If you have walked down the aisle in the last decade, you are a member of an increasingly shrinking group. In fact, according to reporting from U.S. News and World Report, the marriage rate in the U.S. decreased by roughly 1.6% between 2009 and 2019. This means more individuals are opting to stay in long-term relationships instead of marrying their partners.
As you might expect, fewer marriages mean fewer divorces. The divorce rate has dropped more than the marriage rate, though. In 2009, there were 9.7 divorces for every 1,000 American women. By 2019, that number had plummeted to a mere 7.6.
Texas is about in the middle
Texas’s divorce rate falls somewhere in the middle. This is not true for some of the Lone Star State’s neighbors, though, with Arkansas leading the country with a divorce rate of 10.7% Oklahoma and New Mexico also are among the top 10 states with the highest divorce rates.
Many factors contribute to the decline
Among couples, irreconcilable differences are likely never to go away. Therefore, fewer marital disputes are not likely the source of the decline in divorce rates across the country. Fewer marriages, shifting social mores and economic factors probably are.
You are not a statistic
Even though the marriage and divorce rates may be of interest to you, you are not a statistic. If the time has come to end your marriage, you should not feel pressure to remain in an unfulfilling or abusive marriage. After all, your divorce is not likely to have much effect on the overall divorce rate.
Ultimately, by doing what is right for you, you can equip yourself with the tools for building a successful-post divorce future.