A growing share of U.S. husbands and wives are roughly the same age

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The typical age gap between husbands and wives in the United States has narrowed over the past 20 years, continuing a 20th-century trend. On average, husbands and wives were 2.2 years apart in age in 2022, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. This is down from 2.4 years in 2000 and 4.9 years in 1880.

Since 1880, the share of marriages in which the husband is several years older than the wife has fallen significantly.

And since 2000, marriages where the wife is significantly older than the husband have also become more rare. (This analysis is limited to opposite-sex marriages in which the spouses live together.)

Overall, in 2022:

51% of opposite-sex marriages had spouses who were two years apart in age or less. This is up from 46% in 2000.

40% of marriages had a husband who was three or more years older than his wife. This is down from 43% in 2000.

10% of marriages had a wife who was three or more years older than her husband. This share had been on the rise during the 20th century but is now down marginally from a peak of 11% in 2000.

Not all family historians agree on how to define a “same-age” marriage. But whether we consider spouses of the same age to be those within two years of each other or four years, the historical trend is similar.

Who is most likely to be in a same-age marriage?

Some people are more likely than others to be in a same-age marriage:

More than half of husbands who have at least a bachelor’s degree (55%) are in a same-age marriage, compared with 48% of husbands with some college education or less.

Husbands in their first marriage are much more likely than husbands who have been married more than once to be roughly the same age as their wife (56% vs. 32%). And only 35% of husbands in their first marriage have a wife three or more years younger than them, compared with 56% of remarried husbands.

White husbands (53%) are more likely than Hispanic (46%), Black (45%) and Asian husbands (45%) to be in a same-age marriage. And about half of Asian husbands (49%) have a wife who is three or more years younger. The shares are lower among Hispanic (42%), Black (43%) and White husbands (38%).

The marriage patterns are similar when looking at the wife’s characteristics rather than the husband’s.