For the last three years, the number of divorces in the United States has fallen. According to Bowling Green State University’s National Center for Family and Marriage Research, the decline in the number of people tying the knot has stopped.
Each year, the trends in divorce and marriage are calculated by the NCFMR using census data. This year, the data shows that divorce rate has been dropping quickly. In 2015, the divorce rate was 16.9, 2014 had a divorce rate of 17.6 and 1980 saw a peak in divorce rate numbers at nearly 23.
Marriage rates have increased. For women who are 15 years old or older, there were 32.3 marriages for every 1,000 women. This is up from 2014’s marriage rate of 31.9. The highest marriage rate was in 2009, suggesting that the rate of marriage is stabilizing.
What the numbers don’t tell, though is why the divorce rate is dropping or the marriage rate is increasing. Some of the possible factors could include changing gender roles, the aging of our population and that there are fewer marriages that call it quits.
Baby boomers are still marrying and divorcing in record numbers. Those who are younger are not getting divorced as often, but that could be because fewer people are getting married.
What are people doing, then, if they aren’t getting married? Many are enjoying the single life and others are cohabitating without getting married.
For those do decide divorce is something they are ready for, an attorney can help with the many issues that arise, such as child support and custody, alimony, property division and more.
Source: Bloomberg, “Divorce in U.S. Plunges to 35-Year Low,” Ben Steverman, Nov. 17, 2016