The South is officially the most unstable place in America for marriage, according to  recent Census report released Aug. 25.
The report shows that states with the highest divorce rates in the nation are grouped in the South, including Louisiana. The information consists of the number of marital events – either marriages or divorces – that occurred for every 1,000 people.
The report, compiled using Census data from 2009, shows Louisiana with divorce rates of 11.0 and 10.0 per 1,000 men and women, respectively. The national averages are 9.2 divorces per 1,000 men and 9.7 per 1,000 women.
Sociology professor Laurie Chancey said the high divorce rates in the South could be linked to high poverty rates.
“Economic stress is one of the biggest reasons people get divorced,” Chancey said.
Without a stable job or income, she warned, it’s “not a very solid foundation to get married in well.”
But Thomas, who married two years ago at age 18, believes the statistics “desensitize the whole happiness.”
The study says Millennials see a successful marriage to be of lower priority compared to Generation X, the preceding generation. However, Millennials value being a good parent more than Generation X despite the outcome of their marriages.
The Census report also identified the Northeast as the most stable place for marriage in the country.
States such as Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York and Connecticut were rated with fewer marriages, fewer divorces and fewer children affected by divorces than in the South, all giving credence to Chancey’s postulation.
 
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Contact Clayton Crockett at [email protected]