107.5FM WCCN The Rock - The Coolest Station in the Nation
ESPN 92.3FM WOSQ
92.7FM WPKG
Memories 1370AM 98.5FM
98.7FM / 1450AM WDLB - Timeless Classics
Listen Live: 107.5 THE ROCK • 92.7 FM
Family owned radio stations serving all of Central Wisconsin

Wisconsin Statistics Regarding Marriage and Divorce

Friday, June 10th, 2022 -- 9:01 AM

Marriage, and divorce, in the U.S. are starkly different than in earlier eras of the country’s history.

A series of economic, legal, and social shifts reshaped marriage in the second half of the 20th century. More women began working outside of the home in the post-World War II era, which provided avenues to financial security and independence outside of marriage.

Greater emphasis on postsecondary educational attainment and career development have led young people to wait longer to enter marriage. States began to adopt no-fault divorce laws throughout the 1960s and 1970s that made it easier to end a marriage.

Meanwhile, changing social and cultural attitudes have made it more common for couples to cohabitate, combine finances, and raise children prior to getting married or without getting married at all.

These trends have contributed to a decline in the overall number of marriages and to delays in when people get married for the first time. In the U.S., there are currently only 6.5 marriages per 1,000 people each year, compared to 10.9 five decades ago.

For those who do choose to get married, the age of first marriage is happening later. As late as the early 1970s, the median age for a first marriage in the U.S. was just 22. By 2018, that figure had increased to 28.8.

These shifts have also affected how likely married couples are to stay together. As women entered the workforce in the mid-20th century and feminism and the sexual revolution took hold, rates of divorce rose quickly throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

From 1960 to 1980, the divorce rate per 1,000 people in the U.S. more than doubled from 2.2 to 5.2. But the rate began to fall steadily after 1980, and as of 2018, the rate of divorce had dropped to 2.9 per 1,000 people.

The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey. To determine the most divorced locations, researchers at ChamberOfCommerce.org calculated the percentage of adults currently divorced.

In the event of a tie, the location with the higher percentage of adults currently separated was ranked higher. The analysis found that in Wisconsin, 10.9% of adults are divorced, while an additional 0.9% are separated, compared to 10.8% and 1.8% of all American adults, respectively.

Here is a summary of the data for Wisconsin:

  • Percentage of adults currently married: 50.4%;
  • Percentage of adults never married: 32.3%.

For reference, here are the statistics for the entire United States:

  • Percentage of adults currently married: 48.1%;
  • Percentage of adults never married: 33.5%.

For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on ChamberOfCommerce.org’s website: https://www.chamberofcommerce.org/most-divorced-cities-usa.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.