Heart to Heart

From the Western Nebraska Observer archives:

January 9, 1947

159 marriage licenses by county court

Marriage licenses issued in Kimball county showed an increase of almost 75 percent in 1946, according to the records of County Judge Orville C. Wisdom. 159 were issued by the office in 1946 as against 92 the previous year. The office also issued 163 certified copies of licenses.

Jan. 6, 1927

There were over three times as many marriage licenses issued in Kimball county in 1926 as in 1924 according to the Judge’s records. In 1924 there were but twelve licenses recorded while in 1925 there were just twice as many the previous year, twenty-four. In 1926, forty-two licenses were issued, representing an increase of twenty in the past two years.

Marriage has rarely been something one jumps into haphazardly, but over the past several decades, Americans have been jumping considerably less.

According to a Pew Research Center analysis of census data, the percentage of adults getting married has been declining for decades. Back in the 1960’s, nearly 74 percent of Americans were married but that dropped to 57 percent in 2000 and is now less than half, as of 2014.

The biggest drop in marriages has occurred in the twenty-something, never-been-married group. In 1960, an average of 9 percent of Americans over the age of twenty-five had yet to tie the knot. Although there was a slight dip in the early 1970’s, the numbers have steadily been on the rise, now reaching a historic high of 25 percent. That means that today one out of every five American’s over the age of 25 have never been married, that’s approximately 42 million people.

Comparatively, those same census reports show a slight rise since 2012 but only in the older, college educated segment. That is also the same age group, those 25 to 34, that has the highest marriage rate. The next highest age group is the 35 to 44 age group, followed by the 18 to 24 age group.

When religion is taken into account, Pew Research Center’s data shows that all segments are showing a steady decline. Mormons have consistently held the highest percentage of married couples in the past but those numbers have dropped from 71 percent in 2007 to 66 percent in 2015. Christians are currently holding out at 52 percent married with those unaffiliated with any formal religion, falling several points below forty percent.

Many people might assume that the reason couples are refraining from marriage has to do with morals, however, there are several studies that suggest otherwise. Pew research shows that 78 percent of never-married American women prefer their spouse-to-be have a steady job. Unfortunately, the highest unemployed group, over the age of 20, is men, ages 20 to 24. Combine this data with the continued decline in unemployment rates for the past 7 years, as per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and you have a limited pool of qualified spouses for never-married, educated women over the age of twenty-five.

And none of that information even takes into consideration the cost of a wedding. According to the website costofwedding.com, typical American weddings can run anywhere from $19,984 to $33,306, however most couples spend less than $10,000. Also according to that website, couples in Kimball can expect to spend anywhere from $253 to $309 per guest to estimate the cost of their wedding. This obviously does not take into consideration the thriftiness and do-it-yourself attitude of the western Nebraska lady.

Although marriage statistics sound gloomy, it seems that love itself is not the issue. According to Pew, suggests that marriage is no longer a priority for young Americans. Decades ago, it was considered shameful to live together outside of wedlock. Today, it’s become commonplace.