2.1c1 The Pew Research Center

Attitudes Toward Cohabitation

The Pew Research Center (2021) is a nonpartisan organization that studies trends on behavior and attitudes. It conducts public opinion polls and research on diverse topics, such as religious participation, immigration, and family life. For example, the Pew Research Center reports about the practice of cohabitation and attitudes toward it. Cohabitation is living together as if married but without being married. Cohabitation has become more common in the United States. About three-fourths of all married couples cohabitate before marriage (Manning & Carlson, 2021). In contrast, slightly more than half of couples cohabitated before marriage in the early 1990s, and only 11% did so in the late 1960s (Manning & Carlson, 2021). Overall, about 7% of U.S. adults were cohabitating in 2023, a number that has more than doubled since 1990 (see Figure 2.1) (Fry, 2025).

How do people feel about cohabitating couples? Figure 2.2 reports U.S. adults’ attitudes about the practice, broken down by gender, race, age, and political affiliation. More than half (62%) agree that cohabitation makes no difference for society. Older people, Black Americans, and Republicans more often view it as bad for society. The Pew Research Center’s data thus paints a picture of U.S. attitudes and how often a particular social phenomenon occurs.