Wyoming Posts Second Highest Wedding Rate; Divorce Also Above Average

The 2010 Census reveals that while couples in western and southern states marry more often, they also divorce at a higher rate than those in other areas of the US.

Dr. Andrew Cherlin, a professor of sociology and public policy at Johns Hopkins University, said, “Surprisingly, the south and west, which we think of as more socially conservative, have higher rates of divorce than does the supposedly liberal east. The reason is that young adults in the south and west tend to have less education and marry earlier, both of which lead to a higher risk of divorce.”

Going state-by-state, Maine, Alaska, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Nevada had the most divorces, and while Utah, Wyoming and Arkansas had the highest marriage rates, they also had a higher-than-average rate of divorce.

New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York had the fewest divorces.

Men and women are marrying later. From 1970 to 2010, the average age of first marriage for women increased from 20.6 to 26.5, while for men the age went from 22.5 to 28.4.

Wyoming and Delaware also record the highest ratio of widowers: 5.4 men out of 1,000. Women still live longer, in general, as illustrated by Hawaii, the state with the highest ratio of widows: 10.3 per thousand.

[Huffington Post]