New Data Show Characteristics of Opposite-Sex Couples Who Lived Together in 2025
Partners in more than a third of U.S. opposite-sex couples were within a year of the same age, while in about 7%, the man was at least 10 years older.
Using data from the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement, a new interactive data visualization compares characteristics of partners in married and unmarried opposite-sex couples living together in 2025.
In 5.1 million couples, the male partner was 10 or more years older than his female partner, compared to about 1.3 million couples where the female partner was 10 or more years older than her partner.
Characteristics include age, earnings and educational attainment by couple type (married or unmarried) and by the presence of at least one child.
Note: Select the image to go to the interactive data visualization.
Among all opposite-sex couples who lived together in 2025:
- In 5.1 million couples, the male partner was 10 or more years older than his female partner, compared to about 1.3 million couples where the female partner was 10 or more years older than her partner.
- Nearly three-fifths (59%) of couples included members with the same level of education.
- In 52% of all opposite-sex couples, the man earned at least $5,000 more annually than his partner, and in 26% of couples, partners’ annual earnings were within $5,000 of each other.
- Among opposite-sex couples without children in the household, 36% had partners who earned within $5,000 of each other annually compared to less than 10% of those with at least one child in the household.
The Census Bureau also published 2025 estimates in historical tables on topics including the living arrangements of adults and children, marital status, households and families.
More data visualizations on families and living arrangements are available:
About the Research
All comparative statements have undergone statistical testing and, unless otherwise noted, are statistically significant at the 90% confidence level. All data are subject to sampling, nonsampling, modeling and other errors.
The technical documentation provides more information on data collection, standards and accuracy.
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