Research shows young people in D.C. get married, on average, at a later age than in any state. (Kristin Maiorano/MNS)
WASHINGTON –Blame it on the fast-paced political scene, the transient job market or the large student population. An October Pew Research study shows the median age that young people in Washington first get married is four years older than the nationwide average.
“There’s been some research showing that people who get married older tend to be more educated,” said D’Vera Cohn, who authored the study. “Because they wait to get married. They need to complete their educations, invest in their careers before settling down. They may not meet their spouses in college anymore. They might meet them after they go on the job market.”
Web extra: Erica Parkhurst, 28, from Arlington, Va., got married when she was 25 years old. She talks about how her marriage actually helped her career. (Kristin Maiorano/MNS)
Several D.C.-area young people echoed Cohn’s thoughts, though some others who fell outside of the statistics said they felt they could have a career and a spouse.