Do Young Adults Still Believe in Marriage?

Since 1950, the average age at first marriage has risen by nearly eight years, reaching about 30 for men and 28 for women. New data from Barna’s The State of Today’s Family report looks at what’s behind this delay, and changing beliefs about marriage among young adults today. 

They Want Marriage—Just Not Yet

Among those who aren’t married, most still expect it to be part of their future: 78 percent of Gen Z and 73 percent of Millennials say they want to marry someday.

The delay appears to reflect a shift in how young adults approach commitment. Rather than moving quickly toward marriage, many seem to be placing greater weight on emotional readiness, financial stability, and the long-term viability of a relationship before deciding to marry. Based on Barna’s broader research on Gen Z, young adults today report high levels of anxiety, uncertainty, and emotional complexity in their daily lives—factors that may shape how they approach long-term decisions like marriage. Rising costs of housing, education, and daily life likely add to that calculus, making the timing of marriage feel consequential in a way it may not have for earlier generations.

That caution does not appear to be leading to worse outcomes. As Millennials age, marriage rates among them are increasing—42 percent are now married, while just 5 percent are divorced, the lowest divorce rate of any generation currently tracked.

Marriage, Yes; Family, Maybe

More than four in five Gen Z adults (81%) say they value marriage. The more significant shift shows up in how young adults think about the role of marriage in family life. Gen Z is the least likely generation to say marriage is important for raising children, with 67 percent agreeing. This signals a growing openness to different family structures and a loosening of the once-assumed link between marriage and parenting.

At the same time, many young adults still affirm the value of marriage itself. The data points to a distinction: marriage remains meaningful, but it is no longer seen as the defining framework for family life in the way it once was.

Singleness Is Becoming a Life Stage, Not a Transition

For much of the 20th century, the years between adolescence and marriage were relatively short. Today, many adults will spend a decade or more single. That period is no longer simply a bridge to marriage—it is a formative stage of life in its own right.

This has practical implications for leaders working with young adults. Communities shaped around the expectation that most people will quickly marry may no longer reflect lived reality. Supporting people in their 20s and 30s now requires a broader vision of belonging, purpose, and spiritual formation that does not depend on marital status.

At the same time, the aspiration toward marriage remains an important starting point. Many young adults are not stepping away from commitment; they are placing more weight on it. They are asking questions about stability, partnership, and what it takes to build a lasting relationship—and delaying marriage until they feel ready to answer them.

Marriage is not disappearing. It is arriving later, under different expectations, and with a more deliberate sense of what it requires. Churches, ministries, and families that respond well will invest just as seriously in the spiritual, relational, and vocational lives of single adults as they do in preparing couples for marriage.

Those who take this season seriously won’t just prepare young adults for marriage. They’ll form them for life.