After a tumultuous presidential campaign, it could be difficult to think of safe topics for discussion this holiday weekend with family and friends. A subject that might be free of political overtones is the perhaps surprising news that the U.S. divorce rate is falling.
For the third straight year, the divorce rate fell in 2015. It hit its lowest point in four decades, a new study based on Census data reveals. Also perhaps surprising is the fact that California has the seventh lowest divorce rate in the nation.
The divorce rate is determined by examining Census data that shows how many divorces take place among 1,000 married women ages 15 and up. The figure last year: 16.9. That was down a bit from 2014, which had a 17.6 divorce rate, but down a whopping 25 percent from 1980.
The study was performed by the Bowling Green State University’s National Center for Marriage and Family Research.
While the divorce rate is dropping, the rate of marriage is nudging upwards, researchers sound. The rate was 31.9 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women in 2014, which rose to 32.3 last year.
"We may have reached the low point in the decline in marriage," said a co-author of the study.
The highest divorce rate in the nation is in Washington D.C., followed by Wyoming, Nevada, and Arkansas. The lowest rate in the U.S. is found in Hawaii, followed by Wisconsin, Rhode Island, and Delaware.
The Los Angeles family law attorneys of Joel S. Seidel & Associates can help you get through the divorce process. Contact us to discuss your situation.