http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-11-09-delayed-marriage_N.htm Sooner vs. later: Is there an ideal age for first marriage? by Sharon Jayson This article (by USA Today) has both statistical information about the median age of the first marriage, (from the US Census Bureau) and a commentary about why the age at which the first marriage occurs is changing. A few quotes: The median age is now the oldest since the U.S. Census started keeping track in the 1890s: almost 26 for women and almost 28 for men. In a 1946 Gallup Poll, most found the ideal age to be 25 for men and 21 for women. Sixty years later, in a Gallup telephone poll of about 500 adults, the ideal age had increased to 25 for women and 27 for men. And as young people wait longer to marry, there is growing debate over whether waiting is a good idea, and if so, how long is best. Those who advocate marriage in the early to mid-20s say that's the age when the pool of possible mates is larger, it's when couples can "grow up" together and it's prime for childbearing. But others favor the late 20s or early 30s, saying maturity makes for happier unions and greater economic security — both of which make divorce less likely.

most people that are 30 and dating is because they have been married and divorced+3.