WASHINGTON, D.C. — Roughly four in 10 Americans say it is very important for a couple to be legally married if they have a child together (39%), up 10 percentage points from the prior reading in 2020. This returns attitudes to their 2013 level, although support remains below 2006, when 49% held this view.
By contrast, views on whether marriage is important for couples who plan to spend their lives together are essentially unchanged since 2020. Today, 37% say marriage is very important in this situation, similar to 38% in 2020 but well below the 54% recorded in 2006.
This is the first time in the past two decades that Americans have placed slightly greater importance on marriage when a couple has a child together than when a couple plans to spend their lives together.
Throughout the trend, majorities of Americans have said marriage is at least somewhat important, whether a couple plans to spend their lives together (59% today call it very or somewhat important) or has a child together (63%). But the percentage saying marriage is not important in either situation has grown over the past 20 years.
The latest findings come from Gallup’s May 1-17 Values and Beliefs poll.
Importance of Marriage for Couples With Children Rises Most Among Republicans
The rebound in the importance of marriage when a couple has a child together is driven primarily by Republicans. In 2026, 58% of Republicans say it is very important for a couple to be legally married when children are involved, an increase of 22 points since 2020.
Independents have also become more likely to view marriage as very important in this circumstance, rising from 30% in 2020 to 39% today. Democrats’ views are essentially unchanged, at 21% in 2026.
Republicans (56%) are also more likely than independents (36%) and Democrats (22%) to say it is very important for a couple to be legally married when planning to spend their lives together. These results are statistically similar to those observed in 2020.
Importance of Marriage for Couples With Children Up Across Most Subgroups
The recent increase in the importance Americans place on marriage when a couple has a child together is evident across most demographic subgroups, but it is especially pronounced among groups that have consistently been the most supportive of marriage. In addition to Republicans, that includes adults who are religious and those who are married. In contrast, views on the importance of marriage for couples planning to spend their lives together have changed much less since 2020.
Weekly church attendees show one of the largest increases since 2020 in the belief that couples who have a child together should be married, up 24 points, from 41% to 65%.
The perceived importance of marriage for couples with children has increased by 16 points among married adults since 2020, putting their views almost back on par with 2006, when 55% said it is very important. By contrast, there has been no meaningful change in the views of non-married adults since 2020, with 29% today preferring that couples with a child be married.
Older adults have consistently been more likely than younger adults to say being married is very important for couples with children. Since 2020, support has increased among adults aged 18 to 29, 50 to 64, and 65 and older, while there has been no significant change among adults aged 30 to 49. Adults aged 50 to 64 and those aged 65 and older have seen increases of about 13 percentage points, while adults aged 18 to 29 have seen a similar nine-point increase.
The overall stability in Americans’ views about the importance of marriage when a couple plans to spend their lives together is seen across demographic subgroups. No group, including the highly religious, has become statistically more likely to say marriage is very important in this circumstance.
The 优蜜传媒study also explored the relationship between adults’ views on marriage and their own upbringing. Adults who report that their parents were married when they were born are somewhat more likely than those whose parents were not married to say marriage is very important when a couple plans to spend their lives together (39% vs. 31%) and 10 points more likely to say marriage is very important if they have a child together (41% vs. 31%).
Americans who were raised by two parents in different households, primarily by one parent, or by a parent and a step-parent (24%) are less likely than those raised by two parents in the same household (45%) to say it is very important for a couple with a child together to be married. They are also less likely to say marriage is very important for a couple planning to spend their lives together (26%) compared with those raised in a two-parent household (42%).
Fewer Americans’ Parents Married at Birth
The most recent findings show that fewer Americans report their parents were married when they were born than said this two decades ago. Today, 82% say their parents were married at the time of their birth, down from 92% in 2006. Meanwhile, 67% of Americans say they were raised in a two-parent household, down from 75%.
These experiences differ sharply by age. Sixty-nine percent of adults aged 18 to 34 report that their parents were married when they were born, compared with 78% of those aged 35 to 54 and 93% of those aged 55 and older. Similarly, 56% of adults aged 18 to 34 say they were raised by both parents in the same household, similar to the 59% of those aged 35 to 54 and significantly lower than the 80% of those aged 55 and older.
Bottom Line
The percentage of Americans who say it is very important that a couple with a child together legally marry has rebounded significantly from 2020, with gains evident across most demographic subgroups, led by Republicans and weekly religious service attendees.
This increase coincides with a significant drop in the percentage of Americans reporting that it is morally acceptable to have a baby outside of marriage. In 2020, two-thirds of Americans (66%), including 61% of Republicans, said this was morally acceptable, compared with 58% of Americans and 44% of Republicans today.
The long-term decline in the importance that Americans place on marriage has occurred alongside changes in family structure in the U.S. Compared with 2006, fewer Americans today report that their parents were married when they were born or that they were raised in a two-parent household. Those declines are especially pronounced among younger adults and linked to a lower likelihood of saying marriage is very important, indicating that the dynamics of marriage and families are likely to continue to change.
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