Georgia Divorce Rate is Above National Average

Divorce rates are generally higher in the South than elsewhere in the U.S. But then again, marriage rates tend to higher in the South too.

Last month, the Census Bureau released a report showing that, in the South, 10.2 men per 1,000 and 11.1 women per 1,000 got divorced in 2009. The national average is a divorce rate of 9.2 for men. For women, it is 9.7.

Diana Elliott, a Census Bureau demographer, offered an explanation of the figures. "Divorce rates tend to be higher in the South because marriage rates are also higher in the South," she said. "In contrast, in the Northeast, first marriages tend to be delayed and the marriage rates are lower, meaning there are also fewer divorces."

The Northeast had the lowest divorce rates in the country, according to the Census Bureau. The rates there were 7.2 men per 1,000 and 7.5 women.

Georgia was one of 14 states that had a divorce rate higher than the national average.

So a divorce in Atlanta, for example, may be more likely statistically than a divorce in Albany. But the main reason for this is fairly straightforward. Marriage rates are higher in Georgia than in the Northeast to begin with. And that is because first marriages tend to occur later in the Northeast than in the South.

In upcoming posts, we will examine some of the other Census Bureau findings relevant to divorce in Atlanta and elsewhere in Georgia - such as the fact that recently divorced women are more likely than recently divorced men to be in poverty.

Source: "Study: South has highest rate of divorce," CNN U.S., 8-25-11