NationStates Jolt Archive

Stephistan's lover posted these stats and I just thought making this would be fitting for this forum.

State Divorce Rates

Rank State Number Rate
---------------------------------------

United States 1,191,000 4.6

1 Massachusetts 14,530 2.4 KERRY
2 Connecticut 9,095 2.8 KERRY
3 New Jersey 23,899 3.0 KERRY
4 Rhode Island 3,231 3.2 KERRY
5 New York 59,195 3.3 KERRY
Pennsylvania 40,040 3.3 KERRY
7 Wisconsin 17,478 3.4 KERRY
North Dakota 2,201 3.4 BUSH
9 Maryland 17,439 3.5 KERRY
10 Minnesota 16,217 3.6 KERRY
Louisiana *** 3.6 BUSH
12 Illinois 43,398 3.7 KERRY
13 District of 2,244 3.9 KERRY
Columbia
Iowa 10,930 3.9 BUSH
15 Nebraska 6,547 4.0 BUSH
Vermont 2,316 4.0 KERRY
17 Michigan 38,727 4.1 KERRY
18 South Dakota 3,022 4.2 BUSH
South Carolina 15,301 4.2 BUSH
Hawaii 4,979 4.2 KERRY
21 California *** 4.3 KERRY
22 Maine 5,433 4.4 KERRY
New Hampshire 5,041 4.4 KERRY
24 Ohio 49,968 4.5 BUSH
25 Virginia 30,016 4.6 BUSH
26 Kansas 12,093 4.7 BUSH
Utah 8,999 4.7 BUSH
28 Delaware 3,385 4.8 KERRY
29 Montana 4,153 4.9 BUSH
30 Missouri 26,324 5.0 BUSH
West Virginia 9,179 5.0 BUSH
32 North Carolina 36,292 5.1 BUSH
Colorado 18,795 5.1 BUSH
34 Georgia 37,001 5.2 BUSH
35 Oregon 16,307 5.3 KERRY
36 Texas 99,073 5.4 BUSH
37 Alaska 3,354 5.5 BUSH
38 Washington 29,976 5.6 KERRY
39 Mississippi 15,212 5.7 BUSH
40 Kentucky 22,211 5.8 BUSH
Arizona 23,725 5.8 BUSH
42 Florida 82,963 5.9 BUSH
43 New Mexico 9,882 6.0 BUSH
44 Idaho 7,075 6.2 BUSH
Alabama 26,116 6.2 BUSH
46 Indiana *** 6.4 BUSH
47 Wyoming 3,071 6.5 BUSH
48 Tennessee 34,167 6.6 BUSH
49 Oklahoma 21,855 6.7 BUSH
50 Arkansas 17,458 7.1 BUSH
51 Nevada 13,061 9.0 BUSH

Maybe Kerry voters weren't worried about family values because they already have them.

Well...actually...you see...uh...ah...I have it! Those liberal heathens aren't getting married, the immoral buggers, they're just shacking up. Therefore...if they aren't getting married, they aren't getting divorced. :p

Wait, do you mean "conservative" heathens, because the liberals are the ones getting divorced.

Wait, do you mean "conservative" heathens, because the liberals are the ones getting divorced.

Ahmmmm if I read you right; reread the chart. It's the smallest divorse rate on down.....

Wait, do you mean "conservative" heathens, because the liberals are the ones getting divorced.
That's not how I read it. The second number in each group is the percentage divorce rate if I've got it right. That means that the Kerry states near the top have low divorce percentages, the Bush states tend to have higher rates.

It would be easier to understand if the table were tabulated properly and presented the other way up.

Great figures.

one thing tho, You have no idea what the political leanigns of those people getting divorces. You have no idea the circumstances involved. Maybe those red states have beetr womens programs that allow women to get out of and divorced from, abusive relationships. Numbers like these can be very misleading, and are often bogus (see the intelligence vs. states numbers so often floated here by bigots).

That's not how I read it. The second number in each group is the percentage divorce rate if I've got it right. That means that the Kerry states near the top have low divorce percentages, the Bush states tend to have higher rates.

It would be easier to understand if the table were tabulated properly and presented the other way up.

I just copied and pasted and then added the BUSH/KERRY. I would have formatted it better if it wouldn't have taken ages.

Although I find it telling that people would expect the highest divorce rate to be at the top of the list.

Although I find it telling that people would expect the highest divorce rate to be at the top of the list.
Preconceptions are often misconceptions.

Great figures.

one thing tho, You have no idea what the political leanigns of those people getting divorces. You have no idea the circumstances involved. Maybe those red states have beetr womens programs that allow women to get out of and divorced from, abusive relationships. Numbers like these can be very misleading, and are often bogus (see the intelligence vs. states numbers so often floated here by bigots).

I admit that these could have separate meanings to them and that the correlation could be zero. I would say that New England states would have better womens programs than the deep south.

And this was more of a joke related to all of those asinine IQ lists.

Great figures.

one thing tho, You have no idea what the political leanigns of those people getting divorces. You have no idea the circumstances involved. Maybe those red states have beetr womens programs that allow women to get out of and divorced from, abusive relationships. Numbers like these can be very misleading, and are often bogus (see the intelligence vs. states numbers so often floated here by bigots).

Political leanings was not the point of the poll. If so, there would have been columns for demos, repubs, others.

Womans programs?????? Whoa! That is a social program so conservative states idiologically would not be collecting taxes for them.

The third number is the divorce rate, right? With 1.0 being 100%? Because as far as I know, divorce rates are far higher than 10%-30%.

The government needs to start giving family classes. It's ridiculous that we're learning something on just about every part of life except this thing that most people need to know more about!

I've learned how kids are made... gee, I lost count at half a dozen. I honestly don't see why those horny freaks in the school boards think we need to learn what sex is over and over again :rolleyes: , but that's another discussion. My problem is that I've learned six times how to make a kid, and not a single time what to do with it.

You may argue that "my private life is none of your business". You're mostly right. However, if you were to fully respect that you'd have to stop teaching health subjects like nutrition, sex (private? Yup. Thaught in schools? Yup? :rolleyes: ), sicknesses, depression, etc. etc. Nobody's making you make use of what you learn in those classes more than anyone's making you avoid illness the way you learn to in health class. But if they thought some things on awareness, responsibilities, problem solving, and so on and so on, it'd go a long, long way in telling people that marriage is a little more than what they see on TV. Marriage, 90% of the time, involves fighting and crisises (grammar?). The sad thing is that most people don't seem to know that, and give up way too easily.

Go mandatory family education classes. And not some half-hearted crap either.

I'm never going to get someone pregnant, and I'm never going to get married. I've long since been enlightened by the 60%-and-rising divorce rate in Norway :) .

Although I find it telling that people would expect the highest divorce rate to be at the top of the list
:( . Enough "said".

I would say that New England states would have better womens programs than the deep south.
"Womens' programs"? What on Earth? :confused: :mad:

As a side note, "whites" aren't good at family values in the first place. The ideal family is one where the whole family lives together -not just mum, dad, and two and a half kid, but parents, children, grandparents, aunts, cousins, and uncles. Proven time and time again, friends. :)

The government needs to start giving family classes. It's ridiculous that we're learning something on just about every part of life except this thing that most people need to know more about!

I've learned how kids are made... gee, I lost count at half a dozen. I honestly don't see why those horny freaks in the school boards think we need to learn what sex is over and over again :rolleyes: , but that's another discussion. My problem is that I've learned six times how to make a kid, and not a single time what to do with it.

I completely agree with you, I don't know why no high schools teach child nutrition and basic child psychology. It would do wonders. Even something like marital sciences wouldn't be bad, if you could avoid endorsing religion.

"Womens' programs"? What on Earth? :confused: :mad:

Like counciling centers for battered and abused women, teen pregnancy and the like. If you are still :mad: explain why.

I would have formatted it better if it wouldn't have taken ages. Is this easier to understand?

In all fairness, I think Nevada should be tossed out as being somewhat skewed.

The Empire of Presidency holds family values in high regard. But, they must remain with the law.

Another interesting aspect of this list:

States banning gay marriage:

Mississippi - 86% voted to ban gay marriage, rank on this list: 39th
Arkansas - over 75% voted to ban gay marriage, rank on this list: 50th
Georgia - over 75% voted to ban gay marriage, rank on this list: 34th
Oklahoma - over 75% voted to ban gay marriage, rank on this list: 49th
Kentucky - over 75% voted to ban gay marriage, rank on this list: 40th
North Dakota - close to 75% voted to ban gay marriage, rank on this list: 7th
Montana - 65% voted to ban gay marriage, rank on this list: 29th
Utah - 65% voted to ban gay marriage, rank on this list: 26th
Ohio - 62% voted to ban gay marriage, rank on this list: 24th
Michigan - 59% voted ban gay marriage, rank on this list: 17th
Oregon - 57% voted to ban gay marriage, rank on this list: 35th

With the exception of North Dakota, what sanctity were these states trying to protect?

What's even better is that the higher the percentage banning gay marriage, the higher the divorce rate is.

The third number is the divorce rate, right? With 1.0 being 100%? Because as far as I know, divorce rates are far higher than 10%-30%.

That's one of the great misconceptions about divorce. It's actually nowhere near as prevalent as everyone keeps saying it is, because the people who invented the statistic were morons and didn't graduate from the eighth grade, judging by their understanding of percentages.

Basically, the 50% figure everyone keeps hearing about came about because some dope down in the Research section looked at the number of marriages per year, looked at the number of divorces per year, saw that for every 2 marriages, there was a divorce as well, and divided one by the other and came up with a "divorce rate." Now of course, even casual inspection of the process yields a fairly big freakin' problem: the number of people getting married every year has almost nothing to do with the number of people getting divorced every year, because only a tiny percentage of people who get married get divorced within a year.

It would be more accurate to look at the total number of married couples and divide that number by the number of divorces. In that case, the statistic comes back that in general, if you are married on Jan. 1, there is about a 96-98% probability that you will still be married on Dec. 31. Of course, this number isn't dramatic, and therefore probably won't sell newspapers, but it is the truth.

Of course, it might be different in Norway, but I suspect that the 60% number is caused by the same method of misconstuing data as it was here in the U.S.


The government needs to start giving family classes. It's ridiculous that we're learning something on just about every part of life except this thing that most people need to know more about!

I've learned how kids are made... gee, I lost count at half a dozen. I honestly don't see why those horny freaks in the school boards think we need to learn what sex is over and over again :rolleyes: , but that's another discussion. My problem is that I've learned six times how to make a kid, and not a single time what to do with it.

You may argue that "my private life is none of your business". You're mostly right. However, if you were to fully respect that you'd have to stop teaching health subjects like nutrition, sex (private? Yup. Thaught in schools? Yup? :rolleyes: ), sicknesses, depression, etc. etc. Nobody's making you make use of what you learn in those classes more than anyone's making you avoid illness the way you learn to in health class. But if they thought some things on awareness, responsibilities, problem solving, and so on and so on, it'd go a long, long way in telling people that marriage is a little more than what they see on TV. Marriage, 90% of the time, involves fighting and crisises (grammar?). The sad thing is that most people don't seem to know that, and give up way too easily.

Go mandatory family education classes. And not some half-hearted crap either.

I'm never going to get someone pregnant, and I'm never going to get married. I've long since been enlightened by the 60%-and-rising divorce rate in Norway :) .


Erm, that's a bit cagey, for a couple of reasons. For one, a lot of people over here don't get sexual-health classes of any substance at all (I know I didn't), so the libertarian impulse is much more live and kicking than it apparently is in Norway, and moreover, I don't necessarily know that that's a bad thing.

Secondly, there is a big difference between sex ed and marriage ed. Sex ed is usually provided because parents are too hung up/repressed/domineering/embarrassed to do it themselves. However, I've never seen the same problems with parents on the subject of marriage; as a matter of fact, I think most kids would rather their parents stopped offering advice on how to marry successfully.