Who's Older in a Marriage? Spousal Age Gaps in 2024
In most American marriages the husband is the older partner, but in more than one in five the wife is. A look at the age differences between spouses, computed from Census microdata.
Key findings
- In 64.7% of opposite-sex married couples (±0.1), the husband is older than the wife.
- The wife is older in 21.5% (±0.1); the spouses are the same age in 13.8%.
- About 8% of all married couples are 10 or more years apart, roughly one in 13.
- The average age difference between spouses is 3.7 years. Same-sex couples make up 1.3% of married couples.
This looks at every married-couple household in the 2024 1-Year American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample by pairing the householder with their spouse and comparing their ages. Estimates are weighted to represent all 61,999,030 married-couple households in the United States. "Older" means the partner with the higher age in whole years; the husband-versus-wife breakdown is shown for opposite-sex couples only, while the age-gap distribution covers all married couples. The Census Bureau top-codes very old ages for confidentiality, which slightly compresses the largest measured gaps.
Among opposite-sex married couples
Who is older?
| Category | Share of opposite-sex married couples |
|---|---|
| Husband older | 64.7% |
| Same age | 13.8% |
| Wife older | 21.5% |
Figures are weighted estimates; see the table for margins of error.
How far apart in age?
| Category | Share of all married couples |
|---|---|
| Same age | 13.8% |
| 1 to 2 years | 37.2% |
| 3 to 5 years | 27.1% |
| 6 to 9 years | 13.9% |
| 10 or more years | 8% |
Buckets are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%.
Age difference between spouses
| Age difference | Share of couples | Est. couples | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| Same age | 13.8% ± 0.1 | 8,553,382 | 94,511 |
| 1 to 2 years | 37.2% ± 0.1 | 23,048,064 | 255,952 |
| 3 to 5 years | 27.1% ± 0.1 | 16,820,944 | 186,555 |
| 6 to 9 years | 13.9% ± 0.1 | 8,623,556 | 94,368 |
| 10 or more years | 8% ± 0.1 | 4,953,084 | 53,180 |
Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level, from 80 replicate weights. Sample is the unweighted number of couples.
Data Sources & Methodology
The figures on this page are computed directly from the source data below. Narrative text accompanies the figures but never generates them.
American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS)
- Publisher:
- U.S. Census Bureau
- Vintage:
- 2024 1-Year
- Access:
- BigQuery
- Cadence:
- annual
De-identified individual person and housing records from the American Community Survey, the Census Bureau’s largest household survey. The 1-year PUMS file lets analysts compute custom estimates for demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics down to the Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA) level.
The ACS is a continuous survey that samples households throughout the year. The 2024 1-year PUMS file is a sample of de-identified person and housing records collected over calendar year 2024, representing the resident population of the United States.
Every record carries a sampling weight (PWGTP for persons, WGTP for housing units) that expands the sample to population and housing-unit totals. All statistics on this page are weighted estimates; any unweighted record counts are shown only to convey sample size.
Margins of error are computed from the 80 replicate weights supplied with the PUMS file using the Census Bureau’s successive-difference replication method, and are reported at the 90% confidence level unless stated otherwise.
Sub-state estimates use Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs), statistical areas of at least 100,000 residents. The 2020-vintage PUMA boundaries apply to 2022 and later ACS data.
- PUMS is a sample of roughly one percent of the population, so every estimate carries sampling error; small subgroups and small geographies have wider margins of error.
- Figures are survey estimates, not a complete count, and can differ from administrative records or the full ACS tabulations.
- Dollar amounts reflect the survey year and are not adjusted for inflation across vintages unless explicitly noted.
- PUMA boundaries are redrawn after each decennial census, which breaks strict geographic comparability across the boundary change.
How these figures were produced
- Estimate type:
- Weighted survey estimate (household level)
- Weighting:
- WGTP (housing-unit weight)
- Confidence level:
- 90%
- Error estimation:
- Successive-difference replication over 80 replicate weights
Suggested citation
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 1-Year American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS). Analysis by Matt George, itsmattgeorge.com. Retrieved 2026-10-15.