Age-heterogamous partnerships: Prevalence and partner differences by marital status and gender composition

Abstract

OBJECTIVE We examine age heterogamy in the United States and its associations with other partnership characteristics following the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015. METHODS We use American Community Survey data for 2017–2021 to examine age gaps in over 3.3 million couples, differentiating by couple gender composition (man-man, man-woman, woman-woman) and marital status (cohabiting, married). We estimate the prevalence of age heterogamy and how it correlates with education, income, and race/ethnicity differences between partners.