A new report from the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) maps a split between where young singles live and where new marriages happen. The researchers write that “the areas with the most new marriages are almost entirely in middle America,” even as the largest shares of unmarried adults in their 20s and 30s are in big-city hubs.
Where singles cluster
According to the IFS analysis, urban centers including Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. have the largest shares of unmarried young adults.
Where new marriages concentrate
By contrast, the report identifies marriage hotspots in Provo, Utah; Fort Wayne and Evansville, Indiana; Colorado Springs, Colorado; west/central Tennessee; northwest Georgia; and North Carolina’s Greenville/Jacksonville corridor.
Employment ratios track with higher marriage rates
IFS reports that areas with higher ratios of young men in stable full-time work to single women tend to post higher marriage rates. The institute noted North Dakota and the San Jose, California area as having the highest such ratios, with “marriage rates in the upper 20%.”
Wendy Wang, IFS senior fellow and director of research, said on “Washington Watch” that a full-time job “is the strongest factor that is related to the marriage rate,” adding, “Where the most singles are actually is not where the marriages are happening.”
Religion’s footprint
The analysis also highlights religious practice. Wang pointed to Utah County, Utah—“where we know there’s a lot of Mormons”—and Lakewood, New Jersey—“where you find the largest [concentration of] Orthodox Jews”—as places with especially high shares of married young adults. “In general, from our study, we find that people who are religious are more likely to be married and more likely to have children, so the data at the geographic level match that story as well,” she said.
Who’s behind the report—and Wang’s advice
The IFS report, published last week, was authored by Wendy Wang, IFS research fellow Ken Burchfiel, and IFS senior fellow and University of Virginia professor Brad Wilcox.
On “Washington Watch,” Wang also said, “We know that young adults today value jobs, value employment a lot. But our studies show that having a good job is actually not as important to happiness as being married,” and encouraged relocation both for work and, where possible, for finding a spouse.
