Presidential Spouse Age Differences

  • The largest age difference was between John Tyler and his second wife, Julia, at 30 years 36 days.
  • The largest difference for a first marriage was between Grover Cleveland and his wife, Florence, at 27 years 125 days.
  • The smallest difference, beating the Van Burens by one day, was Andrew Jackson and his wife, Rachel, at 92 days.
  • The average age difference for all presidential marriages is 7 years.
  • The average for all first marriages is 5 years.
  • The average for all eight second marriages is 15 years.
  • The differences between William Henry Harrison and Barack Obama and their respective wives are the same - 2 years 166 days.
  • Twelve of the 53 (23%) presidential marriages were between couples with less than a year difference in age.
  • Differences with a minus sign (-) before the difference means the spouse was older than the president.
  • Seven presidents married older spouses. The largest difference was between Warren G. Harding and his wife, Florence, at 5 years 79 days
  • + Second marriage
  • ++ Third marriage

Rank#PresidentSpouse Age Difference
110John Tyler30 years 36 days +
222 & 24Grover Cleveland27 years 125 days
323Benjamin Harrison24 years 253 days +
445Donald J. Trump23 years 316 days ++
54James Madison17 years 65 days
645Donald J. Trump16 years 135 days +
728Woodrow Wilson15 years 291 days +
813Millard Fillmore13 years 287 days +
935John F. Kennedy12 years 60 days
1040Ronald Reagan10 years 150 days +
115James Monroe10 years 63 days
1216Abraham Lincoln9 years 304 days
132John Adams9 years 23 days
1419Rutherford B. Hayes8 years 328 days
1546Joe Biden8 years 195 days +
1621Chester A. Arthur7 years 329 days
1711James K. Polk7 years 307 days
186John Quincy Adams7 years 216 days
1930Calvin Coolidge6 years 183 days
2034Dwight D. Eisenhower6 years 31 days
2140Ronald Reagan5 years 333 days
223Thomas Jefferson5 years 190 days
2338Gerald R. Ford4 years 268 days
2425William McKinley4 years 130 days
2536Lyndon B. Johnson4 years 117 days
2612Zachary Taylor3 years 301 days
2718Ulysses S. Grant3 years 274 days
2827William H. Taft3 years 260 days
2928Woodrow Wilson3 years 138 days
3039Jimmy Carter2 years 321 days
3126Theodore Roosevelt2 years 283 days
3226Theodore Roosevelt2 years 260 days +
3332Franklin D. Roosevelt2 years 254 days
3445Donald J. Trump2 years 251 days
359William Henry Harrison2 years 166 days
3544Barack Obama2 years 166 days
3717Andrew Johnson1 year 279 days
3814Franklin Pierce1 year 109 days
3942Bill Clinton1 year 68 days
4041George H. W. Bush361 days
4133Harry S. Truman281 days
4210John Tyler228 days
4320James A. Garfield152 days
4443George W. Bush121 days
458Martin Van Buren93 days
467Andrew Jackson92 days
4746Joe Biden-115 days
4831Herbert Hoover-134 days
491George Washington-254 days
5037Richard M. Nixon-299 days
5123Benjamin Harrison-323 days
5213Millard Fillmore-1 year 300 days
5329Warren G. Harding-5 years 79 days
-15James BuchananNever married

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