The States of Marriage and Divorce

Lots of Ex=92s Live in Texas

By D=92Vera Cohn, Pew Research Center
October 15, = 2009

In Arkansas and Oklahoma, men and women marry young -- half of = first-time=20 brides in these states were 24 or younger on their wedding day. These = states=20 also have above-average shares of women who divorced in 2007-2008.¹=20

It's the opposite state of affairs in Massachusetts and New York. = Their=20 residents marry late -- half of ever-married New York men were older = than 30=20 when they first wed. These states also have below-average shares of men = and=20 women who divorced in 2007-2008.

Remember the classic country song: "All My Exs Live in Texas"? Well, = George=20 Strait was on to something. Looking at numbers, Texas is indeed home to = more=20 thrice-married adults than any other state, about 428,000 women and = 373,000 men.=20 But that's partly because it's home to so many people, period. Looking = at rates,=20 about 6% of Texans who ever have been married have wed three times or = more. That=20 is similar to the national average (5%), but well below the leaders in = this=20 category -- the neighboring states of Arkansas and Oklahoma -- where = about 10%=20 of all ever-married adults have had at least three spouses.

Meantime, back in New York and Massachusetts, just 2% of ever-married = adults=20 have been married at least three times, placing them at the bottom on = this=20 measure among the 50 states.

These findings are drawn from the recently released 2008 American = Community=20 Survey, which offers the most detailed portrait yet from the U.S. Census = Bureau=20 of marriage and divorce statistics at the state level. This is the first = time=20 the survey has included estimates of marriage and divorces within the = previous=20 12 months, duration of marriages and Americans married multiple = times.

National Picture

On the national level, the Census Bureau survey showed that a = shrinking share=20 of Americans are married²=20 -- 52% of males ages 15 and older and 48% of females ages 15 and older. = The=20 proportion of Americans who are currently married has been diminishing = for=20 decades and is lower than it has been in at least half a century. The = age range=20 used in standard Census tabulations dates back to the days when more = people=20 married as young teenagers. Among Americans 18 and older, the proportion = currently married, but not separated, is 55% for men and 50% for = women.

3D""=20 Nationally, the median age at first marriage has been = climbing for=20 decades: It now stands at 28 for men and 26 for women, meaning that half = are=20 younger and half are older when they wed. Among married Americans, the = median=20 duration of their married life in 2008 was 18 years. Among men, 9% are = divorced;=20 among women, 12% are.

About 2.3 million men reported that they wed within the previous = year, and=20 1.2 million said they divorced. About 2.2 million women said they wed = and 1.3=20 million said they divorced. About one-in-twenty Americans who ever have = been=20 married said they had been married three or more times. That comes to 4 = million=20 men and 4.5 million women.

State Highs and Lows

When states are ranked on a variety of estimates, most are clustered = closely=20 near the median or average. But the range of values can vary widely, and = some of=20 the same states stand out as high or low in more than one category.

Several states in the Midwest and Mountain regions have among the = highest=20 shares of men and women who are currently married. In Idaho, 58% of men = and 56%=20 of women live with a spouse. In Iowa, 56% of men and 53% of women do. In = Utah,=20 56% of both men and women are currently married. At the opposite end, = only 47%=20 of men in Alaska are currently married, as are 48% of women in that = state. Among=20 men in Rhode Island and New Mexico, 48% are married. Among women in = Rhode Island=20 and New York, 43% are.

The District of Columbia ranks well below all states in its share of = men and=20 women currently married -- 28% and 23%. Washington, D.C., is more like a = city=20 than a state in its characteristics, so it may not be appropriate to = compare it=20 with the 50 states.

Looking at divorced adults, 13% of Nevada's men and 16% of its women = fit in=20 that category, as do 12% of Maine's men and 15% of its women. They are = among the=20 states with the largest shares of currently divorced residents, a = distinction=20 they share with Oklahoma.

States with larger shares of the thrice-married tend to be states = where=20 people marry young, such as Arkansas and Oklahoma. However, one = exception is=20 Utah, which does not rank high for three-plus marriages, but whose = residents=20 have among the youngest median ages at first marriage: 24 for women and = 26 for=20 men.

3D""=20 Half the men in the District of Columbia, New York and = Rhode Island=20 are 30 years of age or older when they first marry. Half the women in=20 Connecticut, Massachusetts and the District are 28 or older. These = states rank=20 low in the proportion of people who are married and also in the = proportion of=20 married adults who are on at least their third marriage.

States where people marry young also often have high rates of recent=20 marriage, which is expressed as the number of marriages per 1,000 men or = women=20 within the previous 12 months. States with high rates of recent marriage = include=20 Utah (28 marriages per 1,000 women and nearly the same for men), Idaho = and=20 Arkansas. Alaska also ranks high on this measure.

A similar measure -- number of divorces within the previous 12 months = per=20 1,000 women -- tends to be high in states where women marry young, such = as=20 Oklahoma and Idaho. But the same link is not as strong for men: Alaska = and=20 Wyoming, for example, are among the top states for recently divorced = men, but=20 they are not states where men marry especially young.

Correlations in Marriage Patterns

Some state-level patterns of marriage and divorce correlate³=20 with the overall socioeconomic characteristics and political behavior in = those=20 states. This does not mean that one pattern causes the other to happen, = only=20 that both tend to be true in the same place.

A state's education levels, for example, tend to be associated with = the=20 median age at marriage and the multiple-marriage patterns of its = residents. In=20 states with high shares of college-educated adults, men and women marry = at older=20 ages, a finding supported by other research indicating that highly = educated=20 individuals marry later in life. In states with low shares of = college-educated=20 adults, adults are more likely than average to marry three or more = times. In=20 states with low income levels, men are more likely than average to have = been=20 married three or more times.

For this analysis, correlation also was tested between a state's = marriage or=20 divorce statistics and the share of its 2008 presidential election vote = that=20 went Democratic. States with high shares of Democratic votes tended to = have=20 lower shares of currently married residents, lower shares of adults = married at=20 least three times and low rates of marriages within the previous year. = Residents=20 of states with high shares of Democratic votes tend to marry at older = ages than=20 residents of states with low shares of Democratic votes.

This analysis did not find a strong correlation between divorce = statistics --=20 either a state's share of divorced adults or its rate of divorce within = the=20 previous year -- and socioeconomic indicators (income and education) or = 2008=20 presidential election patterns. There was a strong correlation, however, = between=20 young age at first marriage for women and a high divorce rate for women = within=20 the previous 12 months.

Correlation also was tested to see whether a state's religiosity was=20 associated with marriage and divorce patterns. Religiosity was expressed = as the=20 proportion of a state's residents who said in response to a survey that = religion=20 was "very important" in their life.⁴=20 However, this analysis did not find a strong association between a = state's=20 religiosity and its marriage or divorce patterns.

_{1. The American Community Survey questionnaire =
asked=20
whether someone had been married, divorced or widowed in the previous 12 =
months.=20
The survey was taken throughout 2008, so the time period covered =
included months=20
in 2007 and 2008.}_{2. In this analysis, =
=93married=94=20
includes all currently married adults ages 15 and older except those who =
are=20
separated.}_{3. In reporting correlations, =
=93strong=94=20
indicates at the .6 level or higher.}_{4. =
The=20
question wording was: How important is religion in your life =96 very =
important,=20
somewhat important, not too important or not at all important? =
State-level data=20
were derived from the Religious Landscape Survey, conducted in 2007 for =
the Pew=20
Forum on Religion & Public Life using a nationally representative =
sample of=20
35,556 U.S. adults. For more information, see the survey=20
methodology.}

See Related Reports

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