For Hawai'i men, the estimated median age at first marriage is 27.8 years, and for women 25.7 years.

The median age for first marriages in the United States is 26.7 years for men and 25.1 for women, roughly a year older than a decade ago for both.

No one gets married younger than couples in Utah, where the median age is 21.9 for women and 23.9 for men. At the other end of the spectrum, men and women in Washington, D.C., both wait until they are about 30.

Career focus is probably the main reason Hawai'i singles delay marriage, according to Deedee DeSoto, founder of the Party of Six agency in Honolulu that arranges dinner dates and introductions for singles. And it's not only twentysomethings who are putting off marriage; DeSoto said she has a lot of clients in their 40s and 50s who have never been married.

"A lot of people are even afraid to say 'marriage.' When I ask them if they're looking for a casual or long-term relationship or marriage, they'll say long-term. They're not even thinking marriage," DeSoto said. "They're working on their careers, unless they meet the right person and that person can be flexible enough to deal with them in their career goals."

Hawai'i's high cost of living may be another factor delaying that walk down the aisle. "People are more focused on becoming successful and financially stable, and for some people that's hard to do when you're married," she said.

Realtor assistant Kristin Anderson, 26, of Mililani, said she's simply not ready to settle down yet. "I don't desperately need to be married at this point. A lot of it is that I don't know what I want to do with my life yet and a lot of it is that I want to fulfill my goals and dreams instead of going straight to marriage," she said.

The latest Census Bureau report analyzed data from the American Community Survey from 2000 to 2003, developing state-by-state averages on marriage and fertility for the first time.

Among the study's findings:

— 29 percent of all new mothers nationally and in Hawai'i were unmarried. Hawai'i ranked 25th in this category.

— Hawai'i had the 12th highest percentage of households with married couples, at 53 percent, and the 10th highest percentage of households with unmarried couples, at 5.8 percent.

— Fourteen percent of all new mothers in Hawai'i were not citizens; nationally the figure was almost 15 percent.

— Hawai'i had the 11th highest fertility rate, with 72 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44.