Somewhere between 40% and 50% of first marriages in America end in divorce. Odds get worse for later unions, with an estimated 60% of second marriages and 73% of third ones ending up in divorce courts.
The percentage of divorced adults varies from state to state, however – as does the percentage of married couples. Some 56% of the people who live in Utah are married, for instance. The number is only 44% in Louisiana. Approximately halfway between the two comes New Jersey, with a rate of 49.9%. New Jersey is also the state with the fewest divorced couples. (These are the states where the most people are divorced.)
The divorce rate in New Jersey, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, is 8.5% of the population 15 years old and older. At the opposite end of the spectrum, West Virginia and Arkansas are tied at 13.3%. (On a more granular level, these are the worst cities for marriage.)
People get divorced for different reasons, and according to the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts, money issues are one of the leading causes of couples splitting up. The three states with the most divorces in the country have among the 20 lowest median household incomes. Conversely, the three states with the fewest divorces record median household incomes among the 15 highest in America.
But, the reasons people get divorced goes well beyond money. Infidelity is one cause. Domestic violence is another according to the NCBI – the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Biotechnology Information. Finally, substance abuse is one more of what the NBCI calls the “last straws”.
Click here for the states where the most people are divorced
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