Report: Mississippi’s marriage rate on rise, divorce rate declines

Published 2:50 pm Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Over the last 10 years, Mississippi’s marriage rate is growing, while its divorce rate is declining, a new report indicates.

The report, released by insurance marketplace QuoteWizard, suggests from 2009 to 2018, Mississippi’s marriage rate increased by 31.25% – the greatest increase of any other state in the country.

At the same time, Mississippi’s divorce rate dropped by 34.15% the study suggests.

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Around the country, marriage is on the decline. Marriage rates are also outpaced by the divorce rate.

Fewer people are getting married over the last 10 years and therefore fewer people are getting divorced.

Key findings:

  • Marriage rates have decreased by 7.74% over the last 10 years.
  • Divorce rates are on the decline by 19.55% over the last 10 years.
  • Mississippi, New Mexico and Massachusetts saw the largest increase in marriage rates.
  • Illinois, Kansas and West Virginia saw the largest decrease in divorce rates.

To view the full report, visit
https://quotewizard.com/news/posts/marriage-and-divorce-rates

Methodology

QuoteWizard analyzed National Centers for Health Statistics data on marriage and divorce rates in the United States.

The company compared marriage and divorce rates over a 10-year period from 2009 to 2018 to find the rate of increase or decrease in marriage and divorce rates in each state.

Each state was ranked 1 to 50, with 1st having the largest increase in rates and 50th having the lowest.

Divorce rates were then paired to show which states are experiencing marital trends compared to a divorce rate.

Marriage and divorce rates in each state are based on a provisional count of marriages per 1,000 people.

Here’s the full, state-by-state breakdown:

Rank

State

Marriage Rate

Divorce Rate

1

Mississippi

31.25%

-34.15%

2

New Mexico

28.00%

-15.38%

3

Massachusetts

12.50%

-4.55%

4

Colorado

10.14%

-23.26%

5

New York

9.23%

7.69%

6

New Jersey

8.00%

0.00%

7

Rhode Island

6.78%

-3.33%

8

New Hampshire

6.15%

-16.22%

9

Michigan

5.56%

-15.15%

10

Montana

5.48%

-25.00%

11

Maine

4.23%

-21.95%

12

Pennsylvania

3.77%

-3.70%

13

California*

3.45%

N/A

14

Wisconsin

1.89%

-13.79%

15

Maryland

1.72%

-14.29%

17

Missouri

0.00%

-21.05%

18

Washington

0.00%

-15.38%

19

Utah

0.00%

2.70%

16

Minnesota*

0.00%

N/A

20

Arizona

-1.79%

-16.67%

21

Florida

-2.67%

-14.29%

23

North Carolina

-3.03%

-18.42%

22

Georgia*

-3.03%

N/A

24

Ohio

-3.45%

-12.12%

25

Illinois

-3.51%

-40.00%

26

Delaware

-3.70%

-22.22%

27

Oregon

-4.55%

-12.82%

28

Tennessee

-4.76%

-10.26%

29

Oklahoma

-7.25%

-20.83%

30

Virginia

-7.25%

-16.22%

31

West Virginia

-8.96%

-35.29%

32

Nebraska

-9.09%

-14.71%

33

Vermont

-9.20%

-11.43%

34

South Carolina

-9.59%

-16.67%

35

Connecticut

-10.17%

-3.33%

36

Kentucky

-10.53%

-23.91%

37

North Dakota

-10.94%

-7.14%

38

South Dakota

-10.96%

-21.21%

39

Hawaii*

-11.05%

N/A

40

Wyoming

-11.25%

-25.49%

41

Idaho

-12.36%

-24.00%

42

Texas

-14.08%

-21.21%

43

Alaska

-14.10%

-15.91%

44

Kansas

-15.63%

-36.11%

45

Indiana*

-16.46%

N/A

46

Arkansas

-16.82%

-28.07%

47

Alabama

-18.07%

-15.91%

48

Iowa

-18.57%

-8.33%

49

Louisiana

-28.17%

-22.73%

50

Nevada

-33.75%

-33.33%

* Incomplete divorce data