NOV. 19, 2025 — A larger share of women had their first child while living with an unmarried partner in the early 2020s than in the early 1990s, according to the new Women’s Living Arrangements at First Birth report released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The report describes women’s living arrangements (i.e., married, cohabiting, neither married nor cohabiting) at the time of their first birth and how they differed by educational attainment, race and ethnicity from the early 1990s to the early 2020s.

The report also found a lower percentage of women had their first child while neither married nor living with a partner in 2020-2024 than in 1990-1994.

Education:

• The percentage of first-time mothers with at least a bachelor’s degree who were married increased from 74.4% in 1990-1994 to 84.5% in 2020-2024.
• In 2020-2024, only 4.4% of first-time mothers with a bachelor’s degree were neither married nor living with a partner, dropping from 14.4% in 1990-1994.
• The percentage of first-time mothers with less than a bachelor’s degree who were married declined from 58.6% in 1990-1994 to 40.6% in 2020-2024.
• Cohabitation at first birth rose from 19.2% in 1990-1994 to 34.8% in 2020-2024 among women with less than a bachelor’s degree.

Race and Ethnicity:

• In 1990-1994, Asian women were the most likely racial group to be married at first birth (81.7%), followed by White (71.8%), Hispanic (61.2%) and Black (31.5%) mothers.
• The percentage of first time Hispanic mothers who are married decreased to 43.9% in 2020-2024. The proportion of marital first births did not statistically change for Asian, White or Black mothers in 2020-2024.
• Cohabitation rose from 14.5% in 1990-1994 to 20.2% in 2020-2024 among first-time White mothers and from 20.4% in 1990-1994 to 34.0% in 2020-2024 among first-time Hispanic mothers.

For more information about women’s living arrangements at the time of their first birth refer to the Current Population Survey, June 2024 Fertility Supplement File and America Counts.

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