Census Bureau data showed that while many unmarried 40-year-olds cohabitated with a romantic partner, most were on their own. In 2022, 22 percent of adults between the ages of 40 and 44 who had never been married were cohabiting.

The percentage of 40-year-olds in 2021 who had never tied the knot differed by demographic, Fry found. Men were more likely than women to have never married, as were black 40-year-olds, compared to Hispanics, whites, and Asians of the same age.

Forty-year-olds without four-year college degrees were also more likely than those with bachelor’s degrees or higher to be unmarried.

“One-third of those with a high school diploma or less had never married, compared with 26 percent of those with some college education and 18 percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or more education,” according to the analysis.