Study: Wedding rates dropping as millennials get older

(KIMT News 3) – Millennials are set to become the country’s largest living generation this year, many of which will reach the traditional ages for marriage, but research is showing that many of them are not getting married right away.

Demographic Intelligence, a forecasting firm, came out with the U.S. Wedding Forecast which uses demographic data like Google searches and other variables. Based on their findings, they predict that marriage rates will fall to 6.7 percent per 1,000 people in 2016, a historic low.

Despite that, owners of Celebrations Party and Gifts in downtown Albert Lea said it has been a good year.

“We’re seeing a lot of invitations this year,” said Owner Tami Staker. “This has been the largest year we’ve had in a long time in wedding invitations from the first of the year through June. We’re a little slow now, but we’ll kick up again in the fall I’m sure.”

Demographers said there could be several reasons for less millennial marriages, including student loan debt, less people identifying with a religion and different choices like living together and having children before marriage.

“I think it’s still important to people and they’re going to go ahead and do what they want to do,” Staker said. “It may be put off a couple of years, but I don’t think it’s going to be a long-term thing. Based on personal experience within my own family, I don’t see it as a long-term thing.”

The report did find an upward trend with marriage among the educated. The U.S. Wedding Forecast said weddings for college-educated women was 36 percent in 2015, up from 30 percent in 2008.