Some Interesting (and random) Facts and Stats on Marriage

Numbers can be cool.  They can tell a story. 

See what you gather from these interesting facts and statistics.

• Due to jobs, kids, TV, the Internet, hobbies, and home and family responsibilities, the average married couple spends just four minutes a day alone together.1

• The average married couple has sex 58 times per year, or slightly more than once a week.1

• The U.S. average age at which people get married is 25.6 for women, and 27.7 for men.2

• Approximately $6 billion in revenue is lost by American businesses as a result of decreased worker productivity linked to marriage hardship. Employees in a happy marriage, in contrast, tend to increase a company’s bottom line.3

• Stress associated with divorce affects the body’s immune system and its ability to fend off disease. The health benefits of remarriage are reduced the second and third times around.3

• Just two years after marriage, an estimated 20% of couples make love fewer than 10 times in a year.3

• Compared to singles, married people accumulate about four times more savings and assets. Those who divorced had assets 77% lower than singles.

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• More than friendship, laughter, forgiveness, compatibility, and sex, spouses name trust as the element crucial for a happy marriage.3

• Eighty-five percent of couples have had premarital sex.3

• Words form only 7% of our communication with anyone, including spouses. Tone of voice accounts for 38% and body language is responsible for 55% of the messages spouses receive from each other.3

• Married people are twice as likely to go to church as unmarried people.3

• Marriage involves 1,138 federal benefits and responsibilities.4

• There are nearly 2,100,000 marriages in the US.5
• Washington, D.C., has the lowest marriage rate in the nation.6
• Marriage does more to promote life satisfaction than money, sex, or even children.3

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References
1. Harrar, Sari and Rita DeMaria. 2007. The 7 Stages of Marriage: Laughter, Intimacy, and Passion. Pleasantville, NY: Reader’s Digest Books.
2. “Where You Live May Affect When You Get Married.” CNN.com. October 20, 2009. Accessed: October 28, 2009.
3. Harrar, Sari and Rita DeMaria. 2007. The 7 Stages of Marriage: Laughter, Intimacy, and Passion. Pleasantville, NY: Reader’s Digest Books.
4. http://positivemed.com/2013/07/16/11-interesting-facts-about-marriage/
5. http://www.statisticbrain.com/marriage-statistics/
6. Connolly, Katie. “Why So Few D.C. Residents Are Married.” Newsweek.com. October 20, 2009. Accessed: October 28, 2009.