People Are Getting Married Later, And That's Great For Women

Men and women are getting married later than ever before, pushing 30 by the time they walk down the aisle. The Brookings Institution put together a report on the current state of marriage in the U.S., Knot Yet, about this fascinating shift, which transcends socioeconomic status.

"Culturally, young adults have increasingly come to see marriage as a 'capstone' rather than a 'cornerstone,'" say the researchers. "That is, something they do after they have all their other ducks in a row, rather than a foundation for launching into adulthood and parenthood."

They found that women are now getting married at 27, and men at 29, on average.

This trend is good for women. College-educated women who marry after 30 make $18,152 more annually than college-educated women who marry before age 20. With men, it's a different story: they make more money if they get married early.

"Men who had never married had some of the lowest levels of personal income—lower even than those who married before age twenty," the researchers report. "Marriage makes men, including twentysomething men, harder, smarter, and better-paid workers."

However, they also found that people who marry later aren't necessarily happier, and married couples report being more satisfied with their lives:

Thirty-five percent of single men and cohabiting men report they are “highly satisfied” with their life, compared to 52 percent of married men. Likewise, 33 percent of single women and 29 percent of cohabiting women are “highly satisfied,” compared to 47 percent of married women.

Here are some interesting charts from the report: