More American men remain bachelors than ever before. The Institute for Family Studies found that in 2025 there were 30.4 million single men ages 18 to 39. This is a stark contrast to the 20.7 million single men in 2000.
IFS said married adults generally report being happier than those who are unmarried and the “number of young men forgoing marriage could be adding to the happiness crash now unfolding among young adults across America.”
Brad Wilcox, an IFS fellow, noted “it’s never good for a society to have large numbers of unattached, dispirited and unhappy young men.”
The question is, what do the stats look like in Utah, a state that is well-known for its marriage culture? Utah holds the top spot for the highest marriage rate, at 24.5 new marriages per 1,000 people. It also leads as the state with the youngest median age at first marriage.
The University of Utah’s Gardner Institute published a report last year on marriage trends in Utah.
Heidi Prior, public policy analyst at the Gardner Institute and lead author of the report said “Utahns are waiting longer to marry than they did in the past, and the state’s share of never-married residents is growing, especially in younger age groups.”
They found that in 1980, 63.4% of Utahns were married. Today this number has dropped to 54.9%. The average marriage age has also risen by four years since 2000.
Although Utah is still in the lead for marriage rates, it has also contributed to the national decline.
What’s driving the decline?
Wilcox believes the cause of the declining marriage rate is the “addiction economy” and that it “is a failure of social responsibility.” He calls out addictive electronics, unchallenging schools and no vision of masculinity as reasons for this.
He cites a Deseret News article “Who is to blame for the decline in ‘marriageable’ men?” written by Wilcox, Maria Baer and Jason Carroll. They called out easy access to online pornography as another explanation for the high rate of single men. “Young men (22-35) who are frequent porn users are about twice as likely to say that they avoid committing in dating relationships,” the article says.
The results? Young adults are less happy, specifically unmarried young adults. IFS said “From 2010 to 2024, happiness among married young adults fell from 94% to 90%, compared to a decline from 82% to 68% among unmarried young adults.”
What’s the response
Brigham Young University’s Daily Universe reported, “Of BYU’s student body, 17% are married, more than double the national average for married students in the United States.”
But in 2021, the percentage of the student body who were married was 25%.
BYU has created frequent Date Night events to encourage students to date. These events are held on campus, free of charge and include a variety of activities.
C. Shane Reese, president of BYU, spoke to students Sept. 8 and invited them to “remove your earbuds on campus” and interact with other students.