Saying ‘I don’t’ instead of ‘I do’

These days not everyone is rushing to the altar.

A new study showed Connecticut bucking a trend in which marriage rates have plummeted in 47 states since 2000.

After hitting a record low during Covid-19, marriage rates rose to 6.2 marriages per 1,000 Americans in 2022 – the highest level since 2018 – according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data released in March.  However, marriage rates remain historically low, driven by socioeconomic and cultural shifts.

Grwn Diamonds’ study on the State of American Marriage – also based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau on all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C. – found myriad contributing factors, including financial instability among young people; increased economic independence for women; and a decreasing stigma around being single or having long-term romantic partnerships without formally tying the knot. 

Key findings include:

        The five states where marriage is declining most – Nevada (64.1%), Louisiana (59.3%), Tennessee (52.9%), Arkansas (48.7%) and New Mexico (47.5%)

        The three places that saw marriage rise – Washington, D.C (+69.4%), Montana (+35.6%) and Connecticut (+5.3%);

        Higher median ages for marriage in every state, with men are getting married at age 30.2 (up from 26.8 in 2010) and women at 28.4 (up from 25.1 since 2010);

        Rising rates for same-sex marriage, as 58% of same-sex couples have tied the knot, up from 25.7% in 2010.

The United States has the seventh highest rate for marriages among the 38 nations analyzed, following Cyprus, Hungary, Turkey, Latvia, Lithuania and Israel.