9.48M
2023 (latest)
UNMARRIED OPPOSITE-SEX COUPLES, DIRECT MEASURE
thousands of couples · 1996–2023 · neither direction is "better" · U.S. Census Bureau, historical family and living-arrangement tables
2.86M
1996
9.89M
high · 2022
2.86M
low · 1996
+232%
since 1996
unmarried partners, asked directly (1996→)POSSLQ proxy (to 2006)the Census Bureau retired its POSSLQ proxy in 2007 once cohabitation was asked directly; the eras are never joined
┊ dashed lines mark 2001 Dot-com bust & 9/11 · 2008 Global financial crisis · 2020 COVID-19 pandemic
Method & caveats. Direct relationship measure, 1996–2023. Before 2007 restricted to couples with a householder partner; all opposite-sex unmarried couples included from 2007. Paired with POSSLQ, never joined to it. The publisher file ends in 2023. Breaks: 2014 ASEC questionnaire redesign; decennial population-control revisions (the publisher's lettered r rows, taken over the original); 2021 appears twice in the tables (the later-method row is taken); before 2007 restricted to couples with a householder partner.
Sources
Every value on this page is read from the publisher below. Current and historical source documents:
- https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/demo/tables/families/time-series/adults/uc1.xls
- https://github.com/danielmiessler/substrate/tree/main/Data/US-Family-And-Society
Data
| Year | Unmarried opposite-sex couples, direct measure | Opposite-sex adults sharing living quarters, POSSLQ | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 9.48M | — | −4% |
| 2022 | 9.89M | — | +3% |
| 2021 | 9.64M | — | +9% |
| 2020 | 8.81M | — | +1% |
| 2019 | 8.74M | — | +3% |
| 2018 | 8.52M | — | +10% |
| 2017 | 7.75M | — | −4% |
| 2016 | 8.07M | — | −3% |
| 2015 | 8.32M | — | +5% |
| 2014 | 7.91M | — | −2% |
| 2013 | 8.06M | — | +3% |
| 2012 | 7.84M | — | +3% |
| 2011 | 7.59M | — | +1% |
| 2010 | 7.53M | — | +13% |
| 2009 | 6.66M | — | −2% |
| 2008 | 6.80M | — | +5% |
| 2007 | 6.45M | — | +29% |
| 2006 | 5.01M | 5.37M | +3% |
| 2005 | 4.88M | 5.21M | +4% |
| 2004 | 4.68M | 5.08M | +1% |
| 2003 | 4.62M | 5.05M | +10% |
| 2002 | 4.19M | 4.90M | +2% |
| 2001 | 4.10M | 4.89M | +7% |
| 2000 | 3.82M | 4.74M | +13% |
| 1999 | 3.38M | 4.49M | +8% |
| 1998 | 3.14M | 4.24M | +2% |
| 1997 | 3.09M | 4.13M | +8% |
| 1996 | 2.86M | 3.96M | — |
Also in Family & Society