The two charts present information on marriage and divorce trends in the United States between 1970 and 2000, as well as the marital status of American adults in 1970 and 2000.
Overall, both sets of data highlight a decline in marriage and a shift away from traditional married life. Although the number of marriages consistently exceeded divorces, marriages fell steadily over the period, while divorce peaked in the early 1980s before decreasing. At the same time, fewer adults were married in 2000 compared with 1970, and more people were single or divorced.
In 1970, about 2.5 million marriages were recorded, compared with 1 million divorces. Marriages then declined gradually to 2 million by 2000. Divorces followed a different trend: they rose significantly, reaching around 1.5 million in 1980, before falling back to 1 million by the end of the period. Despite these changes, marriages always remained more common than divorces.
Turning to marital status, around 70% of adults were married in 1970, but this proportion dropped to roughly 60% in 2000. In contrast, the share of never-married adults doubled from about 10% to 20%. Smaller increases were also seen in the proportions of divorced and widowed people, each accounting for under 10% in both years.