Provisional
data show the marriage rate in the U.S. dropped to 9.0 marriages per 1,000
population in 1993, the lowest rate in 30 years. After peaking at 16.4 in
1946, the marriage rate fell dramatically over the next few decades,
reaching a low of 8.5 in the period 1959-62. Between 1959-62 and 1980-82
the rate increased to 10.6 before beginning its current downward trend.
Final
1990 data show the Northeast has the lowest marriage rate (8.0) of any
region, while the West (11.0) has the highest. The Middle Atlantic
division of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania has the lowest rate
(7.9) while the Mountain division of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado,
New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada has the highest (18.1).
Pennsylvania has the lowest marriage rate of any State (7.1), while Nevada
has the highest rate (99.0).
June continues to be the most popular month for marriage, with more than
twice as many marriages (280,218) than the least popular month, January
(117,310).
The
rate of women and men marrying for the first time is approximately 40
percent lower than in 1970. Marriage rates for divorced or widowed people
have had similar declines since 1970.
The average age of people marrying for the first time has increased over
the past three decades. The average age of first-time brides was 25 in
1990, compared with an average age of 21 in 1964. For first-time grooms,
the average age was 27 in 1990, compared with an average age of 24 in
1964.
The
average age of divorced women who remarry is 37; for men the average age
is just under 41.
Out
of thirty-four States reporting information on race, 85 percent of
marriages involved white couples, 11 percent involved black couples, 1
percent involved couples of other races, and 3 percent involved
interracial couples. The marriage rate for white women was 76 percent
higher than the rate for black women, while the rate for white men was 55
percent higher than the rate for black men.
For more information about this
report, please contact NCHS Public Affairs Office at (301) 458-4800 or via
e-mail at: paoquery@nch10a.em.cdc.gov.