What makes a successful marriage in America? A study in 2007 by Pew Research Center revealed the results of surveying Americans on the topic of marriage.

Faithfulness is the highest rated topic, followed by a happy sexual relationship. Sharing household chores has risen to almost second place in the survey. Could sharing household chores one day be the most important factor in making a successful marriage?

Another major shift to note is that only 41% of Americans surveyed said children are ‘very important’ to a successful marriage, which is down from 65% in 1990. What was in 1990 the third highest rated factor for a successful marriage has now dropped to eighth in the survey.

Rating by the percentage of people in 2007 that considered the topic ‘Very Important’ to a successful marriage, the results are below:

93% - Faithfulness  (down 2% since 1990)
70% - Happy sexual relationship (up 3% since 1990)
62% - Sharing household chores  (up 15% since 1990)
53% - Adequate Income  (up 7% since 1990)
51% - Good housing   (up 9% since 1990)
49% - Shared religious beliefs (up 4% since 1990)
46% - Shared tastes and interests  (up 2% since 1990)
41% - Children       (down 24% since 1990)
12% - Agreement on politics  (up 1% since 1990)