The institute for family studies produced a study called the State of Our Unions which outlines some key statistics including the reduced share of the American population  under age 65 represented by married couples.



The study notes "

"A few factors help to explain the different marriage trends experienced by younger and older adults. Americans are marrying under age 65 has risen dramatically—from 26% in 1990 to 36% in 2016—which has directly contributed to the declining share of currently married among younger adults."never-married adults rather than getting married. And the share of living with a partner than ever, and more are later"

The US Census Bureau illustrates that part of the reason for the decreasing rate of marriage is that Americans are getting married later in life than in previous years. See the chart below:




The number of Catholic Marriages in the Archdiocese of Seattle reflects these trends as can be seen in this chart of Catholic Marriages by Type between 1996 and 2016 provided by the Archdiocese' Office of Planning and Research:
 




Though the numbers of weddings have been declining relative to years in t he past, a Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2017 among 4,971 U.S. adults found that, among adults who have never been married, 58% say they would like to get married.

The value of marriage remains strong. However, we need to help prepare our people to enter into this important vocation.