- Codes
- Description
- Comparability
- Universe
- Availability
- Flags
- Questionnaire Text
- UnHarmonized Variables
Codes and Frequencies
An 'X' indicates the category is available for that sample
| Code | Label |
Feb
25 |
Jan
25 |
Dec
24 |
Nov
24 |
Oct
24 |
Sep
24 |
Aug
24 |
Jul
24 |
Jun
24 |
May
24 |
Apr
24 |
ASEC
24 |
Mar
24 |
Feb
24 |
Jan
24 |
Dec
23 |
Nov
23 |
Oct
23 |
Sep
23 |
Aug
23 |
Jul
23 |
Jun
23 |
May
23 |
Apr
23 |
ASEC
23 |
Mar
23 |
Feb
23 |
Jan
23 |
Dec
22 |
Nov
22 |
Oct
22 |
Sep
22 |
Aug
22 |
Jul
22 |
Jun
22 |
May
22 |
Apr
22 |
ASEC
22 |
Mar
22 |
Feb
22 |
Jan
22 |
Dec
21 |
Nov
21 |
Oct
21 |
Sep
21 |
Aug
21 |
Jul
21 |
Jun
21 |
May
21 |
Apr
21 |
Code | Label |
ASEC
21 |
Mar
21 |
Feb
21 |
Jan
21 |
ASEC
20 |
ASEC
19 |
ASEC
18 |
ASEC
17 |
ASEC
16 |
ASEC
15 |
ASEC
14 |
ASEC
13 |
ASEC
12 |
ASEC
11 |
ASEC
10 |
ASEC
09 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Married, spouse present | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 1 | Married, spouse present | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2 | Married, spouse absent | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 2 | Married, spouse absent | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 3 | Separated | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 3 | Separated | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 4 | Divorced | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 4 | Divorced | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 5 | Widowed | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 5 | Widowed | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 6 | Never married/single | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 6 | Never married/single | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 7 | Widowed or Divorced | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 7 | Widowed or Divorced | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 9 | NIU | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | · | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | · | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | · | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 9 | NIU | · | X | X | X | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
Can't find the category you are looking for? Try the Detailed codes
Description
MARST gives each person's current marital status, including whether the spouse was currently living in the same household.
Comparability
This variable is comparable across years.
In all years, children were assumed to be single and are included in the never-married category. The youngest age for collecting information directly about marital status rose from 14 to 15 in 1980.
The category "separated" pertains only to married persons who were legally separated or parted because of marital discord, not to those who parted temporarily for other reasons, such as employment or service in the armed forces. Persons who stated they had a common-law marriage were coded as "married."
For the category "married, spouse absent," the original CPS data for 1962-1988 note whether the absent spouse was a member of the armed forces. For 1976 forward, the original CPS data distinguish between civilians and members of the armed forces for the "married, spouse present" category. To increase comparability with IPUMS-USA, these distinctions are not made in the MARST variable in the IPUMS-CPS data.
Comparability with IPUMS-USA
In the CPS data, the distinction between "married, spouse present" and "married, spouse absent" was made during the interview itself. An individual was coded as "married, spouse absent" if he or she reported being married and the husband or wife was not reported to be a member of the same household. Such cases included spouses who were institutionalized or who stayed most of the week at a different residence. This differs from IPUMS-USA, in which the "married, spouse absent" code was consistently imposed after the fact via programming using SPLOC variable.
Universe
- 1962-1979 (ASEC): Persons age 14+ (pre-1968 samples do not include persons under age 14).
- 1976+ (non-ASEC): Persons age 15+.
- 1980+ (ASEC): Persons age 15+.
Availability
| Years | Jan | Feb | ASEC | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 – 1975 | - | - | X | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1976 – 2024 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2025 | X | X | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Flags
QMARSTUnharmonized Variables
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