The latest marriage and divorce statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics cover the calendar year 2005. In that year, there were approximately 2,230,000 marriages in 2005 — down from 2,279,000 the previous year. The divorce rate in 2005 (per 1,000 people) was 3.6 — the lowest rate since 1970.

Divorce rates across states varied greatly. In 2004, the state with the highest reported divorce rate was Nevada, at 6.4 (per 1,000). Arkansas was second, with a divorce rate of 6.3, followed by Wyoming at 5.3. The District of Columbia had the lowest reported divorce rate, at 1.7, followed by Massachusetts at 2.2 and Pennsylvania at 2.5.

A recent study by the University of Okalahoma, found that the institution of the “no fault divorce law” had a significant positive effect on the divorce rate across the 50 states. No-fault divorce is a divorce in which the dissolution of a marriage requires neither a showing of wrong-doing of either party nor any evidentiary proceedings at all. The theory advanced by the University of Oklahoma study is that making divorce easier resulted in more individuals choosing divorce as a solution to their marriages problems.

Marriages across our country occur all the time, but the statistics would indicated that Americans tend to get married more between June and October than during the rest of the year. In 2005, August had the most marriages at about 235,000 or a rate of 9.3 per 1,000 people. The previous year, July was the highest month at 246,000, or a rate of 9.9; this doubled the lowest month in 2004, January.

Much has changed over the years when it comes to our society’s view of marriage and divorce, but one thing remains constant; Individuals will continue to hope to share their lives together and provide better futures for themselves and each other. While the ideal of a perfect marriage may never be fully realized, it remains a goal of many in our society, insuring that individuals all across the country will continue to get married, regardless of what the statistics show.

These stats are offered as a free service by the skilled Orange County divorce attorneys at Wallin & Klarich to our readers.