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“In 2014, for the first time in more than 130 years, adults ages 18 to 34 were slightly more likely to be living in their parents’ home than they were to be living with a spouse or partner in their own household. This turn of events is fueled primarily by the dramatic drop in the share of young Americans who are choosing to settle down romantically before age 35. Dating back to 1880, the most…
Nearly 3.2 million North Carolina adults (18+) were unmarried in 2014, representing 3% of the 107 million unmarried adults nationwide. In both the United States and North Carolina, never married individuals comprise the majority of unmarried adults—63%. Nationwide, a higher share of unmarried adults report being divorced (24%) than in North Carolina (21%). In North Carolina, it is more common for unmarried adults to be widowed (17% vs. 13% nationwide).Among unmarried adults, there are significant…
“The Buckeye Singles Council started “National Singles Week” in Ohio in the 1980s to celebrate single life and recognize singles and their contributions to society. The week is now widely observed during the third full week of September (Sept. 20-26 in 2015) as “Unmarried and Single Americans Week,” an acknowledgment that many unmarried Americans do not identify with the word “single” because they are parents, have partners or are widowed.” – U.S. Census Bureau Nationwide,…
Although marriage patterns in the United States have changed considerably over the past half-century, when placed within a larger global context there is still evidence that Americans value marriage. Compared with other industrialized countries, Americans have higher marriage rates and marry somewhat earlier. Marital disruption is higher in the United States compared with European nations. We see a pattern of marriage, divorce, and remarriage, or “marriage-go-round.” This pattern in the United States, along with various…
Over the summer I read “10 Things Millennials Won’t Spend Money On.” What do some of these trends look like in North Carolina? While many of these 10 things are difficult to examine in the data I normally work with, a few are readily available. Using data from the 1980, 1990, and 2000 decennial censuses and the 2012 American Community Survey, I examined home ownership, marital status, and childlessness among North Carolina young adults (ages 20-30) in…
Monday, September 15th, through Wednesday, October 15th, marks National Hispanic Heritage Month. In 2012, there were 845,420 Hispanics living in the state, nearly 9% of the state’s total population. In yesterday’s post, I looked at some of the components of this population’s growth. Today, I’ll look at some social characteristics. Place of Birth Just over half (53%) of North Carolina Hispanics were born in the United States or a U.S. territory; 47% were foreign-born. Examining the…
North Carolina is a sticky state; only Texas is stickier. (And I’m not talking about humidity.) “Sticky” states have a high percentage of adults who were born in the state still living there. Just as migration patterns highlight the relative appeal of a location—individuals tend to move to areas with greater opportunities and away from those without them—“stickiness” may be another gauge of an area’s attractiveness. The same educational and employment opportunities that bring people…
Half of North Carolina adults age 16 and older are currently married according to the 2012 American Community Survey. Another 5% are unmarried but living with a romantic partner; 366,000 are cohabiting with an opposite-sex partner, 37,200 with a same-sex partner. Figure 1 shows marital status by age group. In the youngest group, ages 16 to 24, the vast majority (87%) are single/never married. The proportion of younger individuals who have never been married has…
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