A new report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that more women had their first child while living with an unmarried partner in the early 2020s compared to the early 1990s. The “Women’s Living Arrangements at First Birth” report examines how women’s living situations at the time of their first birth—whether married, cohabiting, or neither—varied by education level and race or ethnicity over time.
The data indicates a decrease in the percentage of women having their first child while neither married nor living with a partner in 2020-2024 compared to 1990-1994.
Among women with at least a bachelor’s degree, the share who were married at their first birth increased from 74.4% in 1990-1994 to 84.5% in 2020-2024. In contrast, only 4.4% of these mothers were neither married nor cohabiting during this period, down from 14.4% three decades earlier.
For those without a bachelor’s degree, marriage rates at first birth declined from 58.6% to 40.6%. At the same time, cohabitation rates for this group rose from 19.2% to 34.8%.
Looking at racial and ethnic differences, Asian women remained most likely to be married at first birth in both periods (81.7% in the early ’90s). White mothers followed (71.8%), then Hispanic (61.2%) and Black mothers (31.5%). By 2020-2024, marriage among Hispanic first-time mothers dropped to 43.9%, while rates for Asian, White, and Black mothers did not show significant statistical change.
Cohabitation increased among White first-time mothers from 14.5% to 20.2%, and among Hispanic mothers from 20.4% to 34%.
More information on these trends is available through resources such as the Current Population Survey June Fertility Supplement File and America Counts.
