5/8 Marriage Deserts Top 10 Largest
The Top 10 Largest Marriage Deserts are in:
Lower Manhattan-Bronx (NY)
Chicago/Gary (IL, IN)
Manhattan-Bronx-Queens (NY)
Los Angeles (CA)
Philadelphia (PA-NJ)
Atlanta (GA)
Washington, D.C. (DC, MD)
Boston (MA)
Austin (TX)
Cleveland (OH)
A marriage desert, is in those PUMAs (Public Use Microdata Areas) in which the share of householders aged 15 to 64 who are married falls below 33 percent, representing the lowest-observed marriage rates nationally.
The list below ranks contiguous PUMAs that meet the marriage desert criteria, creating the largest deserts by population. These groupings are presented with a minimum and maximum marriage shares of adjoining deserts, rather than ranking the isolated extremes.
By contrast to the individual list, we now see we are researching a large phenomenon, with—in the case of the largest grouped marriage desert in New York—a total of 686,520 households.
The list below ranks the Top 10 grouped PUMAs, the largest by population, that have the lowest shares of married householders aged 15–64: ranging from 14 percent to 33 percent.
This means that over two thirds of householders aged 15–64 in each of these grouped PUMAs are not married.
America’s largest marriage desert spreads across Lower Manhattan and the Bronx, NY.
Of the 686,520 householders aged 15-64 in this marriage desert, the minimum share who are married is 19% and the maximum share is 32%.
America’s second largest marriage desert spreads across Chicago to Gary, IL.
Of the 668,379 householders aged 15-64 in this marriage desert, the minimum share who are married is 17% and the maximum share is 33%.
America’s third largest marriage desert spreads across Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens, NY.
Of the 544,982 householders aged 15-64 in this marriage desert, the minimum share who are married is 20% and the maximum share is 32%.
America’s fourth largest marriage desert is in Los Angeles, CA—spreading from downtown, through West Hollywood to Santa Monica.
Of the 422,668 householders aged 15-64 in this marriage desert, the minimum share who are married is 24% and the maximum share is 32%.
America’s fifth largest marriage desert spreads across Philadelphia, PA spilling into NJ.
Of the 417,107 householders aged 15-64 in this marriage desert, the minimum share who are married is 19% and the maximum share is 32%.
America’s sixth largest marriage desert spreads across Philadelphia, PA spilling into NJ.
Of the 417,107 householders aged 15-64 in this marriage desert, the minimum share who are married is 19% and the maximum share is 32%.
America’s seventh largest marriage desert spreads out from Washington D.C. and into MD.
Of the 256,638 householders aged 15-64 in this marriage desert, the minimum share who are married is 14% and the maximum share is 29%.
America’s eighth largest marriage desert spreads out from Boston and Cambridge, MA and into their outer neighborhoods.
Of the 226,183 householders aged 15-64 in this marriage desert, the minimum share who are married is 17% and the maximum share is 30%.
America’s ninth largest marriage desert is in Austin, TX.
Of the 211,374 householders aged 15-64 in this marriage desert, the minimum share who are married is 26% and the maximum share is 31%.
America’s tenth largest marriage desert is in Cleveland, OH.
Of the 206,932 householders aged 15-64 in this marriage desert, the minimum share who are married is 14% and the maximum share is 29%.
Full report and maps published by the Institute for Family Studies: https://ifstudies.org/report-brief/marriage-deserts-mapping-americas-family-divide
