Marriage and Divorce Rates Trends in the US

The CDC website has some interesting data on marriage and divorce rate trends.  These tables are from the CDC National Marriage and Divorce Rate Trends.

From 2000 to 2011, the marriage rate has risen from 6.8 per 1,000 to 8.2 per 1,000.

 

From 2000 to 2011, the divorce/annulment rate has risen from 3.6  per 1,000 to 4.0 per 1,000.

 

The National Health Statistics Reports also shows some interesting trends.

The number of women currently married for the first time has dropped, while the number cohabitting has increased (both of these being measured per capita).  The report also shows an positive correlation between educational attainment and likelihood of being in a first marriage, and a negative correlation between educational attainment and the likelihood of cohabitting.

The proportion of women who were currently married for the first time increased with greater educational attainment from 37% among those without a high school diploma or General Educational Development high school equivalency diploma (GED) to 58% among those with a bachelor’s degree and 63% of those with a master’s degree or higher. The proportion of women who were currently cohabiting decreased as educational attainment increased. One in five (20%) women without a high school diploma or GED were currently cohabiting, while roughly 1 in 14 women (6.8%) with a bachelor’s degree were currently cohabiting.

 

The report also shows the median age for probability of marriage (for both men and women) between 2006 and 2010.

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Tips for avoiding Divorce

 

Sadly, roughly half of marriages in the US end up in divorce. However, the reasons for divorce are well-documented and steps can be taken to address the potential for it.

Finances, Finances, Finances!
Financial reasons are the top of the list for divorce. Make sure your financial goals are compatible. Too many couples find out later in life that they have different goals. One partner may believe in saving up for an early retirement while the other lives paycheck to paycheck and spends more than they take in. What’s more: both may believe in the virtues of saving up and not spending incessantly but one may not practice what they preach and spend impulsively. This is something that needs to be communicated and worked out.

Communication, Communication, Communication!

Financial matters above are one of the reasons communication is important. But finances aside, make sure you are both on the same page regarding other goals in life (children vs career vs traveling, living standards and location, religious expectations) and both have compatible expectations on etiquette (social life, friends of the opposite sex).

Family of Origin
Get to know your partner’s family. This will often explain their behaviors and habits. Do they come from a quiet and etiquette-conscious family? Perhaps they come from a loud boisterous family where being quiet and reserved is frowned upon and seen as cause for suspicion? It will be especially important to understand your spouse’s family if you come from different cultures/ethnicities where nuances and expectations are entirely different.

Marriage and Divorce Rates in the US - Historical Trends

As stated in a previous post, the US has the highest divorce rates across nations. Often times is assumed that  this is some recent trend, but in fact divorce (to marriage rates) started rising around 1970 and settled at around 50% in the last 1970's where it's remained ever since.

Overall divorce rates have actually dropped, but so have overall marriage rates (hence the consistent divorce-to-marriage rates).