Are more people choosing to be single? The answer is yes. Over the past 30 years, the percentage of persons who have never been married has increased from about 22 percent to 28 percent. The major increases in the never-married population have occurred among blacks. Between 1975 and 1998, the percentage of blacks who have never been married increased from 32 percent to 44 percent. And the percentage of blacks who are married declined from over 42 percent in 1975 to 32 percent in 1998.

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Source:
U.S. Census Bureau

• citations
• Marital Status and Living Arrangements
  at www.census.gov

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