According to Child Trends, a Washington research group that has analyzed government data, more than 50% of children born to American mothers under 30 years of age now occur outside marriage.
Even when all age groups are considered, less than 60% of American mothers are married when they have children.
One group resists the trend: college graduates. About 92% of college-educated women are married when they give birth, compared with 62% percent of women with some post-secondary schooling and 43% of women with a high school diploma or less.