The Perfect Ages to Get Married (and the Worst)

The pressure to get married is real. It’s not just grandma asking when you’ll tie the knot at family dinners. It’s parents. Coworkers. Friends. But, science shows that the right time to get married depends on many different factors. In fact, the perfect age — rather perfect ages to get married vary. They are all over the place. And there’s some data on the worst ages to get married, too.

When it comes to life experience and the ability to choose the right partner for you, a mathematical study pegged living one-third of your life before getting married. The report, called Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions, suggests to stop dating when you have met/dated about one-third of your dating pool, which is about age 26.

It’s a numbers game, too. The longer you wait, the less viable partners you can choose from, especially in heterosexual relationships, as women outnumber men. If a woman waits until 30 to get married, there is a one in two chance she never will.

The biggest sign of a good marriage is one that lasts. And according to the National Survey of Family Growth, getting married between 28 and 32 is the lowest risk for divorce.

The age of 18 might be considered “adult,” but it may not be the perfect age to get married. The same research points that getting married in the teens has a divorce rate of 38 per cent in their first five years of marriage. It lowers in the 20s to 27 per cent ­­— but that’s still one in four marriages ending in divorce. Wait for your mid-30s, and it dips to 17 per cent. Here's an interesting fact though, 100 per cent of divorces result from marriage.

This is the latest you should get married if you want to have kids after you're married (though, of course, there are many other way to have children). The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reports if you want children you should plan to do it before the age of 32, which is peak fertility. But, if you want to have a few years to be child-free, and give yourself a few years to “try” for kids, you’ll have to minus that from 32. Wait until 35 or 36, or later, and the female reproductive system may have other plans. This is when fertility begins to drop. Of course, pregnancy can happen. But the later in life women try to have children the more likely they will need medical help, such as in vitro fertilization, or consider surrogate or adoption.

Getting married when you join the quarter century club is good for men and their life spans. Harvard University reports that the longer a man is married the longer he will live. And the optimal age to get married is 25.

The majority of research on the topic concurs that men’s health benefits from marriage, regardless of age. In fact, it’s the single men who are more likely to die younger than their married counterparts.

Starting a family can be good for women’s health, and she may live longer for it. A study published in the Journal of Public Health by researchers at the University of Coimbra found that women who become pregnant in their 30s or older have a higher life expectancy, than if they had children in their 20s.

Weddings can cost a lot, and so can cohabitating, because of big purchases like a house, car, vacations and more. As you gain more experience, you may become more financially literate, plus often, a person's net worth improves with age. At age 60, that’s when financial literacy begins to fall.

This is just based on public opinion of what the perfect age to get married would be, according to the Edmonton Transitions Study. Female study participants were placed into categories for getting married "early," "on time" or "late." “Early” is before 23. “On time” is between 23 and 27. And “late” is 28 and older. Men gave themselves a few years’ leeway. “Early” means before 26. “On time” is between 27 and 30. And “late” 30 or older.

Getting married is a happy occasion, for sure. But does it lead to happiness? Marrying in your mid-to-later 20s led to overall happiness, reports the Edmonton Transitions Study.

Those who got married earlier in life, around 23 and younger, reported increased risk of depression in mid-life.

More and more couples in their 50s are forgoing wedded bliss for “living together,” reports the Pew Research Center. It’s the fastest growing demographic for cohabitating, with a 75 per cent growth since 2007. Why? They’re just not interested in paying for a wedding and all the red tape that comes with sharing finances.

The percentage of those under 35 who have never been married is the highest that it's ever been, reports Pew Research. Why? It may be their choice. First, they haven't found someone they want to marry. They don't feel financially ready and are just not being ready to settle down yet.