Are Prenups Just for the Wealthy? What the Data Says About Who Signs

If you have your own income, your own savings, maybe a business or a mortgage or some student debt, you may have asked yourself a version of this question: aren't prenups only for people with a lot of money? It is a fair question, and for a long time the popular image backed it up. The prenup showed up in movies as the thing a wealthy man's lawyers handed his fiancee before the wedding. That picture has aged. Today the share of women who are the sole or primary breadwinner in their marriage tripled between 1972 and 2022, from 5% to 16%, according to the Pew Research Center (2023). More people are bringing their own financial lives into marriage, and more of them want clear terms before they say "I do."

Are prenups only for wealthy people?

No. A prenup is a financial-planning tool that fits any couple with income, savings, debt, or future earning potential. Plenty of couples who sign one would not describe themselves as wealthy. They have careers, a car loan, a side business, a home, or a graduate degree they are still paying off. What they share is a wish to decide the terms of their financial life together, in advance, rather than leaving those terms to whatever their state's default law happens to say.

That reframe matters because the wealthy-only myth keeps a lot of people from a conversation that could help them. A prenup, at its core, is a written agreement about how a couple will handle money, property, and debt if the marriage ends. It can also clarify how you will handle finances during the marriage. None of that requires a trust fund. It requires two people with financial lives worth organizing, which describes most couples getting married today. If you want to see who signs these agreements, our breakdown of who gets a prenup draws on First's own customer data.

How have women's earnings changed the picture?

For most of the last century, marriage typically meant one primary earner. That is no longer the norm. The Pew Research Center found that in 29% of opposite-sex marriages, both spouses now earn about the same amount, up from 11% in 1972, where "about the same" means each partner brings in 40% to 60% of the couple's combined earnings. Two paychecks, two sets of assets, and often two sets of debts have become ordinary.

Earnings have moved too. In 2024, women who worked full time had median weekly earnings that were 83% of men's, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report on the highlights of women's earnings in 2024. The gap is real, and it is also narrowing for younger workers. Pew's 2025 analysis of the gender pay gap over the past two decades found that among workers ages 25 to 34, women earned about 95 cents for every dollar men earned in 2024. For the generation now heading into marriage, financial parity is closer than it has ever been.

Couples are also marrying later, with more of their financial lives already built. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2025 median age at first marriage reached 30.8 for men and 28.4 for women, drawing on its median earnings and marriage data. By the time many people walk down the aisle, they have a career, a retirement account, and a credit history that predates the relationship. A prenup is one way to sort out what stays separate and what becomes shared.

Why do women now initiate about half of prenups?

Here is where First's own numbers come in, and we want to be transparent about the source: this is First's first-party customer data, not an outside survey. Among First's customers, about half of prenups are initiated by women. That figure tracks the broader shift the government data describes. As more women enter marriage with careers, savings, and sometimes debt of their own, more of them want the financial conversation on the table early rather than after a problem appears.

This is a change from the old picture, where the higher-earning spouse (usually assumed to be a man) brought the prenup to the table. Now the person raising it is often a woman protecting the independence and savings she built. We wrote more about that shift in why women get prenups, and the pattern shows up elsewhere in First's data too: roughly 70% of First customers have joint bank accounts, which suggests these are couples already blending their financial lives thoughtfully rather than keeping everything at arm's length.

The table below shows how the image of who a prenup is for has shifted.

What does "financial self-protection" mean in a prenup?

The phrase can sound adversarial, as if one partner is bracing against the other. In practice, financial self-protection in a prenup is mutual. The agreement clarifies what stays separate, how assets and debts are treated, and what happens to future earnings if the marriage ends. Both partners get that clarity, not one at the expense of the other.

For a working partner, that clarity does specific work. It can help keep the savings and property you built before the marriage recognized as yours. It can address how a business you own is treated, so a company you spent years building is not automatically split. It can spell out how debt is handled, so one partner's student loans or credit-card balance do not quietly become a shared burden. A prenup cannot guarantee any particular outcome; enforceability is decided case by case by a judge applying your state's law. What a well-drafted agreement is designed to do is shape the terms a court considers and give both partners a clear starting point. If the planning-tool angle is what draws you, our piece on the prenup as a financial-planning tool goes deeper.

Does a prenup make sense if my partner and I both earn?

You might want to consider one. Two-earner couples often reach for a prenup precisely because there is more to organize, not less. When both partners have income, the questions multiply: What happens to the business one of you owns? How do you handle the debt one of you brought in? What about future earnings, or the difference between a saver and a spender? A prenup lets you answer those questions together, on your own terms, instead of leaving them to your state's default rules.

Those default rules vary. In community property states, most assets and debts acquired during the marriage are generally treated as jointly owned and divided equally. In equitable distribution states, a court divides property in a way it considers fair, and "equitable" does not always mean "equal." Either way, the default is a set of rules written by your legislature, not by you. A prenup is how a couple substitutes their own agreement for that default. Middle-income and dual-earner couples use them all the time; we made the case in whether middle-income couples need a prenup.

And no, raising the topic does not mean you distrust your partner. Many couples find that building a prenup opens honest conversations about money, goals, and expectations they had not fully talked through. It is a practical step in shared financial planning. If you want to think through the specifics, our guide on what a woman should ask for in a prenup is a good place to start, and our roundup of prenup statistics shows how common these agreements have become.

Frequently asked questions

Are prenups only for rich people?

No. A prenup is a planning tool for any couple with income, savings, debt, or future earning potential. Many couples who sign one are not wealthy. They have careers, student loans, a small business, or a home, and they want clear terms in place before marriage rather than leaving those terms to their state's default law.

Why are more women getting prenups?

As women enter marriage with their own careers, savings, and sometimes debt, more want the financial conversation on the table early. First's data shows women initiate about half of its agreements, reflecting a broader shift toward two-earner couples planning together rather than one higher-earning partner protecting existing wealth.

What does financial self-protection mean in a prenup?

It means using the agreement to clarify what stays separate, how assets and debts are treated, and what happens to future earnings if the marriage ends. For a working partner, that clarity helps protect the independence and savings she built before and during the marriage, and it applies to both partners equally.

Do I need a prenup if my partner and I both earn?

You might want to consider one. Two-earner couples often use prenups to address student debt, a business, differing spending habits, or future income. A prenup lets you decide the terms together rather than leaving them to state default law, which may divide things in ways neither of you would choose.

Does getting a prenup mean I don't trust my partner?

No. Many couples find that creating a prenup opens honest conversations about money, goals, and expectations. It reflects a practical approach to shared financial planning rather than a lack of commitment, and it gives both partners a clear, agreed-upon picture of how they will handle their finances together.

Considering a prenup? Here's how First can help

The wealthy-only story never described most couples, and it describes them even less today. If you have income, savings, a business, debt, or plans that matter to you, a prenup is one way to organize all of it before marriage, on your own timeline. No hourly rates, no back and forth with attorneys, no surprises.

If you are weighing whether a prenup fits a two-income life like yours, First was built for couples planning together, not just the ultra-wealthy. You can explore First's packages and start the conversation whenever you and your partner are ready. Prenup laws and enforceability vary by state and are decided case by case, so if your situation involves a spousal-support waiver or another complex question, review it with independent legal counsel before you sign.

Methodology

These figures are drawn from three sources: Pew Research Center's 2023 analysis of married-couple earnings and its 2025 gender pay gap analysis; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau earnings data for 2024; and First's own customer data for 2026. First's initiator figure reflects the share of First-facilitated agreements initiated by women across its customer base.

Sources

First is not a law firm. The information and tools provided by First on this site are not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.