Ideal Age for Marriage?

Filed in archive Something Different on November 17, 2008

Maybe you've noticed that people's idea of an "ideal" age to marry has risen in recent decades.

In a 1946 Gallup Poll, most found the ideal age to be 25 for men and 21 for women. Sixty years later, in a Gallup telephone poll of about 500 adults, the ideal age had increased to 25 for women and 27 for men.

There are many factors that led to this change in ideals, including women pursuing careers and the acceptability of couples living together before marriage.


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Barbara Sauder


There really isn't a magic number; you'll find research and studies supporting either side of the debate. The one point both sides seem to agree on is that getting married as a teen is not the best age.

I got married at 25 and knew that had I married earlier, I wouldn't have had the maturity to really make the marriage work. So here I am at 37 and still married to the same guy. However, I also know people who married at 18 and are still together. It's not so much that it's an "ideal" age across the board - it's what's ideal for you and your partner.

Is there a right age for you?

Source