Latest signals
Among Gen Z respondents aged 22–27, 74% express a desire to marry at some point. But the median expected age of first marriage has shifted to 31 — four years later than Millennial expectations at the same life stage. The institution is intact; the timeline has stretched.
Gen Z is the most fertility-literate generation we have studied. Yet awareness has not translated into confidence: 61% of respondents report uncertainty about their own fertility status, and 44% say cost is the primary barrier to proactive fertility testing.
For the first time in our data, a meaningful share of Gen Z respondents (29%) are actively including non-biological chosen family members in long-term housing and caregiving plans. This is not sentiment — it is logistics.
After years of rising numbers, the share of Gen Z adults who identify as intentionally child-free appears to be stabilizing around 22% — consistent across three consecutive waves of our panel. The number is real, but the growth may have plateaued.
From the field
"The data keeps showing us that Gen Z has not abandoned family — they have redesigned the entry conditions. As they have done through every lifestage they've navigated, they will shape it to fit their agenda."
