U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Skip Header

graphical representation of of the population's marital status

We ask questions about whether a person is currently married, widowed, divorced, separated, or never married; whether his/her marital status changed in the past 12 months; and lifetime marriages to create statistics about current marital status and marital history.

Marital status and marital history data help federal agencies understand marriage trends, forecast future needs of programs that have spousal benefits, and measure the effects of policies and programs that focus on the well-being of families, including tax policies and financial assistance programs.

Your privacy concerns

"I Don't Want Everyone to Know When I Got Married or How Many Times I've Been Married"

We use your confidential survey answers to create statistics like those in the results below and in the full tables that contain all the data—no one is able to figure out your survey answers from the statistics we produce. The Census Bureau is legally bound to strict confidentiality requirements. Individual records are not shared with anyone, including federal agencies and law enforcement entities. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share respondents' answers with anyone—not the IRS, not the FBI, not the CIA, and not with any other government agency.

Questions as they appear on the form

We ask four questions that cover information about marital status, changes in marital status, and lifetime marital history.

Results from these questions

United States

View Results for a State

View Results for a County or City / Town in (↑ change state using menu above ↑)

Marital status/marital history data help communities:

U.S. Marriage and Divorce Rates by State: 2011 & 2021

Click the image to view the interactive data visualization.

marriage and divorce rates

[Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 and 2021 American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates, Tables B12501 and B12503]

History of marital questions

Marital status originated with the 1880 Census, while marital history originated with the 1850 Census. Marital status was transferred to the ACS in 2005 when it replaced the decennial census long form, while marital history was added in 2008.


Is this page helpful?
Thumbs Up Image Yes Thumbs Down Image No
NO THANKS
255 characters maximum 255 characters maximum reached
Thank you for your feedback.
Comments or suggestions?
Back to Header