Title: Ideal Age for Marriage: 25 for Women and 27 for Men
Headings: Ideal Age for Marriage: 25 for Women and 27 for Men
Ideal Age for Marriage: 25 for Women and 27 for Men
Average ideal age for both genders has increased in last 60 years
Survey Methods
The Five Conditions Assessment

Content: In 1946, half of Americans said women should be married by age 21, while only 4% said they should be over the age of 25. There has been less change in Americans' perceptions of the ideal age for a man to marry. The median reported ideal age for men to marry was 25 years in 1946, compared with the median of 26 years today (the current mean age of 27 is slightly higher than the median because some respondents reported very high ages for men). In 1946, 70% of Americans believed men should be married by age 25, compared with 44% who say that today. There has been a near tripling in the percentage of Americans that believe the best age for men to marry is after their 30 th birthday (from 11% in 1946 to 30%) today. Despite the shifts since 1946, the belief that men should marry at a later age than women has been consistent over time. Opinions of the best ages of marriage do not vary substantially according to respondent gender, age, or religiosity. There is a notable difference in the perception of the ideal age for a woman to get married by educational attainment. Those with a high school education or less are four times more likely than those with at least some college education to say that a woman should be married by age 21. The two educational groups do not differ much in their views of the age at which a man should marry.