U.S. men
Median age at first marriage
MARRIAGE AGE / 2024 ACS← Standards calculator
When do people marry?
Median age.
QUICK ANSWER30.8 / 28.8men / womenSee the source and definition ↓30.8 / 28.8men / women
2024 U.S. median age at first marriage
2024 ACS one-year estimate. This is the middle age, not the average age.
THE ANSWER
What this answer includes.
2024 ACS first-marriage age: 30.8 for U.S. men and 28.8 for U.S. women.
What this covers: A median is the middle value. Half of first marriages occur below that age, and half occur above it. This page compares the same 2024 measure across states.
What this does not show: It does not show the average age at all weddings, the age gap within a couple, or why people in one state marry earlier or later.
Where the data comes from: Census ACS Ranking Table R1204. 2024 median age at first marriage for men, United States and states.
U.S. women
Median age at first marriage
Utah men
Lowest state estimate
D.C. women
Highest women’s estimate
ALL 50 STATES + D.C.
Median first-marriage age by state
These 2024 Census tables report the median age at first marriage. Median means half first married younger and half first married older. It is not an average. The table sources are ACS one-year ranking tables R1204 and R1205.
| State | Men’s median age | Women’s median age | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 29.6 | 27.0 | 2.6 yrs |
| Alaska | 28.3 | 25.5 | 2.8 yrs |
| Arizona | 30.9 | 28.4 | 2.5 yrs |
| Arkansas | 27.2 | 25.8 | 1.4 yrs |
| California | 32.1 | 30.4 | 1.7 yrs |
| Colorado | 30.8 | 28.6 | 2.2 yrs |
| Connecticut | 32.4 | 30.3 | 2.1 yrs |
| Delaware | 31.1 | 29.7 | 1.4 yrs |
| District of Columbia | 32.2 | 32.3 | -0.1 yrs |
| Florida | 31.2 | 29.3 | 1.9 yrs |
| Georgia | 30.8 | 28.8 | 2.0 yrs |
| Hawaii | 30.9 | 29.7 | 1.2 yrs |
| Idaho | 28.2 | 25.4 | 2.8 yrs |
| Illinois | 31.3 | 29.9 | 1.4 yrs |
| Indiana | 29.5 | 27.5 | 2.0 yrs |
| Iowa | 29.4 | 26.9 | 2.5 yrs |
| Kansas | 28.8 | 26.2 | 2.6 yrs |
| Kentucky | 27.8 | 26.5 | 1.3 yrs |
| Louisiana | 30.2 | 27.3 | 2.9 yrs |
| Maine | 30.5 | 28.0 | 2.5 yrs |
| Maryland | 32.2 | 29.6 | 2.6 yrs |
| Massachusetts | 32.4 | 30.9 | 1.5 yrs |
| Michigan | 31.0 | 28.7 | 2.3 yrs |
| Minnesota | 30.6 | 28.6 | 2.0 yrs |
| Mississippi | 27.5 | 26.5 | 1.0 yrs |
| Missouri | 29.2 | 26.8 | 2.4 yrs |
| Montana | 30.5 | 28.0 | 2.5 yrs |
| Nebraska | 29.2 | 26.8 | 2.4 yrs |
| Nevada | 31.7 | 30.0 | 1.7 yrs |
| New Hampshire | 32.4 | 30.0 | 2.4 yrs |
| New Jersey | 31.6 | 29.8 | 1.8 yrs |
| New Mexico | 32.0 | 29.4 | 2.6 yrs |
| New York | 31.9 | 30.4 | 1.5 yrs |
| North Carolina | 29.9 | 27.5 | 2.4 yrs |
| North Dakota | 28.3 | 26.0 | 2.3 yrs |
| Ohio | 30.1 | 27.5 | 2.6 yrs |
| Oklahoma | 28.1 | 26.4 | 1.7 yrs |
| Oregon | 30.3 | 29.2 | 1.1 yrs |
| Pennsylvania | 30.9 | 29.3 | 1.6 yrs |
| Rhode Island | 32.2 | 30.9 | 1.3 yrs |
| South Carolina | 29.5 | 28.0 | 1.5 yrs |
| South Dakota | 27.5 | 26.2 | 1.3 yrs |
| Tennessee | 28.7 | 27.1 | 1.6 yrs |
| Texas | 30.4 | 27.9 | 2.5 yrs |
| Utah | 27.2 | 25.2 | 2.0 yrs |
| Vermont | 30.8 | 29.8 | 1.0 yrs |
| Virginia | 30.8 | 28.7 | 2.1 yrs |
| Washington | 31.0 | 28.8 | 2.2 yrs |
| West Virginia | 27.7 | 26.8 | 0.9 yrs |
| Wisconsin | 30.5 | 28.3 | 2.2 yrs |
| Wyoming | 28.7 | 25.9 | 2.8 yrs |
Values are Census survey estimates. A small one-decimal difference may be due to survey uncertainty. Do not treat it as proof that one state truly ranks higher.
MORE DETAIL
How to read the answer.
TOPIC 01
What the median means
Median is not the same as average
A median is the midpoint. Half of first marriages occur below that estimated age and half occur above it. A mean adds all ages and divides by the number of people. Census table B12007 and ranking tables R1204–R1205 report medians, not means.
First marriage is a narrower measure
The statistic describes first marriage, not remarriage, engagement, cohabitation, or the age of every married resident. Someone who married years earlier contributes to a different question than someone first marrying now.
What the national numbers mean
The 2024 ACS estimates median first-marriage ages of 30.8 for men and 28.8 for women. At each median, half of the surveyed population is estimated to have first married younger and half older. This does not say that most weddings in 2024 involved a 30.8-year-old man and a 28.8-year-old woman. It does not describe the typical age difference within a couple. The two medians come from separate population groups. They describe national timing and compare the same measure across states. Keep the year, first-marriage concept, and published sex categories attached.
The ACS estimates timing from marital-status data
Median age at first marriage is not a simple average of marriage-license ages. Census table B12007 organizes marital status by age and sex. The ranking tables publish a derived median for the United States and each geography. This captures the population transition into first marriage, not only ceremonies registered during the year. The estimate depends on survey responses and a calculation method. The average age at all weddings, including remarriages, is a different question. These ranking tables do not answer it.
The men's and women's medians are not a typical couple gap
Subtracting 28.8 from 30.8 produces two years. That difference compares separate population medians. It does not show that a typical husband is two years older than a typical wife. The people at each midpoint are not paired with one another. Couple age-gap statistics need household or relationship records that observe both partners in the same couple. Use the national values to describe first-marriage timing in the published men’s and women’s groups. Do not use them to infer who married whom or the age gap inside a relationship.
TOPIC 02
Compare states and years
Use one Census product for comparisons
The national and state values on this page all come from the 2024 ACS one-year ranking tables. Census also publishes a historical Current Population Survey series. Its survey design and estimates should not be mixed into an ACS state ranking.
D.C. is included but is not a state
The official ranking table contains the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the United States. This site shows the 50 states plus D.C. It keeps Puerto Rico outside the calculator’s current geography.
Why the 2024 ACS and 2025 CPS figures differ
Census also estimated 2025 median first-marriage ages of 30.8 for men and 28.4 for women in its Current Population Survey (CPS) historical series. The men’s headline matches the 2024 ACS value. The women’s value differs by four-tenths. That is not automatically an error. ACS and CPS use different samples, collection designs, weights, reference periods, and purposes. Use ACS to compare states within one year. Use the CPS historical table for the long national series. Do not put a CPS national value into an ACS state ranking and call the table consistent.
How to compare a state responsibly
Start with the U.S. value and the state estimate for the same sex category and 2024 ACS product. Check the difference in years, not only the rank. See whether nearby states or peers cluster around the same value. Do not combine men’s estimate from one state with women’s estimate from another as if they describe a typical couple. For historical change, retrieve comparable earlier ACS tables or use the national CPS series. One ranking from one point in time cannot show that a state is moving earlier or later.
Historical context belongs to the CPS series
For a long national view, Census historical marital-status tables estimate median first-marriage ages of 23.5 for men and 21.1 for women in 1975. In 2025, they estimate 30.8 and 28.4. These values show that the midpoint moved later over fifty years in the CPS series. Do not insert them as earlier rows in the 2024 ACS state ranking without a survey note. Use two related views: ACS for one-year geographic comparison and CPS for national history. Each has its own method and year.
TOPIC 03
What this number cannot tell you
Geography describes residents, not a state effect
The state values summarize people living in each state under ACS residence rules. They do not show that living in a state caused someone to marry earlier or later. People move for education, work, family, housing, and relationships. Migration changes a state’s population. Religion, urbanization, income, education, housing costs, and local age structure may all relate to marriage timing. A state comparison can create research questions. It cannot isolate one explanation without individual-level analysis and a clear causal design.
First-marriage timing is not relationship timing
The median does not show when people begin dating, become exclusive, move in together, become engaged, or decide to have children. Two people who first marry at the same age may have relationships of very different lengths. The measure excludes remarriage timing. It cannot describe every wedding or the ages of all married adults. Use this population measure as context, not a schedule. A state median does not contain relationship readiness, safety, legal and financial planning, or agreement between partners.
What earlier and later marriage do not prove
An earlier median is not evidence of better relationship quality, stronger family values, or higher marriage stability. A later median is not evidence that residents reject marriage or failed to find partners. The table does not observe relationship satisfaction, divorce, cohabitation duration, fertility intentions, or economic security. Those outcomes need separate measures. The accurate statement is descriptive: in the 2024 ACS estimate, the midpoint of first-marriage timing was earlier in some states and later in others. Each value has uncertainty.
SOURCES FOR THIS PAGE
Where this answer comes from.
- 01Read the original source ↗
Census ACS Ranking Table R1204
2024 median age at first marriage for men, United States and states.
- 02Read the original source ↗
Census ACS Ranking Table R1205
2024 median age at first marriage for women, United States and states.
- 03Read the original source ↗
Census Historical Marital Status Tables
National historical series and Table MS-2 documentation.
COMMON QUESTIONS
What is the average age of marriage in the United States?
The official 2024 ACS state-comparable metric is a median age at first marriage: 30.8 for men and 28.8 for women nationwide. It is often called an average in search queries, but it is not a mathematical mean.
What is the average marriage age by state?
It ranges widely. In the 2024 ACS table, men ranged from 27.2 in Utah and Arkansas to 32.4 in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Women ranged from 25.2 in Utah to 32.3 in the District of Columbia.
What state gets married the youngest?
Utah had the lowest 2024 median age at first marriage for women, at 25.2, and tied with Arkansas for the lowest men’s estimate, at 27.2. Rankings are survey estimates, and close values may overlap within their margins of error.
What state gets married the latest?
Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire tied at 32.4 for men. The District of Columbia was highest for women at 32.3; among the 50 states, Massachusetts and Rhode Island were 30.9.
Is this the age people are currently married?
No. It is the estimated median age at first marriage, not the median age of the married population and not the age at remarriage.
Why do Census marriage-age estimates differ online?
Different pages may use different years, surveys, starting groups, or measures. The ACS supports current state comparisons; the Current Population Survey supports a longer historical national series. They should be labeled rather than treated as interchangeable.
Does marrying later cause lower divorce rates?
This table cannot answer that causal question. It reports age at first marriage by geography and does not control for the many factors related to relationship outcomes.
Where did the state data come from?
The values are transcribed from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 ACS one-year ranking tables R1204 for men and R1205 for women, which are based on table B12007.
MORE ABOUT MARRIAGE TIMING AND RATES
Do not mix marriage counts, rates, and age measures.
These pages separate recorded marriage events, population rates, first-marriage age, and time before engagement.