Driving the news:
More young men in America are staying single than ever before, according to new data compiled by the Institute for Family Studies.
The group says there were 30.4 million single men ages 18 to 39 in the U.S. in 2025, almost 10 million more bachelors than in 2000, when the figure was 20.7 million. It also estimated there were 15 million more single men than husbands in that age group in 2025. In 2000, there was only a 2.6 million difference.
Over the last 25 years, the number of married men fell from 18.1 million to 15.4 million, a 15% drop.
Sociologists like IFS Fellow Brad Wilcox say single men are more likely to be lonely, prone to deaths of despair and unhappy. The data cited show unhappiness among single men rising from 16% in 1980 to 23% in 2020, while the rate for married men stayed between 8% and 7%.
The source points to fewer men in college and in the workforce as part of the shift. It says one million fewer men were in college in 2024 than in 2011. It also says Gen Z men ages 16 to 24 are exiting the labor market, with a 13% drop in July compared with 2000.
Why it matters: The family formation crunch is not just a culture story. It is a labor-market story, a wage story and a stability story. When work weakens, marriage weakens too.
The bottom line: More public investment in skilled trades may help, but the bigger issue is whether young men can recover economic footing. Without that, the country keeps paying for weaker households, lower birth rates and more isolation.