Worried of being alone forever?
Those worries may be rational as a study from the Pew Research Center found that nearly 1 in 4 adults currently unpartnered, or single, will remain that way for the rest of their lives. While the data is much more complex than simply 25% of adults will stay alone and die alone, it does highlight a significant cultural shift and challenges presented with finding a partner juxtaposed with 30 years prior.
It doesn’t help that Boston also ranked as one of “America’s loneliest cities.”
However, the study also shares that those who are single may have a greater sense of self-awareness, determination, and independence than those who are partnered. Yet, the study also states that “on key economic outcomes, single adults at prime working age increasingly lag behind those who are married or cohabiting.” The number of single adults ages 25-54 jumped almost 10% from 1990 to 2019. The share of people who have never been married also grew from 17% to 33%.
Single life and work
Ironically one may think being single means less expenses to worry about and more money to save, but the study shares that might not be the case.
“Looking across a range of measures of economic and social status, unpartnered adults generally have different – often worse – outcomes than those who are married or cohabiting. This pattern is apparent among both men and women. Unpartnered adults have lower earnings, on average, than partnered adults and are less likely to be employed or economically independent. They also have lower educational attainment and are more likely to live with their parents,” notes Pew.
Other findings
Th study also looked at the correlations between being unpartnered and housing, financial, educational, and health related data. Pew found 31% of unpartnered men are living with their parents and 24% of unpartnered women.
“Looking across a range of measures of economic and social status, unpartnered adults generally have different – often worse – outcomes than those who are married or cohabiting. This pattern is apparent among both men and women. Unpartnered adults have lower earnings, on average, than partnered adults and are less likely to be employed or economically independent. They also have lower educational attainment and are more likely to live with their parents. Other research suggests that married and cohabiting adults fare better than those who are unpartnered when it comes to some health outcomes.”
The study also found that married men tend to earn higher than unmarried men.
Methodology
Pew Research Center is a Washington D.C. based research center focused on demographic trends in the United States. The study, “Rising Share of U.S. Adults Are Living Without a Spouse or Partner,” pooled data from the the 1990, 2000, and 2019 U.S. Census, which draws a sample over 3 million addresses. Pew analyzed the percentage of unpartnered, married, and cohabitating adults of “prime working age” and investigated the correlation of relationship status with factors such as education, health, finances, and more. Read the full study here.