VERIFIED BRIEFINGUPDATED JUL 21, 20264 MIN READBY POOL REPORT RESEARCH DESK

Unmarried couple statistics: households are not the dating pool

Understand unmarried partner household statistics and why they should not be counted as single or actively dating adults.

THE SHORT ANSWER

Seven percent of U.S. adults were living with an unmarried partner in the CPS measure Pew cited, while 11% described themselves as cohabiting in Pew’s broader July 2022 relationship survey.

7%: current cohabitation in the CPS measure
11%: living with a partner in Pew’s 2022 survey
59%: ages 18–44 had ever cohabited

Different surveys can produce different valid estimates

Pew’s 2019 cohabitation analysis cited a 7% CPS estimate. Its July 2022 survey found 11% of adults said they were living with a partner. The field dates, instruments, and classification methods differ.

Rather than choose whichever figure looks larger, a careful article names the source and definition beside each number.

Unmarried does not mean unpartnered

Someone can be legally unmarried while living with a partner or being in another committed relationship. Conversely, a married person may be separated.

This is why a dating-pool model should label a marital-status filter as ‘not currently married’ instead of calling everyone in that category single or available.

Household surveys miss partners who live apart

A household relationship variable can pair co-residential partners but cannot identify a committed couple maintaining separate homes.

Survey questions that ask directly about committed relationships capture some of that group, which helps explain why a broader partnered category can exceed household cohabitation.

SOURCE RECEIPTS

Open the evidence.

These links go to the publisher—not a secondhand statistic roundup.

01
Pew Research Center
The Landscape of Marriage and Cohabitation in the U.S.
Analysis combining the National Survey of Family Growth, Current Population Survey, and a nationally representative attitudes survey.
Open source ↗
02
Pew Research Center
From Looking for Love to Swiping the Field
Nationally representative survey of 6,034 U.S. adults, fielded July 5–17, 2022, with definitions and subgroup tables.
Open source ↗

COMMON FOLLOW-UPS

Are unmarried adults single?

Not necessarily. Unmarried adults can be cohabiting, engaged, separated, or in a committed relationship while living apart.

Why do cohabitation percentages differ by source?

Surveys use different years, questions, household classifications, samples, and universes. The exact definition must stay attached to the percentage.

Can household data count couples living apart?

Not as a paired household. A separate relationship-status question is needed to identify committed partners living at different addresses.

Seven percent of U.S. adults were living with an unmarried partner in the CPS measure Pew cited, while 11% described themselves as cohabiting in Pew’s broader July 2022 relationship survey.

Different surveys can produce different valid estimates

Unmarried does not mean unpartnered

Household surveys miss partners who live apart

Open the evidence.

The Landscape of Marriage and Cohabitation in the U.S.

From Looking for Love to Swiping the Field

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