These are the cities where people are most likely to be married in their 20s
Getting married in your twenties might feel like a distant prospect for some young adults, but in certain parts of England and Wales, saying “I do” before turning 30 is considerably more common than elsewhere.
New research reveals where young adults are most likely to already be married or in a registered civil partnership, with Bradford leading the ranking and Brighton and Hove recording the lowest proportion among the locations studied. A ranking by Premier Carriage Wedding Cars analysed Office for National Statistics (ONS) Census 2021 data across 54 locations in England and Wales, comparing the percentage of residents aged 20 to 29 who were married or in a registered civil partnership.
Bradford takes first place, with 16.30% of residents aged 20 to 29 married or in a registered civil partnership. The city recorded approximately 11,030 young adults in this category, out of a population of 67,675 people in their twenties.
Peterborough follows in second place at 13.99%. Around 3,775 residents aged 20 to 29 were married or civil-partnered, placing the city just ahead of Leicester.
Leicester ranks third with 13.82%. The city recorded 8,760 married or civil-partnered residents in their twenties, making it one of only three locations in the study where the proportion exceeded 13%.
Birmingham takes fourth place at 11.92%. With 20,960 married or civil-partnered residents aged 20 to 29, it has the largest number among the top ten locations, although its larger population puts it below Bradford, Peterborough and Leicester by percentage.
Wolverhampton completes the top five at 10.83%, followed closely by Newport in Wales at 10.76%. At the other end of the ranking, Brighton and Hove has the lowest proportion of young married residents, at just 3.83%.
The area recorded approximately 1,870 married or civil-partnered residents aged 20 to 29 out of 48,865 people in that age group. Canterbury follows at 4.28%, while York records 4.68%.
Other major cities also show relatively low figures. Bristol stands at 4.85%, Liverpool at 4.90% and Newcastle upon Tyne at 5.69%.
London, meanwhile, sits just outside the top ten in 11th place, with 9.71% of residents aged 20 to 29 married or in a registered civil partnership. According to the ONS, the proportion of adults aged 25 to 29 in England and Wales who had never married or registered a civil partnership rose from 73.9% in 2011 to 84.2% in 2021.
