In the 2000s, about what percentage of couples were cohabiting before marriage?

• A. About 20%
• B. About 40%
• C. About 60%
• D. About 80%

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is how common pre-marital cohabitation became as a pathway to marriage. By the 2000s, living together before marriage had become the norm for many couples, so a large majority who went on to marry had already spent time cohabiting. About eighty percent of couples were cohabiting before marriage, reflecting a shift in social norms where moving in together first is a standard step in forming a family. The smaller figures would imply much less common practice, which doesn’t fit the observed trend of widespread pre-marital cohabitation. So the high figure best captures the pattern of that decade.