A new report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that more women had their first child while living with an unmarried partner in the early 2020s compared to the early 1990s. The “Women’s Living Arrangements at First Birth” report examines how women’s living situations—married, cohabiting, or neither—at the time of their first birth have changed over three decades and how these patterns differ by education level and race or ethnicity.
The findings reveal that fewer women had their first child while neither married nor living with a partner in 2020-2024 than in 1990-1994.
Regarding education, the percentage of first-time mothers with at least a bachelor’s degree who were married increased from 74.4% in 1990-1994 to 84.5% in 2020-2024. For this group, only 4.4% were neither married nor living with a partner at their first birth in 2020-2024, down from 14.4% three decades earlier.
In contrast, among women with less than a bachelor’s degree, those married at first birth declined from 58.6% to 40.6%. Cohabitation for this group rose significantly—from 19.2% to 34.8%.
Looking at race and ethnicity, Asian women were most likely to be married at their first birth in both periods (81.7% in the early ’90s), followed by White (71.8%), Hispanic (61.2%), and Black (31.5%) mothers during that time frame.
By the early 2020s, the proportion of Hispanic mothers who were married at first birth dropped to 43.9%. There was no significant change for Asian, White or Black mothers regarding marital status at first birth over this period.
Cohabitation rates also increased: among White mothers it went from 14.5% to 20.2%, and among Hispanic mothers from 20.4% to 34%.
Additional details about these trends are available through data sources such as the Current Population Survey June Fertility Supplement File and America Counts.
For more information about women’s living arrangements at the time of their first birth refer to the Current Population Survey, June 2024 Fertility Supplement File and America Counts.
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