all the single ladies
Why So Many Women Are Swearing Off Marriage
More than half of American women are single — and loving it.
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The Lede
While some women feel cornered into being single, citing a lackluster dating pool or the demoralizing experience of trawling apps, a growing share, call them Samantha Nation, are happy being on their own. Women's newfound freedom to choose — not just whom they marry, but whether they marry at all — is due less to a cultural shift and more to a shifting economy. The shift toward the single life has been a great development for women; for men, though, things aren't as peachy.
Key Details
- As of 2021, a record 52% of American women were either unmarried or separated, according to a report by Wells Fargo Economics.
- In August, the share of prime-age (25 to 54) women in the labor force hit a record high of 78.4%. Meanwhile, the median age of American women's first marriage has crept steadily upward, from 20.8 in 1970 to 28.3 in 2023.
- Of course, women's relative workforce gains have not translated into equal earning power; on average, US women still earn $0.84 per every $1 earned by men.
