TL;DR: A 2026 Harris Poll conducted for Bloomberg found that 53% of engaged or married Americans under age 45 had signed a prenup, up from the low forties a few years earlier. First's aggregated, anonymized data fills in the portrait: the typical customer is in their early thirties, earns more than $100,000, often carries student debt, and women initiate half of First's agreements. The U.S. Census Bureau (2025) puts the median age at first marriage at 28.4 for women and 30.8 for men.If you have started wondering whether a prenup is a thing "people like me" do, you are asking the question a lot of couples ask right now. The picture in your head might be a celebrity, a hedge fund, a much older spouse. The picture in the data looks different. As of May 2026, 53% of engaged or married Americans under age 45 said they had signed a prenup, according to a Harris Poll conducted for Bloomberg . More than half of younger couples. A prenup is a mainstream document now.
This post pairs that national trend with something we can speak to directly: First's own customers. Below is a portrait drawn from our aggregated, anonymized customer data, and it may look more familiar than you expect. For the broader industry picture, our prenup statistics report rounds up the wider landscape.
Who gets a prenup, by the numbers. Data from First®. More than half of couples under 45 now have a prenup The 53% figure is the headline, and it represents a real climb. That figure is up from 41% of Gen Z and 34% of millennials in a similar Harris Poll conducted in 2022. In a few short years, prenups moved from the margins toward the center of how younger couples plan a marriage.
Some of that shift tracks with when people are marrying. The U.S. Census Bureau reported the 2025 median age at first marriage as 28.4 for women and 30.8 for men , more than three years older than two decades earlier. People are marrying later, often after they have built careers, savings, and sometimes debt. By the time they walk down the aisle, there is more to talk through. A prenup is one way couples do that talking.
So who is getting a prenup? Here is the short version of what First's data shows. The typical customer is in their early thirties, earns a comfortable income, frequently carries student debt, often has a pet, and has already merged at least some of their money with their partner. Women start the conversation as often as men. This is a planning-forward couple thinking about the years ahead.
The table below is a single snapshot of that portrait. Every figure comes from First's aggregated, anonymized customer data.
The typical First customer, by the numbers
Data point
Figure
Most common age range
30 to 34
Share under 40
more than 65%
Average age
36
Prenups initiated by women
50%
Typical income
more than $100,000 a year
Carry student debt
about one third
Have at least one pet
46%
Have joint bank accounts
70%
A couple of quick caveats before we walk through the highlights. These figures reflect First's own customers and are not a nationally representative sample. They describe couples who chose an online prenup, which is not the same group as every couple who signs one. And they describe patterns rather than requirements. There is no single "right" profile for a prenup.
The typical age is the early thirties If you are somewhere in your early thirties, you are in the most common group of people creating a prenup with First. The most common age range is 30 to 34, and more than 65% of customers are under 40. The average age lands a bit higher, at 36, pulled up by a smaller group of older couples signing later or entering second marriages. So the everyday customer skews younger than that average number alone would suggest.
This lines up with the national picture. With the median first-marriage age now sitting close to 30 for both partners, the early thirties is exactly when many people are combining lives and thinking seriously about money for the first time as a couple.
Women start the conversation as often as men For a long time the assumption was that the higher earner, often imagined as a man, raised the subject of a prenup. The data tells a more balanced story. Among First's customers, women initiate about half of the agreements.
The broader trend points the same way. The Harris Poll for Bloomberg found women now request close to half of U.S. prenups, a shift attorneys attribute to rising earnings and a desire for financial clarity heading into marriage. As more women enter marriage with their own careers, savings, businesses, and yes, their own debt, more of them want the conversation on the table early. If this resonates, our piece on why a prenup can be a power move for women digs into the shift in more depth.
Most have already merged their money One detail in the data surprises people: most First customers are not keeping their finances walled off from each other. About 70% have joint bank accounts. These are couples who are already sharing money day to day and still want an agreement in place.
That combination makes sense once you sit with it. Merging accounts handles the groceries and the rent. A prenup handles the bigger questions: what happens to an inheritance, a home, a business, or a chunk of student debt if circumstances change. Sharing a checking account and signing a prenup are two parts of the same instinct, which is to be clear with each other about money.
You don't have to be wealthy This is the myth worth retiring. The typical First customer earns more than $100,000 a year, and about a third also carry student debt. Those two facts sit side by side. A comfortable salary and a loan balance are not opposites; plenty of people have both at once.
The reasons people give for a prenup are practical rather than lavish. Protecting an inheritance. Sorting out who owns a first home. Keeping one partner's student loans from becoming a shared burden if things change. Deciding who keeps the dog. Our guide on prenups for student loans and pets walks through those everyday concerns, and if you are wondering whether the math works for a middle-income household, do middle-income couples need a prenup takes that question head on. Wealth is not the entry ticket. If you have a paycheck, some debt, and shared plans, you are already the kind of person who benefits from clarity. For a sense of what that clarity costs, see how much a prenup costs .
Gen Z is the fastest-growing group The youngest adults marrying today are driving much of the growth. Gen Z is the fastest-growing group creating prenups, and its share rises each quarter. The Harris Poll data captures the same momentum: prenup adoption jumped fastest among the youngest respondents between 2022 and 2026.
None of this is about fear. It reflects a generation that grew up watching student debt, housing costs, and shifting careers, and that treats financial planning as a normal part of building a life together. A prenup fits that mindset. Our look at how prenups got so popular with millennials traces how this planning-forward attitude took hold, and Gen Z is carrying it further.
Frequently asked questions Who typically gets a prenup? Among First's customers, the typical person getting a prenup is in their early thirties with a comfortable income, some student debt, and merged finances. The most common age is 30 to 34, the typical income is more than $100,000, and women initiate about half of First's agreements. Prenups are no longer limited to the wealthy.
What is the average age to get a prenup? Among First's customers, the most common age is 30 to 34, and more than 65% are under 40. The average age is 36, pulled up slightly by a smaller group of older couples. This tracks with the U.S. Census Bureau's 2025 median first-marriage age of 28.4 for women and 30.8 for men.
Do women get prenups? Yes, and increasingly they start the conversation. Women initiate about half of First's prenups. A 2026 Harris Poll for Bloomberg found women now request close to half of U.S. prenups, a shift attorneys attribute to rising earnings and a desire for financial clarity heading into marriage.
Do you have to be rich to get a prenup? No. While First's typical customer earns more than $100,000, about a third also carry student debt, and many prenups focus on protecting each partner from the other's debt rather than dividing wealth. Common concerns include inheritances, real estate, and buying a first home together.
Are prenups common? They are increasingly common among younger couples. A 2026 Harris Poll conducted for Bloomberg found that 53% of engaged or married Americans under 45 had signed a prenup as of May, up from 41% of Gen Z and 34% of millennials in a similar 2022 poll.
If this sounds like you Read the portrait back one more time. Early thirties. A solid income and some student debt. A joint checking account, maybe a dog, and a partner you are building a future with. If that sounds like your household, you are already the kind of couple getting a prenup with First. The document has caught up to real life, and real life looks a lot like you.
When you are ready, you can start a prenup with First on your own timeline. No PDFs, no hourly rates, no back and forth with attorneys before you have even decided what you want. Take the conversation you are already having about money and give it a framework.
Methodology Figures attributed to First are drawn from its aggregated, anonymized customer data. Poll figures come from a Harris Poll of 2,148 U.S. adults conducted for Bloomberg News, published July 6, 2026. Marriage-age figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's Historical Marital Status Tables (2025).
How to cite this data Cite as: First, "Who Gets a Prenup? A Look Inside First's Customer Data" (2026), https://www.thisfirst.com/learn/who-gets-a-prenup. Figures attributed to First reflect its aggregated, anonymized customer data. Journalists and researchers can request additional detail at press@thisfirst.com.
Sources First's figures reflect its own customers and are not a nationally representative sample. Third-party statistics are attributed to their named sources so you can verify them.
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.
