Thanks to all who participated in my survey last summer! Below is a summary of the results. If you would like a PDF with all the nitty-gritty, send me an email or PM.

Casey

According to the census (last available data from 1999), the majority of men are married to women within one year of their own age. Yet many men and women do not believe that. In fact, based on the results of a recently completed survey, about half of the people don’t believe that it is true.

What they believe is that men prefer younger women – substantially younger women.

However, based on evidence from the same people, the median difference in age between and a man and a woman when they marry ranges from two to four years. And the average age is 1.2 years, with the man being older.

But wait, they say! That may be true when people are younger, but not when they get older in mid-life.

Yes, it’s different, but not in the way that people believe. In the age range from 45 to 54, the median difference was 0 and on average, women were about a month younger than the men that they married. In the age range from 55 to 65? Men were, on average a year and a half younger than the women that they married. The median difference was also 0.