Why Aren’t Women Getting Married? Study Points to Lack of Desirable Men

There are several reasons women might not get married, but a recent study points to the lack of desirable men as the main culprit.

Photo by Drew Coffman on Unsplash

Marriage rates in the United States have declined for several decades, with data from the U.S. Census showing that nearly 70 percent of men and women were married in the 1950s, compared to about 50 percent in 2018. Furthermore, there has been a nearly 10 percent increase in men and women who report never being married during this same time frame.

There are many potential reasons for this demographic shift, such as delayed marriage, more long-term non-marital cohabitation, and perhaps less cultural emphasis on marriage. However, new research has identified another possible reason for this decline: a fundamental mismatch between what men in the United States have to offer and what women in the United States are willing to accept.

The research conducted by Lichter, Price, and Swigert took an economical approach, arguing that perhaps women are not getting married because the highly desirable men are already taken. Focusing on single heterosexual women, the researchers used data from the American Community Survey (2008–2012; 2013–2017) to predict the likely…