Comparing Divorce in New Jersey to the Rest of the Country
Do 50% of marriages really end with a divorce in New Jersey? For years now, that’s the statistic we’ve been fed: 50% of marriages end in divorce. But doesn’t that seem a bit broad? Is the outcome of your marriage really the same as flipping a coin? 50% seems like a cop-out. It seems like a lack of thorough research. 50% seems like someone took the number of reported marriages and the number of reported divorces and did some simple division, which, by the way, is exactly what they did.
The 50% statistic in no way indicates divorce trends in the U.S. This statistic is derived from the total number of marriages and divorces over the past 30 years or so. Isn’t it possible for divorce in New Jersey and in the rest of the country to have slowed down?
Furthermore, isn’t it possible for there to be less, or more, divorce in New Jersey than in, say, Wyoming? While, yes, a marriage is still a marriage, it’s probably safe to assume life in Wyoming isn’t the same as life in New Jersey. So, let’s take a look at some more accurate statistics.
The divorce rate per 1,000 married women sank to 16.4 in 2009 from 16.9 the year before and a far cry from 22.6 in 1980, according to an analysis of the data from the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia.
Let’s see where the rate for divorce in New Jersey falls. Here is a list of the states with the lowest divorce rates per 1,000 people.
1. Massachusetts 1.8
2. District of Columbia 2.1
3. Pennsylvania 2.3
4. Iowa 2.5
5. New York 2.5
6. North Dakota 2.5
7. South Carolina 2.6
8. Illinois 2.6
9. Maryland 2.8
10. Minnesota 2.8
11. New Jersey 2.8
