40% of Americans polled by Pew Research Center felt pessimistic about marriage

Marriage is experiencing a general decline

Marriage has taken drastically different forms than in the past. The transformation of marriage from a form of economic dependency for women to an equal partnership has forged demographic shifts. Richard Reeves, author of "Of Boys and Men," explains how economic and educational factors have potentially destabilized partnerships and changed patterns of “marriageability” for middle- and lower-class men.

As of 2021, 25% of 40-year-olds in the United States had never been married

If you’re in your forties and without a college degree, you’re significantly less likely to have ever been married now than in the past. Ditto for Black 40-year-olds and middle-aged men. There’s been a huge jump from the 6% of 40-year-olds who had never been married in 1980. Despite the historical significance of marriage, the trend away from wedded bliss has been rising steadily over the past three decades.

Divorces in the US have been steadily declining over the past few decades

Despite these recent declines, divorce rates in the US remain between 40% and 50%. But there’s some nuance to those numbers. For instance, having a college degree makes individuals 30% less likely to divorce than those without one. People who attend church are also less likely to divorce. And prenuptial agreements are considerably likely to prevent contentious court battles.

Roughly 75% of Americans report feeling okay financially

Since 2022, fewer Americans report feeling worse off financially, moving from 35% in 2022 to 28% in 2025. Likewise, the number of Americans who reported feeling better about the economy is up 4% from 2022. More than 90% of Americans cite price increases as their biggest financial concern.

35% of polled Americans said they'd view people differently if they knew they had a mental illness

In April 2025 polling, mental health remained highly stigmatized in the US. Though 88% of US adults say a mental health disorder is nothing to be ashamed about, 84% of them think the term "mental illness" carries a stigma and only about half of respondents said they'd feel comfortable sharing their mental health struggles with others.

30% of Americans make New Year's resolutions

The practice is more popular among younger people: In a Pew Research Center study, nearly half of people under 30 reported making at least one resolution. The majority of Americans (of all ages) who didn’t make resolutions said they simply don’t like the tradition.

Americans are retiring later than they used to

A Gallup poll from 2022 found that the percentage of adults between the ages of 55 and 74 who are retired is declining.

35% of Americans have moved on from their childhood religion

A new Pew Research analysis finds that most Americans still identify with their childhood religion, but 35% have switched or left entirely—often due to lost belief or drifting away.

'Loveflation' is making dating more expensive and less frequent

A survey found that more than half of Americans are going on fewer dates due to rising costs, with 27% stopping altogether. Gen Z and millennials are the hardest hit, with 62% reporting changes in their dating habits due to inflation.

A poll from May 2025 found that a majority of Americans oppose ending birthright citizenship

As legal challenges progressed, a May 2025 NPR/Ipsos poll showed fewer than one-third of Americans supported eliminating birthright citizenship, despite broader public backing for other immigration restrictions.

See America's loneliness and disconnection—charted

This series of graphs visually depicts various aspects of American society's connection to others, including the percentage of Americans who feel they have friends or family they can count on (90%), share of people who feel close to at least one other person (86%), and more.

Women more likely than men to report strain of being a caregiver

A Pew Research Center caregiver analysis from 2026 indicates that, though men and women both say caring for aging parents improved their relationships with their parents, women are more likely than men to report that it had a negative impact on their emotional well-being and physical health.

A majority of Americans think President Trump is using more power than previous presidents

An October 2025 Pew Research Center survey found that 69% of Americans believed President Trump was trying to exert more power than previous presidents. Most Democrats viewed it negatively, while about half of Republicans said it was good for the country.

Explore 2024 polling on curriculum debates relating to social issues

A 2023 nationwide Pew survey found that 56% of K–12 teachers report discussing race or racial inequality in class, while only 29% mention LGBTQ topics. Many teachers (41%) say these debates have negatively impacted their work.

57% of men who have dated online say their experiences have been positive

However, 51% of female users say that their experiences on dating apps have been negative. LGBTQ+ users are more likely to report positive experiences on dating apps than non-LGBTQ+ users.

As of 2022, Congress was more ideologically polarized than at any point in 50 years

Research from the Pew Research Center indicates that Democrat and Republican lawmakers have become more ideologically unified internally while moving further apart overall—with Republicans shifting to the right faster than Democrats have shifted to the left.

Half of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of the IRS, while 38% have a favorable view

From July 1 to July 7, 2024, Pew Research Center conducted a survey of 9,424 adults to gauge the public's attitudes about the federal government, including government agencies and departments. Of 13 agencies, 10 had net favorable ratings of 15 percentage points or more. Topping the list were the National Park Service (76% favorable), the US Postal Service (72%) and NASA (67%).

Global support for free speech and press freedom has declined since 2019

A 2025 Pew Research survey found that the share of people worldwide who consider free speech and press freedom important has declined over the past several years, even though majorities in most countries still say these rights matter.

Why art history is filled with miserable brides

Paintings from the 19th century are filled with unhappy brides. The women are often visibly disturbed by their pending nuptials, sometimes even during the wedding ceremony. This Artnet article unpacks four famous examples of this trend, analyzing how and why the respective artists portrayed these disappointed figures.

US homeownership rates declined from the start of the Great Recession through 2016

In 2004, the US homeownership rate was 69%. When the bubble popped in 2007, due to a variety of factors (including the prevalence of subprime mortgages) the Great Recession began. Foreclosures increased, as did the ratio of renters to homeowners. In 2016, the homeownership rate was at roughly 63.4%.

62% of independent workers said they would prefer permanent or non-contract work

In the consulting firm McKinsey’s 2022 “American Opportunity Survey,” 36% of employed respondents (about 58 million Americans) classified themselves as “independent workers.” But they’re not all thrilled about their current professional status.

How Taiwan residents view China and the US

There is widespread support in Taiwan for increased economic and political ties with the US, compared to China. This deep dive of data from the Pew Research Center breaks down how various segments of Taiwan's population perceive the US and China individually and among other Asia-Pacific countries.

AI chatbot use among quarreling couples can aggravate tensions

Chatbots can become a sounding board for venting spouses looking to analyze their relationship and find support for their views. Many couples report the negative influence of chatbots like ChatGPT, with some claiming the tools led to divorce.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

Advocate estimate roughly 27% of Black service workers live below the poverty line

That’s significantly higher than the rate for restaurant workers overall. Approximately 37% of tipped workers are mothers, nearly half being single moms struggling with income volatility. This article includes more statistics about what the average tipped worker looks like and offers a peek inside their lives.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

South Korea has the lowest fertility rate in the world

If current birthing trends persist, every hundred South Koreans today will have only six great-grandchildren between them. This crisis is a result of high expenses, harsh work-family trade-offs for women, declining marriage rates, and other societal factors. Some newer policies are helping to build incentives for having children, but larger issues also need to be addressed.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

About 12.5% of US adults experience a phobia in their lifetime, a diagnosis that hinges on the intense fear interfering with daily life and persisting for at least six months.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

Coral polyps reproduce via broadcast spawning, where entire reefs simultaneously release reproductive cells for about one hour, once a year.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year