than a high school

education (38% currently married for

the first time and 27% were currently

cohabiting). Men with a bachelor’s

degree (49%) were also more likely to

be currently married for the first time

than men with a high school diploma or

GED (41%), but there was no difference

by current cohabiting status between the

two groups (9.6% and 13%,

respectively). Sixty-six percent of men

with a master’s degree or higher were

currently married for the first time.

Age at first marriage

Next, this report presents the

median age at first marriage, and the

probability of first marriage for women

and men by ages 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40

years (Tables 3 and 4). The median age

at first marriage was 25.8 for women

and 28.3 for men in 2006–2010

(Figure 2). Because relatively few

women and men were married before
Page 6 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012

0.0 

0.2 

0.4 

0.6 

0.8 

1.0 

Men 

Women 

Probability 

20 25 30 35 

Age (years) 

SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth, 2006–2010. Tables 3 and 4 in this report. 

Median age 25.8 

Median age 28.3 

Figure 2. Probability of first marriage by specified age among women and men 18–44

years of age: United States, 2006–2010

age 18 in 2006–2010 (4% of women

and 1% of men), the samples for

Tables 3 and 4 are limited to those aged

18 and over.

The first rows of data show trends

in the probability of first marriage for

women from 1995 to 2006–2010

(Table 3). The probabilities show a

postponement of first marriage, but not

an abandonment of marriage, by these

ages. In 2006–2010, the probability of

first marriage by age 25 was 44% for

women compared with 59% in 1995, a

decrease of 25%. By age 35, the

probability of first marriage was 84% in

1995 compared with 78% in 2006–2010,

a significant decrease of 7%. By age 40,

the difference in the probability of age

at first marriage for women was not

significant between 1995 (86%) and

2006–2010 (84%). These findings

suggest that between 1995 and 2006–

2010, women married for the first time

at older ages; however, this delay was

not apparent by age 40. As shown in

Figure 3, the probability of first

marriage by age 40 was virtually the

same for women in 1995, 2002, and

2006–2010.

The probability of first marriage by

age 25 for women varies across

subgroups. Looking at Hispanic origin

0.0 

0.2 

0.4 

0.6 

0.8 

1.0 

Probability 

20 25 30 35 40 

Age (years) 

SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth, 2006–2010. Table 3 in this report. 

1995 

2002 

2006–2010 

Figure 3. Probability of first marriage, by specified age among women 18–44 years of age:

United States, 1995, 2002, and 2006–2010

and race, foreign-born Hispanic (56%)

and white (48%) women had the highest

probabilities of first marriage by age 25,

while black (24%) women had the

lowest. Foreign-born Hispanic women

had a higher probability of marrying for

the first time by age 25 (56%) than

U.S.-born Hispanic women (43%).

Women with a high school diploma had

a higher probability of first marriage by

age 25 (53%) compared with women

who had a bachelor’s degree (37%).

Women who grew up in ‘‘Other

religions’’ had a higher probability of

first marriage by age 25 (51%) than

women who reported growing up with

no religious affiliation (37%). Women

with a premarital first birth had a lower

probability of first marriage by age 25

(31%) compared with women who had a

birth after first marriage (50%). Women

who had ever cohabited before their first

marriage had a lower probability of

marrying by age 25 (38%) than women

who did not cohabit before their first

marriage (53%).

Compared with age 25, there were

some notable differences in the

probability of first marriage for women

by age 35. Asian (85%), white (84%),

and foreign-born Hispanic (80%)

women had virtually the same

probability of first marriage by age 35,

followed by U.S.-born Hispanics (68%)

women; however, black women were

still the least likely to marry by this age

compared with all other race groups

(58%). By age 35, women with a

bachelor’s degree (84%) had a higher

probability of marriage than women

with a high school diploma (78%). The

probability of first marriage by age 35

was not significantly different for

women who had or had not ever

cohabited (77% and 80%, respectively).

Men marry for the first time at

older ages than women; thus, the

probability of first marriage for men by

age 35 is discussed next (Table 4).

Similar to women, the delay in first

marriage until older ages was seen by

age 35, but not by age 40. Looking at

the probability of first marriage by

Hispanic origin and race, Asian (80%)

and white (74%) men had the highest

probabilities of first marriage by age 35,
National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012 Page 7

while black (61%) and U.S.-born

Hispanic (60%) men had the lowest.

The probability of first marriage by age

35 was not significantly different

between U.S.-born Hispanic (60%) and

foreign-born Hispanic (68%) men. There

was also no difference in the probability

of first marriage by age 35 between men

with a bachelor’s degree (73%) and men

with a high school diploma (71%). Men

who grew up in ‘‘Other religions’’ had a

higher probability of first marriage by

age 35 (84%) compared with men who

reported growing up with no religious

affiliation (62%). Men who fathered a

premarital birth had a lower probability

of first marriage by age 35 (58%)

compared with men who did not father

a premarital birth (75%). Similar to the

trend seen for women, men who had or

had not ever cohabited before first

marriage had the same probability of

first marriage by age 35 (70% and 71%,

respectively).

Duration of first marriage

The next two tables present

statistics on the duration of first

marriages for women and men (Tables 5

and 6). Similar to the 1995 NSFG, the

sample sizes of women and men in

2006–2010 were large enough to

provide marriage duration estimates up

to 20 years (6). These statistics do not

describe the probability that a first

marriage will last a lifetime. Also, the

estimates of first marriage at longer

durations represent women and men

who married at younger ages. For

example, women and men whose

marriages lasted at least 20 years were

married at age 24 or younger.

In 2006–2010, the probability of a

first marriage lasting at least 10 years

was 68% for women and 70% for men.

Looking at 20 years, the probability that

the first marriages of women and men

will survive was 52% for women and

56% for men in 2006–2010. These

levels are virtually identical to estimates

based on vital statistics from the early

1970s (24). For women, there was no

significant change in the probability of a

first marriage lasting 20 years between

the 1995 NSFG (50%) and the 2006–

2010 NSFG (52%) (Table 5). The

remainder of first marriages that ended

within a 20-year period were dissolved

by divorce, separation, or rarely, by

death.

Looking at Hispanic origin and

race, Asian women (69%) and foreignborn Hispanic men (70%) had the

highest probability of first marriages

lasting 20 years (Figure 4; Tables 5 and

6). Black women (37%) had the lowest

chances of first marriages lasting 20

0.0 

0.2 

0.4 

0.6 

0.8 

1.0 

Probability 

5 10 15 20 

Duration in years 

SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth, 2006–2010. Table 5 in this report. 

0.84 

0.73 

0.64 

0.53 

0.80 

0.68 

0.61 

0.54 

0.72 

0.56 

0.45 

0.37 

0.91 

0.83 

0.78 

Hispanic 0.69 

White 

Asian 

Black 

Figure 4. Probability that a first marriage will remain intact (without disruption) for up to

20 years among women 15–44 years of age by Hispanic origin and race: United States,

2006–1010

years, significantly lower than for white

women (54%). There was no significant

difference in the probability of first

marriage lasting 20 years between white

(54%) and black (53%) men. Foreignborn Hispanic women and men (56%

and 70%, respectively) had higher of

probabilities of their marriage lasting 20

years compared with U.S.-born Hispanic

women and men (47% and 48%,

respectively).

Looking at other background

characteristics, women and men who

married in the teen years (i.e., before

age 20) had a lower probability of a

first marriage reaching the 20th

anniversary than those who married at

age 20 or over. Women and men who

lived with both biological parents at age

14 had a higher probability of a first

marriage lasting 20 years compared with

those who lived in other family living

arrangements. The probability of their

first marriage lasting at least 20 years

was highest among women who

reported they were raised in ‘‘Other

religions’’ (65%), followed by women

who reported being raised Catholic

(53%), Protestant (50%), and ‘‘None’’

(43%).

Figure 5 shows the probability of a

first marriage remaining intact up to 20

years among women and men aged

22–44 by educational attainment. Higher

education increased the probability of

survival of first marriage, particularly

for women. Women with at least a

bachelor’s degree had a higher

probability of a first marriage lasting 20

years (78%), compared with 49% among

women with some college, and 41%

among women with a high school

diploma. Men with at least a bachelor’s

degree had a higher probability of their

first marriage lasting 20 years (65%),

compared with 54% among men with

some college, and 47% among men with

a high school diploma.

Women who had no births when

they married for the first time had a

higher probability of their marriage

surviving 20 years (56%) compared with

women who had one or more births at

the time of first marriage (33%).

Similarly, men with no biological

children at the time of first marriage

(59%) had a higher probability of their
Page 8 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012

0.0 

0.2 

0.4 

0.6 

0.8 

1.0 

Women Men 

SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth, 2006–2010. Tables 5 and 6 in this report. Probability

0.39 

0.54 

0.41 

0.47 0.49 

0.54 

0.78 

0.65 

Less than 

high school 

High school 

diploma 

Some 

college 

Bachelor's 

degree 

Figure 5. Probability that a first marriage will remain intact (without disruption) for 20

years among women and men 22–44 years of age by education: United States, 2006–2010

first marriage lasting 20 years compared

with men who had one or more

biological children at the time of first

marriage (43%).

The timing of the first birth also

influenced the duration of first marriage

for women and men. Due to sample size

limitations, these estimates are discussed

at 15 years duration. Women who gave

birth to their first child 8 months or

more after they began their first

marriage had a higher probability (77%)

of their marriages reaching 15 years,

compared with 50% for women who

had no first birth during their first

marriage, 48% for women who had a

premarital conception (i.e., first birth

0–7 months after marriage) and 44% for

women who had a premarital first birth.

In a similar pattern, men whose first

child was born 8 months or more after

their first marriage had a higher

probability of their marriage lasting 15

years (78%), compared with men whose

first child was born 0–7 months after

marriage (55%), men who had no

children before marriage (52%), and

men whose first child was born before

first marriage (48%).

Premarital cohabitation and

characteristics of first

spouse

Next, premarital cohabitation

experiences and the characteristics of

first husbands and wives are shown in

relation to the duration of first marriages

up to 20 years (Table 7). Table C and

‘‘Technical Notes’’ provide information

on the sample sizes and question

wording associated with this table.

About 57% of ever-married women and

60% of ever-married men cohabited

prior to their first marriage and most

cohabitors lived with their first

spouse—96% of women and 93% of

men.

Table 7 distinguishes women and

men who had cohabited with their first

spouse prior to marriage and those who

had not cohabited premaritally with their

first spouse. This table also shows the

probability of first marriage survival

among women and men by engagement

status with their first spouse. The

question in the NSFG asks about

engagement status with first spouse

when they began living together, not at

other times during the cohabitation.

Fifty-five percent of women and 54% of

men were engaged or had definite plans

to marry their first spouse when the

cohabitation began.

There were no significant

differences in the probability of a

marriage’s survival by whether women

and men were engaged to their first

spouse when they began cohabiting.

Looking at 20 years duration, women

who had never cohabited with their first

husband before marriage had a higher

probability of marriage survival (57%),

compared with women who had

cohabited with their first spouse before

marriage, regardless of whether they

were engaged when they began living

together (46% and 45%, respectively).

In contrast, men who had never

cohabited with their first wife before

marriage (60%) and men who had

cohabited with their first wife before

marriage and were engaged when they

began living together (57%) had

virtually the same probability that their

first marriage would last 20 years,

followed by men who had cohabited

with their first wife but were not

engaged (49%).

Looking at spousal characteristics,

women whose first husbands had been

previously married (38%) had a lower

probability of their first marriage lasting

20 years compared with women whose

first husband had never been married

before (54%). Women whose first

husband had children from previous

relationships had a lower probability

that their first marriage would last 20

years (37%) compared with first

husbands who had no other children

(54%).

For men, probabilities of first

marriage survival by whether his first

wife had been previously married or had

children from other relationships could

not be shown for all groups at 20 years

duration. However, patterns of first

marriage survival for men by these

characteristics are similar to those

shown for women for marriages that

survived up to 15 years.

The transition from

separation to divorce from

first marriage

One method to obtain information

about the length of time between

separation and divorce from first

marriage is to calculate the median

duration between these two events. For

women, the median time from

separation to divorce from first marriage

was 9 months for white women, 15

months for Hispanic women, and 18.5

months for black women (data not

shown). For men, the median time from

separation to divorce from first marriage

was 7 months for white men, 11 months
National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012 Page 9

for Hispanic men, and 18 months for

black men (data not shown).

Another method used to measure

the duration between separation and

divorce from first marriage is to

calculate the probabilities that a

separation makes the transition to

divorce. As shown in Table 8, most

separated women and men made the

transition to divorce from first marriage

within 5 years. Among women, about

one-half were divorced from a first

marriage within 1 year of separation,

79% within 3 years, and 86% of women

within 5 years. Among men, 65% were

divorced within 1 year, 81% within 3

years, and 87% within 5 years.

There were significant differences

in the probability of transitioning from

separation to divorce from first marriage

within 1 year by selected demographic

characteristics. Within 1 year, the

probability of making the transition

from separation to divorce was 59% for

white women, compared with 44% for

U.S.-born Hispanic women, 40% for

foreign-born Hispanic women, and 30%

for black women. Sixty-nine percent of

white men had made the transition from

separation to divorce within 1 year,

compared with 51% of foreign-born

Hispanic men, 44% of U.S.-born

Hispanic men, and 36% of black men.

Women (58%) and men (66%) with

more than a high school diploma were

more likely to make the transition to

divorce within 1 year compared with

37% of women and 54% of men

without a high school diploma. Finally,

women with no births at the time of

separation were more likely to divorce

from their first marriage within 1 year

(68%) compared with women who had

one or more births at the time of

separation (45%). There was no

significant difference in the probability

of divorce within 1 year among men

with no biological children (64%) and

men with 1 or more children (61%) at

the time of separation.

Conclusion

The data in this report from the

2006–2010 NSFG provide an update on

patterns of first marriage among women

and men aged 15–44 in the United

States. These data show trends that are

consistent with broad demographic

changes in the American family that

have occurred in the United States over

the last several decades. One such trend

is an increase in the time spent

unmarried among women and men. For

women, there was a continued decrease

in the percentage currently married for

the first time—and an increase in the

percent currently cohabiting—in

2006–2010 compared with earlier years.

For men, there was also an increase in

the percentage unmarried and in the

percentage currently cohabiting between

2002 and 2006–2010. Another trend is

an increase in the age at first marriage

for women and men, with men

continuing to marry for the first time at

older ages than women. For women and

men, the probabilities of first marriage

by ages 20, 25, 30, and 35 were lower

in 2006–2010 than in previous NSFG

years, but this decline was no longer

apparent by age 40. Premarital

cohabitation contributed to the delay in

first marriage for both women and men.

Other trends are evinced by the

detailed marriage histories in the NSFG,

which provide information on how long

first marriages last. The probability of a

first marriage reaching its 20th

anniversary was 52% for women and

56% for men in 2006–2010. These

levels are consistent with those reported

in the NSFG in previous years, and in

vital statistics data three decades ago

(2,5,6,24).

Women and men who cohabited

with their first spouse and were engaged

when they began living together had

about the same probability of marriage

survival at 20 years as women and men

who had cohabited with their first

spouse, but were not engaged when they

began living together. However, women

who cohabited with their first

husband—regardless of whether they

were engaged when they began living

together—had lower probabilities of

marriage survival at 20 years than

women who did not cohabit before

marriage with their first husband. In

contrast, men who were engaged with

their first wife when they began

cohabiting had about the same

probability of marriage survival at 20

years as men who did not cohabit before

marriage with their first wife. These sex

distinctions may exist because of

differences in the meaning of

cohabitation for women and men (18).

Also, the plans for marriage may have

shifted during the course of cohabitation

(29). However, the NSFG only asks

about engagement status or definite

plans to marry when the cohabitation

began.

An important contribution of the

NSFG to the study of first marriage is

the collection of a wide range of

demographic characteristics, such as

Hispanic origin and race, education, and

fertility. The large sample sizes of the

2006–2010 NSFG for women and men

compared with previous years provide

more reliable data on the patterns of

marriage and divorce by race and

ethnicity, including the Hispanic

population by whether they were born in

the United States. Foreign-born Hispanic

women had a higher probability of

marrying for the first time by age 25

than U.S.-born Hispanic women.

Similarly, foreign-born Hispanic women

and men had higher probabilities of

their first marriage lasting up to 20

years duration compared with U.S.-born

Hispanic women and men. Black

women had a lower probability of their

first marriage lasting 20 years compared

with white women. In contrast, there

was no significant difference between

black and white men in the probability

of a first marriage lasting 20 years. The

differences in stability of first marriage

across racial, ethnic, and nativity groups

can be attributed to a host of

demographic factors, such as age at first

marriage, region of residence, and

educational attainment (30–33).

Previous research suggests that

women with more education and better

economic prospects are more likely to

delay first marriage to older ages, but

are ultimately more likely to become

married and to stay married (19,20,33).

Data from the 2006–2010 NSFG support

these findings: women with a bachelor’s

degree or higher had a lower probability

of first marriage by age 25 than women

with less education. However, women

with a bachelor’s degree or higher were

less likely to be currently cohabiting and

were more likely to be currently married

for the first time compared with women
	 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	 

 

 

 

 

 

	 

 

 

 

 

 

	 

 

 

 

 

 

	 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	 

 

 

	 

 

 

 

	 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page 10	 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012

with less education. Women with a 

bachelor’s degree also had a higher 

probability of their first marriage lasting 

20 years compared with women who 

had some college or women with a high 

school diploma. 

Finally, differences in the timing 

and duration of first marriages in the 

context of births were evident. Women 

who had a premarital birth and men 

who fathered a birth before their first 

marriage had lower probabilities of 

marrying by age 25 compared with 

women and men who had a first birth 

after first marriage. Similarly, women 

who had a first birth before first 

marriage and men who fathered a 

premarital first birth had a lower 

probability of their first marriage lasting 

20 years than women and men whose 

first birth came after their first marriage. 

These findings support other research 

that show the rise in premarital births is 

associated with the decoupling of 

marriage and fertility over the past 

several decades (34). 

This report is intended to provide 

benchmark statistics on first marriage by 

a wide variety of demographic 

characteristics and to encourage 

researchers to consider these factors 

when studying marital outcomes. The 

NSFG is a rich source of data for the 

study of marriage and cohabitation, and 

it is hoped the findings presented here 

will prompt studies that will yield new 

insights into marriage and cohabitation 

and their effect on adults and children in 

the United States. 

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PR. The relationship between 

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WD, Bergstrom-Lynch CA. He says, 

she says: Gender and cohabitation. J 

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keep: Why poor women put 

motherhood before marriage. 

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KE, Groves RM, Van Hoewyk J. The 

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JM, Kirgis NM. Planning and 

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series/sr_03/sr03_019.pdf.

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patterns and the risk of divorce in

second marriages.J Marriage Fam

70:294–305. 2008.

26. Raley RK, Bumpass L. The

topography of the divorce plateau:

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after 1980. Demogr Res 8:245–60.

2003.

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SAS Institute, Inc. 1995.

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observations.J Am Stat Assoc

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the stability of first cohabitations.J

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31. Sweeney M, Phillips J.

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Page 12 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012

Table 1. Current marital status among women aged 15–44 years, by selected characteristics: United States, 1982, 1995, 2002, and

2006–2010

In a Union Nonunion

Second or

Number in First higher Never Formerly

Characteristic thousands Total marriage marriage Cohabiting married married

All women1 Percent distribution (standard error)

1982............................... 54,099 100.0 44.1 (0.9) 8.1 (0.5) 3.0 (0.3) 33.5 (0.9) 11.3 (0.6)

1995............................... 60,201 100.0 39.9 (0.6) 9.3 (0.3) 7.0 (0.3) 33.4 (0.6) 10.3 (0.3)

2002............................... 61,561 100.0 37.5 (0.9) 8.5 (0.6) 9.0 (0.4) 35.0 (0.8) 9.9 (0.5)

2006–2010 ........................... 61,755 100.0 36.4 (0.8) 5.1 (0.4) 11.2 (0.5) 38.2 (0.9) 9.2 (0.4)

Total 2006–2010

Age at interview:

15–19 years .......................... 10,478 100.0 1.1 (0.3) – – 4.8 (0.6) 94.1 (0.7) – –

15–17 years......................... 5,837 100.0 0.3 (0.2) – – 0.8 (0.3) 99.0 (0.4) – –

18–19 years......................... 4,641 100.0 2.1 (0.5) – – 9.8 (1.4) 88.1 (1.5) – –

20–24 years .......................... 10,365 100.0 17.3 (1.7) * 18.7 (1.5) 60.8 (2.0) 2.9 (0.6)

25–44 years .......................... 40,912 100.0 50.3 (1.0) 7.6 (0.5) 10.9 (0.6) 18.1 (0.7) 13.1 (0.6)

25–29 years......................... 10,535 100.0 42.3 (1.8) 2.2 (0.4) 16.8 (1.3) 31.3 (1.7) 7.4 (0.9)

30–34 years......................... 9,188 100.0 53.7 (1.7) 5.6 (0.8) 12.1 (1.1) 18.1 (1.2) 10.5 (1.1)

35–39 years......................... 10,538 100.0 55.9 (1.7) 8.7 (1.1) 7.8 (0.8) 13.0 (1.1) 14.6 (1.1)

40–44 years......................... 10,652 100.0 49.6 (1.9) 13.6 (1.3) 7.2 (0.8) 10.2 (1.0) 19.4 (1.4)

Hispanic origin and race

Hispanic or Latina ...................... 10,474 100.0 35.9 (1.2) 4.2 (0.8) 15.1 (1.0) 35.5 (1.1) 9.3 (0.8)

U.S. born .......................... 5,369 100.0 26.2 (2.0) 3.2 (0.7) 14.0 (1.3) 49.3 (1.9) 7.4 (0.8)

Foreign born ........................ 5,104 100.0 46.0 (1.7) 5.4 (1.3) 16.3 (1.5) 20.9 (1.6) 11.4 (1.2)

Not Hispanic or Latina:

White, single race ..................... 37,384 100.0 40.2 (1.0) 5.9 (0.5) 10.7 (0.7) 34.3 (1.2) 8.9 (0.6)

Black or African American, single race ........ 8,451 100.0 21.3 (1.7) 2.7 (0.6) 9.3 (0.9) 55.1 (1.5) 11.6 (0.9)

Asian, single race ..................... 2,456 100.0 48.5 (3.5) 4.2 (1.5) 3.5 (1.3) 38.7 (3.3) 5.2 (1.7)

Education2

No high school diploma or GED .............. 6,844 100.0 36.6 (1.8) 7.7 (1.4) 20.2 (1.4) 19.1 (1.7) 16.5 (1.4)

High school diploma or GED ................ 11,578 100.0 39.5 (1.6) 9.2 (1.1) 15.5 (1.0) 20.3 (1.3) 15.6 (1.2)

Some college, no bachelor’s degree ........... 13,702 100.0 42.1 (1.6) 7.4 (0.7) 11.6 (1.0) 26.4 (1.4) 12.6 (1.0)

Bachelor’s degree ...................... 11,024 100.0 58.3 (1.6) 3.3 (0.6) 6.8 (0.9) 25.5 (1.4) 6.1 (0.7)

Master’s degree or higher.................. 4,059 100.0 63.0 (2.4) 4.4 (1.1) 5.5 (1.2) 20.1 (1.9) 7.0 (1.6)

Parental living arrangements at age 14

Two biological or adoptive parents ............ 40,463 100.0 40.6 (1.0) 5.2 (0.5) 9.5 (0.6) 36.7 (1.1) 8.0 (0.5)

Other3.............................. 21,291 100.0 28.3 (1.2) 5.0 (0.6) 14.4 (0.8) 41.0 (1.3) 11.3 (0.7)

Parity

No births ............................ 27,401 100.0 17.0 (1.0) 1.3 (0.3) 9.3 (0.7) 69.1 (1.1) 3.2 (0.4)

One or more births ...................... 34,353 100.0 51.8 (1.1) 8.1 (0.6) 12.7 (0.7) 13.5 (0.8) 13.9 (0.6)

– Quantity zero. 

* Figure does not meet standards of reliability or precision. 1

Includes women of other or multiple race and origin groups and those with missing information on nativity, not shown seperately. 2

Limited to women aged 22–44 years of age at time of interview. GED is General Educational Development high school equivalency diploma. 3

Refers to anything other than two biological or adoptive parents, including single parent, stepparent, and no parents. 

NOTE: Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding. 

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth (1982, 1995, 2002, and 2006–2010). 
National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012 Page 13

Table 2. Current marital status among men aged 15–44 years, by selected characteristics: United States, 2002 and 2006–2010

In a Union Nonunion

Second

Number in First or higher Never Formerly

Characteristic thousands Total marriage marriage Cohabiting married married

All men1 Percent distribution (standard error)

2002............................... 61,147 100.0 35.0 (1.1) 7.2 (0.6) 9.2 (0.6) 41.6 (1.2) 7.0 (0.5)

2006–2010 ........................... 62,128 100.0 32.8 (0.8) 4.8 (0.5) 12.2 (0.6) 45.0 (0.9) 5.2 (0.4)

Total 2006–2010

Age at interview:

15–19 years .......................... 10,816 100.0 0.3 (0.2) – – 2.3 (0.4) 97.3 (0.5) *

15–17 years......................... 6,623 100.0 – – – – 0.3 (0.2) 99.7 (0.2) – –

18–19 years......................... 4,193 100.0 0.7 (0.5) – – 5.5 (1.0) 93.5 (1.1) *

20–24 years .......................... 10,394 100.0 11.3 (1.8) * 15.0 (1.7) 72.6 (2.0) 0.8 (0.2)

25–44 years .......................... 40,917 100.0 46.8 (1.1) 7.3 (0.7) 14.0 (0.7) 24.2 (1.0) 7.7 (0.6)

25–29 years......................... 10,758 100.0 32.8 (1.8) 1.4 (0.5) 19.5 (1.5) 43.1 (1.8) 3.1 (0.5)

30–34 years......................... 9,228 100.0 50.9 (2.3) 5.2 (1.0) 15.0 (1.4) 22.0 (1.7) 7.0 (0.8)

35–39 years......................... 10,405 100.0 54.1 (1.9) 7.9 (1.1) 12.3 (1.3) 16.0 (1.3) 9.7 (1.2)

40–44 years......................... 10,526 100.0 50.2 (2.4) 14.6 (1.8) 9.4 (1.1) 14.8 (1.4) 11.1 (1.2)

Hispanic origin and race

Hispanic or Latino ...................... 11,847 100.0 31.7 (1.3) 3.2 (0.6) 17.6 (1.4) 42.0 (1.5) 5.4 (0.7)

U.S. born .......................... 5,741 100.0 20.5 (1.7) 3.1 (0.9) 14.8 (1.9) 55.8 (2.2) 5.8 (1.0)

Foreign born ........................ 6,100 100.0 42.3 (2.1) 3.3 (0.8) 20.3 (1.9) 29.1 (2.2) 5.0 (1.0)

Not Hispanic or Latino:

White, single race ..................... 37,283 100.0 34.3 (1.1) 5.9 (0.7) 10.3 (0.7) 44.0 (1.3) 5.6 (0.6)

Black or African American, single race ........ 7,341 100.0 24.2 (1.4) 2.7 (0.6) 12.8 (1.4) 55.1 (2.1) 5.2 (0.6)

Asian, single race ..................... 2,406 100.0 44.7 (3.6) 1.9 (1.1) 3.4 (0.9) 49.4 (3.2) 0.7 (0.3)

Education2

No high school diploma or GED .............. 9,004 100.0 37.7 (2.2) 5.8 (1.2) 26.6 (1.9) 23.3 (1.9) 6.7 (0.8)

High school diploma or GED ................ 12,068 100.0 40.6 (1.7) 8.3 (1.0) 12.6 (1.1) 28.6 (1.5) 9.9 (1.1)

Some college, no bachelor’s degree ........... 13,206 100.0 37.8 (1.8) 7.2 (1.1) 14.1 (1.3) 34.7 (1.8) 6.3 (0.8)

Bachelor’s degree ...................... 8,924 100.0 48.6 (2.3) 4.1 (1.0) 9.6 (1.1) 32.9 (2.4) 4.7 (0.8)

Master’s degree or higher.................. 3,857 100.0 65.7 (2.8) 4.2 (1.6) 5.0 (1.3) 20.7 (2.5) 4.3 (1.2)

Parental living arrangements at age 14

Two biological or adoptive parents ............ 43,070 100.0 35.5 (0.9) 4.6 (0.5) 11.0 (0.6) 44.2 (1.1) 4.7 (0.4)

Other3.............................. 19,058 100.0 26.4 (1.1) 5.4 (0.9) 14.9 (1.0) 46.8 (1.4) 6.5 (0.6)

Number of biological children

No children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34,307 100.0 13.3 (1.0) 0.8 (0.2) 9.4 (0.7) 74.1 (1.1) 2.4 (0.3)

One or more children .................... 27,821 100.0 56.7 (1.3) 9.8 (0.9) 15.6 (1.0) 9.1 (0.6) 8.7 (0.6)

– Quantity zero. 

* Figure does not meet standards of reliability or precision. 1

Includes men of other or multiple race and origin groups and those with missing information on nativity, not shown separately. 2

Limited to men aged 22–44 years at time of interview. GED is General Educational Development high school equivalency diploma. 3

Refers to anything other than two biological or adoptive parents, including single parent, stepparent, and no parents. 

NOTE: Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding. 

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth (2002 and 2006–2010). 
Page 14 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012

Table 3. Probability of first marriage among women aged 18–44 years, by specified age and selected characteristics: United States, 1995,

2002, and 2006–2010

Probability of first marriage by age

Number in

Characteristic thousands 20 SE 25 SE 30 SE 35 SE 40 SE

All women1

1995............................... 54,705 0.25 0.006 0.59 0.007 0.76 0.006 0.84 0.005 0.86 0.006

2002............................... 55,742 0.17 0.007 0.52 0.011 0.73 0.010 0.81 0.009 0.86 0.010

2006–2010 ........................... 55,918 0.13 0.007 0.44 0.012 0.68 0.011 0.78 0.010 0.84 0.009

Total 2006–2010

Age at interview:

18–24 years .......................... 15,006 0.07 0.009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25–44 years .......................... 40,912 0.15 0.008 0.46 0.01 0.69 0.011 0.79 0.010 0.84 0.009

25–29 years .......................... 10,535 0.12 0.012 0.40 0.019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

30–34 years......................... 9,188 0.12 0.012 0.43 0.020 0.68 0.016 . . . . . . . . . . . .

35–39 years......................... 10,538 0.17 0.013 0.50 0.018 0.71 0.014 0.81 0.012 . . . . . .

40–44 years......................... 10,652 0.19 0.016 0.51 0.021 0.72 0.018 0.80 0.015 0.86 0.012

Hispanic origin and race

Hispanic or Latina ...................... 9,302 0.20 0.012 0.50 0.019 0.66 0.017 0.75 0.019 0.81 0.021

U.S. born .......................... 4,386 0.15 0.016 0.43 0.032 0.57 0.031 0.68 0.037 0.76 0.041

Foreign born ........................ 4,916 0.25 0.018 0.56 0.018 0.72 0.018 0.80 0.022 0.85 0.017

Not Hispanic or Latina:

White, single race ..................... 34,240 0.14 0.009 0.48 0.016 0.74 0.013 0.84 0.011 0.89 0.011

Black or African American, single race ........ 7,534 0.05 0.007 0.24 0.015 0.47 0.023 0.58 0.022 0.64 0.024

Asian, single race ..................... 2,272 0.07 0.023 0.37 0.039 0.74 0.047 0.85 0.040 0.94 0.029

Education2

No high school diploma or GED .............. 6,844 0.27 0.021 0.50 0.022 0.66 0.024 0.72 0.023 0.77 0.026

High school diploma or GED ................ 11,578 0.22 0.014 0.53 0.019 0.70 0.016 0.78 0.015 0.82 0.016

Some college, no bachelor’s degree ........... 13,702 0.14 0.010 0.47 0.018 0.68 0.017 0.77 0.018 0.82 0.017

Bachelor’s degree ...................... 11,024 0.03 0.005 0.37 0.020 0.70 0.021 0.84 0.018 0.89 0.016

Master’s degree or higher.................. 4,059 0.02 0.006 0.29 0.029 0.63 0.025 0.78 0.026 0.88 0.025

Parental living arrangements at age 14

Both biological or adoptive parents ............ 36,999 0.13 0.007 0.45 0.013 0.70 0.012 0.80 0.011 0.86 0.010

Other3.............................. 18,918 0.15 0.012 0.43 0.017 0.65 0.018 0.73 0.016 0.78 0.016

Religion raised

None .............................. 5,082 0.11 0.015 0.37 0.026 0.63 0.030 0.74 0.030 0.78 0.029

Protestant ........................... 26,770 0.15 0.009 0.46 0.017 0.69 0.014 0.78 0.014 0.82 0.014

Catholic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,569 0.12 0.011 0.42 0.015 0.68 0.014 0.78 0.014 0.85 0.016

Other religions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,400 0.13 0.021 0.51 0.039 0.74 0.032 0.83 0.030 0.89 0.026

First birth occurred before first marriage

Yes ............................... 15,162 0.07 0.007 0.31 0.012 0.51 0.015 0.61 0.018 0.69 0.019

No4 ............................... 40,756 0.16 0.009 0.50 0.015 0.76 0.012 0.86 0.009 0.90 0.009

Ever cohabited before first marriage

Cohabited before first marriage .............. 29,476 0.10 0.007 0.38 0.012 0.65 0.012 0.77 0.012 0.84 0.011

Did not cohabit before first marriage ........... 26,442 0.17 0.011 0.53 0.017 0.73 0.016 0.80 0.014 0.83 0.016

. . . Category not applicable. 1

Includes women of other or multiple race and origin groups, and those with missing data on nativity, not shown separately. 2

Limited to women aged 22–44 years at time of interview. GED is General Educational Development high school equivalency diploma. 3

Refers to anything other than two biological or adoptive parents, including single parent, stepparent, and no parents. 4

Includes women who never had a live birth. 

NOTE: SE is standard error. 

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth (1995, 2002, and 2006–2010). 
National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012 Page 15

Table 4. Probability of first marriage among men aged 18–44 years, by specified age and selected characteristics: United States, 2002

and 2006–2010

Probability of first marriage by age

Number in

Characteristic thousands 20 SE 25 SE 30 SE 35 SE 40 SE

All men1

2002............................... 55,399 0.08 0.009 0.36 0.013 0.61 0.015 0.75 0.013 0.81 0.012

2006–2010 ........................... 55,504 0.05 0.004 0.31 0.011 0.56 0.013 0.71 0.013 0.78 0.013

Total 2006–2010

Age at interview:

18–24 years .......................... 14,587 0.03 0.006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25–44 years .......................... 40,917 0.05 0.005 0.32 0.011 0.57 0.013 0.71 0.013 0.78 0.013

25–29 years......................... 10,758 0.05 0.006 0.26 0.018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

30–34 years......................... 9,228 0.04 0.009 0.31 0.017 0.56 0.019 . . . . . . . . . . . .

35–39 years......................... 10,405 0.04 0.008 0.32 0.020 0.59 0.022 0.74 0.018 . . . . . .

40–44 years......................... 10,526 0.08 0.012 0.39 0.024 0.61 0.022 0.73 0.020 0.79 0.018

Hispanic origin and race

Hispanic or Latino ...................... 10,676 0.07 0.007 0.31 0.015 0.52 0.021 0.65 0.022 0.78 0.033

U.S. born .......................... 4,820 0.06 0.011 0.27 0.022 0.46 0.030 0.60 0.043 0.73 0.055

Foreign born ........................ 5,851 0.07 0.011 0.33 0.022 0.56 0.026 0.68 0.025 0.81 0.031

Not Hispanic or Latino:

White, single race ..................... 33,497 0.04 0.006 0.34 0.015 0.60 0.016 0.74 0.016 0.79 0.017

Black or African American, single race ........ 6,356 0.03 0.006 0.20 0.019 0.44 0.030 0.61 0.027 0.71 0.028

Asian, single race ..................... 2,153 0.01 0.005 0.12 0.035 0.56 0.043 0.80 0.042 0.87 0.030

Education2

No high school diploma or GED .............. 9,008 0.12 0.014 0.38 0.020 0.53 0.024 0.65 0.026 0.72 0.030

High school diploma or GED ................ 1,930 0.06 0.008 0.35 0.019 0.56 0.020 0.71 0.021 0.77 0.021

Some college, no bachelor’s degree ........... 2,036 0.03 0.005 0.30 0.020 0.55 0.023 0.69 0.024 0.77 0.027

Bachelor’s degree ...................... 8,924 0.02 0.006 0.25 0.022 0.58 0.026 0.73 0.022 0.80 0.028

Master’s degree or higher.................. 3,857 0.01 0.004 0.23 0.032 0.63 0.034 0.81 0.028 0.86 0.026

Parental living arrangements at age 14

Both biological or adoptive parents ............ 39,022 0.04 0.005 0.32 0.013 0.58 0.016 0.72 0.014 0.79 0.015

Other3.............................. 16,482 0.06 0.009 0.30 0.015 0.51 0.018 0.67 0.020 0.75 0.021

Religion raised

None .............................. 5,661 0.04 0.011 0.29 0.033 0.51 0.031 0.62 0.037 0.69 0.039

Protestant ........................... 25,302 0.05 0.007 0.36 0.016 0.59 0.017 0.73 0.018 0.79 0.017

Catholic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,347 0.04 0.005 0.26 0.012 0.53 0.018 0.68 0.019 0.76 0.021

Other religions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,054 0.04 0.006 0.30 0.038 0.60 0.034 0.84 0.040 0.88 0.033

First child’s birth occurred before first marriage

Yes ............................... 11,459 0.03 0.006 0.23 0.016 0.42 0.020 0.58 0.022 0.70 0.027

No4 ............................... 44,045 0.05 0.005 0.34 0.013 0.61 0.014 0.75 0.014 0.80 0.014

Ever cohabited before first marriage

Cohabited before first marriage .............. 28,561 0.04 0.005 0.28 0.011 0.53 0.014 0.70 0.014 0.79 0.016

Did not cohabit before first marriage ........... 26,943 0.05 0.006 0.36 0.018 0.60 0.019 0.71 0.021 0.75 0.021

. . . Category not applicable. 1

Includes men of other or multiple race and origin groups, and those with missing data on nativity, not shown separately. 2

Limited to men aged 22–44 years at time of interview. GED is General Educational Development high school equivalency diploma. 3

Refers to anything other than two biological or adoptive parents, including single parent, stepparent, and no parents. 4

Includes men who never had a biological child. 

NOTE: SE is standard error. 

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth (2002 and 2006–2010). 
Page 16 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012

Table 5. Probability that a first marriage will remain intact (survive) at specified durations among women aged 15–44 years, by selected

characteristics: United States, 1995, 2002, and 2006–2010

Probability of survival after

Number in 5 10 15 20

Characteristic thousands years SE years SE years SE years SE

All women1

1995............................... 37,521 0.80 0.006 0.67 0.007 0.57 0.009 0.50 0.010

2002............................... 35,849 0.78 0.008 0.64 0.015 * * * *

2006–2010 ........................... 32,904 0.80 0.009 0.68 0.012 0.60 0.015 0.52 0.020

Total 2006–2010

Hispanic origin and race

Hispanic or Latina ...................... 5,412 0.84 0.017 0.73 0.020 0.64 0.024 0.53 0.027

U.S. born .......................... 2,065 0.77 0.031 0.67 0.033 0.55 0.042 0.47 0.041

Foreign born ........................ 3,348 0.87 0.018 0.76 0.023 0.68 0.029 0.56 0.038

Not Hispanic or Latina:

White, single race ..................... 21,703 0.80 0.011 0.68 0.014 0.61 0.017 0.54 0.027

Black or African American, single race ........ 3,134 0.72 0.030 0.56 0.036 0.45 0.044 0.37 0.057

Asian, single race ...................... 1,438 0.91 0.031 0.83 0.044 0.78 0.055 0.69 0.075

Age at first marriage

Under 20 years ........................ 6,874 0.70 0.021 0.54 0.024 0.46 0.023 0.37 0.026

20–24 years .......................... 14,166 0.81 0.012 0.69 0.017 0.60 0.021 0.55 0.025

25 years and over ...................... 11,863 0.86 0.011 0.78 0.018 0.73 0.022 * *

Education2

No high school diploma or GED .............. 4,524 0.76 0.020 0.60 0.025 0.53 0.030 0.39 0.050

High school diploma or GED ................ 8,078 0.75 0.019 0.60 0.024 0.51 0.028 0.41 0.033

Some college, no bachelor’s degree ........... 9,007 0.76 0.017 0.63 0.022 0.54 0.025 0.49 0.029

Bachelor’s degree ...................... 7,511 0.90 0.012 0.85 0.015 0.79 0.022 0.78 0.027

Master’s degree or higher.................. 3,066 0.88 0.023 0.82 0.027 0.78 0.035 * *

Parental living arrangements at age 14 years

Both biological or adoptive parents ............ 22,707 0.83 0.010 0.73 0.013 0.66 0.018 0.58 0.022

Other3.............................. 10,197 0.73 0.016 0.57 0.022 0.47 0.029 0.38 0.042

Religion raised

None .............................. 2,495 0.73 0.033 0.61 0.041 0.58 0.042 0.43 0.074

Protestant ........................... 15,738 0.77 0.012 0.65 0.016 0.56 0.021 0.50 0.026

Catholic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,215 0.84 0.014 0.73 0.016 0.63 0.024 0.53 0.034

Other religions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,390 0.86 0.023 0.75 0.032 0.68 0.037 0.65 0.046

Parity at time of first marriage

No births ............................ 25,234 0.82 0.009 0.71 0.013 0.64 0.015 0.56 0.020

One or more births ...................... 7,670 0.74 0.018 0.56 0.025 0.44 0.031 0.33 0.044

First birth timing relative to first marriage

No first birth .......................... 6,164 0.72 0.026 0.56 0.034 0.50 0.038 * *

Birth before marriage .................... 7,670 0.74 0.018 0.56 0.025 0.44 0.031 0.33 0.044

Birth during marriage:

0–7 months after. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,188 0.76 0.031 0.55 0.042 0.48 0.043 0.41 0.047

8 or more months after .................. 14,320 0.93 0.008 0.85 0.013 0.77 0.017 0.68 0.025

* Figure does not meet standards of reliability or precision. 1

Includes women of other or multiple race and origin groups and those with missing information on nativity, not shown separately. 2

Limited to women aged 22–44 years at time of interview. GED is General Educational Development high school equivalency diploma. 3

Refers to anything other than two biological or adoptive parents, including single parent, stepparent, and no parents. 

NOTE: SE is standard error. 

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth (1995, 2002, and 2006–2010). 
National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012 Page 17

Table 6. Probability that a first marriage will remain intact (survive) at specified durations among men aged 15–44 years, by selected

characteristics: United States, 2002 and 2006–2010

Probability of survival after

Number in 5 10 15 20

Characteristic thousands years SE years SE years SE years SE

All men1

2002 ........................................ 30,972 0.78 0.008 0.66 0.009 * * * *

2006–2010 .................................... 28,094 0.81 0.012 0.70 0.014 0.62 0.016 0.56 0.026

Total 2006–2010

Hispanic origin and race

Hispanic or Latino ................................ 5,073 0.82 0.020 0.73 0.022 0.67 0.025 0.62 0.022

U.S. born .................................... 1,813 0.76 0.046 0.62 0.051 0.55 0.061 0.48 0.057

Foreign born .................................. 3,259 0.86 0.019 0.78 0.024 0.73 0.027 0.70 0.030

Not Hispanic or Latino:

White, single race. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,813 0.82 0.015 0.70 0.019 0.61 0.021 0.54 0.035

Black or African American, single race .................. 2,567 0.75 0.023 0.64 0.035 0.55 0.042 0.53 0.044

Age at first marriage

Under 20 years.................................. 2,438 0.66 0.055 0.48 0.056 0.46 0.056 0.41 0.062

20–24 years.................................... 11,709 0.81 0.016 0.70 0.019 0.60 0.022 0.54 0.036

25 years and over ................................ 13,947 0.84 0.012 0.76 0.017 0.68 0.023 * *

Education2

No high school diploma or GED ....................... 5,024 0.79 0.028 0.66 0.033 0.56 0.036 0.54 0.039

High school diploma or GED ......................... 7,446 0.80 0.019 0.66 0.028 0.54 0.033 0.47 0.047

Some college, no bachelor’s degree..................... 7,209 0.76 0.021 0.64 0.027 0.57 0.030 0.54 0.036

Bachelor’s degree ............................... 5,255 0.87 0.019 0.80 0.024 0.75 0.028 0.65 0.083

Master’s degree or higher ........................... 2,912 0.90 0.027 0.88 0.029 0.83 0.040 * *

Parental living arrangements at age 14

Both biological or adoptive parents...................... 20,423 0.84 0.011 0.74 0.015 0.66 0.018 0.60 0.029

Other3 ....................................... 7,671 0.75 0.025 0.60 0.027 0.49 0.032 0.44 0.039

Religion raised

None ........................................ 2,420 0.79 0.037 0.68 0.040 0.54 0.062 * *

Protestant ..................................... 13,375 0.80 0.016 0.67 0.018 0.58 0.021 0.53 0.030

Catholic ...................................... 9,392 0.83 0.019 0.74 0.023 0.67 0.026 0.59 0.048

Other religions .................................. 2,850 0.83 0.032 0.73 0.049 0.72 0.053 * *

Number of biological children at time of first marriage

No children .................................... 22,250 0.83 0.013 0.74 0.016 0.65 0.019 0.59 0.030

One or more children .............................. 5,843 0.74 0.030 0.55 0.032 0.48 0.033 0.43 0.050

Timing of first child’s birth relative to first marriage

No first birth ................................... 5,948 0.73 0.030 0.63 0.035 0.52 0.050 * *

Birth before marriage .............................. 5,843 0.74 0.030 0.55 0.032 0.48 0.033 0.43 0.050

Birth during marriage:

0–7 months after ............................... 2,645 0.78 0.034 0.68 0.043 0.55 0.062 0.42 0.099

8 or more months after ........................... 12,262 0.95 0.009 0.86 0.016 0.78 0.023 0.74 0.031

* Figure does not meet standards of reliability or precision. 1

Includes men of other or multiple race and origin groups and those with missing information on nativity, not shown separately. 2

Limited to men aged 22–44 years at time of interview. GED is General Educational Development high school equivalency diploma. 3

Refers to anything other than two biological or adoptive parents, including single parent, stepparent, and no parents. 

NOTE: SE is standard error. 

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth (2002 and 2006–2010). 
Page 18 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012

Table 7. Probability that a first marriage will remain intact (survive) at specified durations among women and men aged 15–44 years, by

cohabitation status and selected partner characteristics: United States, 2006–2010

Probability of survival after

Characteristic

Number in

thousands

5

years SE

10

years SE

15

years SE

20

years SE

Women

Total 2006–2010 ................................... 32,904 0.80 0.009 0.68 0.012 0.60 0.015 0.52 0.020

Cohabited with and engaged to first husband before marriage1

Yes, cohabited and engaged ............................

Yes, cohabited but not engaged ..........................

No, did not cohabit with first husband ......................

9,855

8,062

14,954

0.81

0.78

0.80

0.016

0.016

0.013

0.67

0.61

0.71

0.022

0.026

0.015

0.58

0.53

0.63

0.030

0.033

0.017

0.46

0.45

0.57

0.040

0.051

0.026

First husband ever married before this marriage

Yes ...........................................

No ............................................

4,498

28,379

0.75

0.81

0.026

0.009

0.62

0.69

0.031

0.013

0.53

0.61

0.036

0.015

0.38

0.54

0.058

0.020

First husband had any children from previous

relationships when they married

Yes ...........................................

No ............................................

5,425

27,428

0.72

0.82

0.021

0.009

0.57

0.70

0.027

0.013

0.48

0.62

0.032

0.016

0.37

0.54

0.048

0.022

Men

Total 2006–2010 ................................... 28,094 0.81 0.012 0.70 0.014 0.62 0.016 0.56 0.026

Cohabited with and engaged to first wife before marriage1

Yes, cohabited and engaged ............................

Yes, cohabited but not engaged ..........................

No, did not cohabit with first wife .........................

8,386

7,062

12,492

0.81

0.79

0.82

0.016

0.024

0.018

0.71

0.66

0.73

0.021

0.032

0.021

0.63

0.55

0.65

0.024

0.042

0.025

0.57

0.49

0.60

0.037

0.063

0.036

First wife ever married before this marriage

Yes ...........................................

No ............................................

3,342

24,459

0.76

0.82

0.032

0.014

0.59

0.72

0.045

0.016

0.50

0.64

0.053

0.018

*

0.58

*

0.029

First wife had any children from previous

relationships when they married

Yes ...........................................

No ............................................

4,487

23,311

0.72

0.84

0.029

0.012

0.55

0.74

0.039

0.014

0.39

0.67

0.047

0.017

*

0.61

*

0.028

* Figure does not meet standards of reliability or precision. 1

See ‘‘Technical Notes’’ for question wording on engagement status among women and men who indicated that they had a premarital cohabitation with their first spouse. 

NOTE: SE is standard error. 

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth, 2006–2010. 
National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012 Page 19

Table 8. Probability that a separation from a first marriage transitions to a divorce among women and men aged 15–44 years, by

duration of separation and selected characteristics, United States, 1995, 2002, and 2006–2010

Probability of divorce within

Number in

Characteristic thousands 1 year SE 3 years SE 5 years SE

All women1

1995 ................................... 12,947 0.54 0.013 0.84 0.009 0.91 0.007

2006–2010................................ 9,876 0.53 0.027 0.79 0.023 0.86 0.016

Women 2006–2010

Hispanic origin and race

Hispanic or Latina ........................... 1,530 0.42 0.042 0.64 0.043 0.75 0.037

U.S. born ............................... 632 0.44 0.059 0.72 0.051 * *

Foreign born ............................. 898 0.40 0.046 0.58 0.055 0.69 0.056

Not Hispanic or Latina

White, single race .......................... 6,410 0.59 0.024 0.87 0.015 0.92 0.011

Black or African American, single race ............. 1,228 0.30 0.044 0.60 0.050 0.67 0.050

Age at time of separation

Under 25 years ............................. 3,889 0.53 0.027 0.79 0.027 0.86 0.022

25 years and over ........................... 5,988 0.51 0.027 0.80 0.018 0.86 0.015

Education2

No high school diploma or GED................... 1,881 0.37 0.040 0.61 0.034 0.72 0.035

High school diploma or GED..................... 3,304 0.52 0.035 0.79 0.028 0.87 0.020

More than high school diploma or GED .............. 4,613 0.58 0.023 0.87 0.015 0.91 0.013

Parity at time of separation

No births ................................. 2,949 0.68 0.035 0.86 0.023 0.90 0.020

One or more births. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,927 0.45 0.027 0.77 0.021 0.84 0.016

All men1

2002 ................................... 9,137 0.65 0.008 0.90 0.004 0.92 0.003

2006–2010................................ 7,402 0.65 0.033 0.81 0.004 0.87 0.022

Men 2006–2010

Hispanic origin and race

Hispanic or Latino ........................... 1,137 0.47 0.054 0.77 0.048 0.92 0.031

U.S. born ............................... 572 0.44 0.086 0.75 0.010 0.83 0.073

Foreign born ............................. 565 0.51 0.097 0.65 0.009 0.69 0.073

Not Hispanic or Latino:

White, single race .......................... 4,952 0.69 0.033 0.88 0.005 0.91 0.016

Black or African American, single race ............. 738 0.36 0.053 0.46 0.015 0.64 0.048

Age at time of separation

Under 25 years ............................. 1,881 0.61 0.045 0.85 0.006 0.86 0.034

25 years and over ........................... 5,521 0.62 0.033 0.82 0.005 0.87 0.020

Education2

No high school diploma or GED................... 1,468 0.54 0.047 0.69 0.004 0.80 0.044

High school diploma or GED..................... 2,483 0.61 0.041 0.61 0.008 0.83 0.029

More than high school diploma or GED .............. 3,416 0.66 0.035 0.88 0.006 0.91 0.019

Number of biological children at time of separation

No children ............................... 2,657 0.64 0.039 0.85 0.008 0.89 0.025

One or more children ......................... 4,745 0.61 0.032 0.79 0.005 0.85 0.022

* Figure does not meet standards of reliability or precision. 1

Includes persons of other or multiple race and origin groups and those with missing information on nativity, not shown separately. 2

Limited to women and men aged 22–44 years at time of interview. GED is General Educational Development high school equivalency diploma. 

NOTE: SE is standard error. 

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth (1995, 2002, and 2006–2010). 
Page 20 National Health Statistics Reports n Number 49 n March 22, 2012

Technical Notes

Definition of terms

Further details on the variables used

in this report are provided in previous

NSFG reports. See, for example,

Bramlett MD, Mosher WD.

Cohabitation, marriage, divorce, and

remarriage in the United States. National

Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health

Stat 23(22). 2002.

Age at event (marriage,

separation)—For women and men, age

at time of the event was calculated as

the number of months between the

date of birth (CMBIRTH) and the date

of the event, divided by 12 and

truncated to the integer value. The

recode FMAR1AGE was used for age

at first marriage.

Age at interview—The recode

AGER was used for the respondent’s

age at the time of interview.

Children fathered—Dates of birth of

the male respondent’s biological

children (DATBABY1, biodob02–10)

were compared with the date of an

event (marriage, separation) to

determine how many biological children

he had fathered at the time of an event.

Cohabited before first marriage—

Cohabitation relative to first marriage

was based on a recode COHSTAT.

Cohabited with first spouse before

first marriage—The recode COHSTAT

indicates whether the respondent

cohabited at all before first marriage.

Using COHSTAT in conjunction with a

raw variable for whether the respondent

cohabited premaritally with the first

spouse, a variable was defined for

cohabitation with first spouse before

they were married.

Education—Educational attainment

at time of interview was based on a

recode HIEDUC indicating the highest

degree earned by the respondent. The

tables in this report show data by

education only for respondents aged

22–44 at interview because a large

percentage of respondents aged 15–21

may still be attending school. Where

possible, ‘‘Bachelor’s degree’’ and

‘‘Master’s degree or higher’’ were

shown separately. For the duration

between separation and divorce,

categories of education beyond high

school were collapsed to ‘‘More than

high school diploma or GED’’ due to

small sample sizes.

Engaged to first spouse before first

marriage—Women and men who

cohabited premaritally with their first

spouse were asked the question ‘‘At the

time you began living together, were you

and [he/she] engaged to be married or

have definite plans to get married?’’

Respondents who answered ‘‘yes’’ were

classified as being engaged at the time

of cohabitation. Those respondents who

indicated ‘‘no’’ were classified as not

being engaged at the time of

cohabitation.

Hispanic origin and race—The

recode HISPRACE2 used in this report

conforms with the 1997 OMB

classification standards for Hispanic

origin and race in federal surveys (23).

The 1997 guidelines allow respondents

to report more than one race or ethnic

origin. In this report, the categories

Hispanic, Non-Hispanic white, and

Non-Hispanic black are shown. The

category of ‘‘Asian, single race’’ is also

shown in some tables. Non-Hispanic

members of other races, and those

reporting two or more race or origin

groups, are not shown separately in this

report because of small sample sizes.

Interval to first marriage—For the

probability of first marriage, duration

was calculated as the number of months

between the 15th birthday and the date

of first marriage using the recodes

CMBIRTH and MARDAT01.

Marital and cohabitation status at

time of interview—The recode

RMARITAL was used for the

respondent’s current marital status.

Marital disruption or

dissolution—Disruption and dissolution

are used interchangeably and are defined

in this report as either separation or

divorce. Widowhood is very rare in the

age range for the sample and is not

defined as disruption.

Marital duration—For the

probability that a first marriage

remained intact, the duration of marriage

was calculated as the number of months

between the first marriage date and the

date of separation or divorce, or

alternatively, between first marriage date

and the date of interview, if censored by

the interview. First marriages that ended

in widowhood or are still intact at the

time of interview were considered

censored because the time that the first

marriage would have lasted is unknown.

The recode variables used to define

marital duration were MARDAT01 and

MARDIS01.

Nativity—In this report, Hispanics

are classified by whether the respondent

was born in the United States (‘‘U.S.

born’’) or born outside of the United

States (‘‘foreign born’’) using the

variable BRNOUT. Having been born

‘‘in the United States’’ was defined in

the NSFG as including the 50 states,

Washington, D.C., and U.S. possessions

and territories such as Puerto Rico,

Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This

definition was read aloud to the

respondent only if they asked the

interviewer for clarification.

Parental living arrangements at age

14—The recode PARAGE14 indicates

the presence and relationship to the

respondent of male and female parents

or parental figures living in the

household when the respondent was age

14. This variable is presented with two

categories, both biological or adoptive

parents and other parental situation or a

nonparental situation.

Parity—The recode PARITY

indicates the number of live-born

children the women has ever had. The

number of children a woman had at the

time of an event (parity at marriage,

parity at separation) was calculated from

her children’s dates of birth (DATEND

recodes for live births), compared with

dates of the event.

Religion raised—All NSFG

respondents were asked current religious

affiliation and the religion in which they

were raised. The 1995 NSFG report on

marriage showed religion at the time of

interview (6). For the current report, the

tables show the religion in which the

respondent was raised (RELRAISD) to

avoid temporal problems associated with

current religious affiliation and the

likelihood of marriage or divorce,

particularly for younger respondents.

The NSFG User’s Guide (Part 2),

‘‘Religion Data in the NSFG’’ provides
National Health Statistics Reports

n Number 49n March 22, 2012 Page 21

more information about the religion

variable used in this report (35).

Separation—Separation from first

spouse was defined as the date when the

husband and wife stopped living

together for the last time. The

probability thata separation from first

marriage will transition to divorce was

measured by the interval between the

date of separation from first marriage

and the date of divorce. Women and

men who were separated from their first

marriage but not divorced at the time of

interview were censored at interview.

The recode MARDIS01 is computed

using raw variables that measure the

date of separation and the date of

divorce. For respondents who reporteda

date of separation that was greater than

the date of divorce, the time interval

until divorce was set to 0.

Spouse’s children from previous

relationships—For women, the raw

variable kidshx was used to determine

whether her first husband had any

children from previous relationships. For

men, whether the first wife had any

children from previous relationships was

drawn from one of these variables that

indicate previous childbearing

experience of his wives (cwpotkid,

pxotkid, pxotkid2, pxotkid3, fwpotkid).

Spouse’s former marital

experience—For women, the raw

variable marbefhx was used to

determine whether her first husband had

ever been married before. For men, the

first wife’s former marital status was

drawn from one of these variables that

corresponded with marital experience of

his wives (cwpmarbf, pxmarbf,

pxmarbf2, pxmarbf3, fwpmarbf).

Timing of first birth relative to first

marriage—For female and male

respondents, the recode B1PREMAR

indicates whethera first birth occured

before first marriage or later than first

marriage. For female respondents, the

recode MAR1BIR1 gives the number of

months between the female respondent’s

first marriage and her first birth. For

male respondents,a comparable measure

was constructed based on the date of

first birth (recode DATBABY1) and the

date of first marriage (recode

MARDAT01).
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Acknowledgments

The 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National

Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) with the support and assistance of a number of other organizations and individuals. Interviewing and other

tasks were carried out by the University of Michigan’s Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, under a contract with NCHS. The

2006–2010 NSFG was jointly planned and funded by the following U.S. Department of Health and Human Services programs and agencies:

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development

• Office of Population Affairs

• NCHS, CDC • Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, CDC

• Division of Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention, CDC

• Division of Reproductive Health, CDC • Children’s Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families

• The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

NCHS gratefully acknowledges the contributions of these programs and agencies, and all others who assisted in designing and carrying out the

2006–2010 NSFG.

This report was prepared under the general direction of Charles J. Rothwell, Director of NCHS’s Division of Vital Statistics (DVS), and

Stephanie J. Ventura, Chief of the Reproductive Statistics Branch (RSB), DVS. The authors are also grateful for the valuable comments

provided by Stephanie Ventura, RSB; Julia Holmes, DVS Associate Director for Science; Jennifer Madans, NCHS Associate Director for

Science; and Wendy Manning, Co-Director of the National Center for Marriage Research and Associate Director of the Center for Family and

Demographic Research at Bowling Green State University. The authors also thank Yashodhara Patel for her helpful contributions to the

preparation of this report. The report was produced by CDC/OSELS/NCHS/OD/Office of Information Services, Information Design and

Publishing Staff: Typesetting was done by Annette F. Holman, and graphics produced by Kyung Park.

Suggested citation Copyright information National Center for Health Statistics

Copen CE, Daniels K, Vespa J, Mosher WD. All material appearing in this report is in the Edward J. Sondik, Ph.D., Director 

public domain and may be reproduced or Jennifer H. Madans, Ph.D., Associate Director First marriages in the United States: Data from

copied without permission; citation as to for Science the 2006–2010 National Survey of Family

Growth. source, however, is appreciated. Division of Vital Statistics National health statistics reports; no Charles J. Rothwell, M.S., Director 49. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health

Statistics. 2012.

For free e-mail updates on NCHS publication releases, subscribe online at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/govdelivery.htm. 

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