MD, DC Marriage Rates Below Low National Average

Pew Research says marriage in America at all-time low

New research said the number of adults getting married is at a record low.

According to Census Bureau data reviewed by the Pew Research Center, only 51% of American adults are married.

In Maryland, 50% of adults are married, while in Virginia, 54% of adults are married.  In D.C., only one in four adults are in a marriage.

The study also finds more adults are getting married later in life.

Pew Research says today's numbers are in sharp contrast from the figures 50 years ago.  Pew says just 20 percent of adults between the age of 18 and 29 are getting married; in 1960, 59 percent got married during that age bracket.

In 2010, the number of new marriages declined by 5 percent from the year before.

The study notes that it is unclear whether young people are abandoning marriages through divorce or just delaying.  Pew says although Census numbers indicate that although 51 percent are currently married across the country, 72 percent reported having been married at least once.

Pew also says this overall trend is not just an American phenomenon: industrialized countries around the world have experienced similar marriage rate declines.

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