Wednesday, October 21, 2009
In Arkansas and Oklahoma the belief seems to be when it comes to marriage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again.” These two states lead the country in the highest number per capita of thrice-married men and women (10% for Arkansas, and just a tad below 10% for Oklahoma), according to the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Texas leads the nation in gross numbers of people married three times or more, about 428,000 women and 373,000 men.
New York and Massachusetts have the lowest rates of multiple-married individuals (2%). These two states also have more people who wait longer to get married at all. Half of all New York married men were older than 30 when they first got hitched.
Once again, Arkansas and Oklahoma are at the opposite end of the spectrum. Half of first-time brides in these states were 24 or younger on their wedding day.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
The States of Marriage and Divorce (by D’Vera Cohn, Pew Research Center)
Marriage and Divorce: A 50-State Tour (Pew Research Center)
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