States Where Marriage Rates Plummeted During the Pandemic

When it came to tying the knot, 2020 was the year to say, “I don’t.”

Almost 340,000 fewer marriages took place in 2020 than in 2019, according to data released this week by the National Center for Health Statistics, a drop of 16.8%. Popular wedding destinations like Hawaii and Nevada saw the marriage rate plummet the most.

Overall, the total number of marriages recorded in the U.S. in 2020 was the lowest it had been since 1963. In addition, the marriage rate, which measures the number of marriages per 1,000 people, plummeted from 6.1 marriages per 1,000 to just 5.1.

But this wasn’t a sign that people were afraid of long-term relationships – because there were also around 116,000 fewer divorces. Hundreds of thousands of couples put their nuptials off when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but some of those who were already married seem to have decided they’d rather ride out that chaotic and uncertain time together.

The states that saw the biggest change in its marriage rates were Hawaii (6.8 fewer marriages for every 1,000 people), Nevada (4.9 fewer marriages per 1,000), New York (2.7), New Mexico (2.6) and California (2.5). Nevada still had the highest marriage rate in the nation though, at 21 marriages per 1,000 people, showing – presumably – that there were still plenty of folks willing to get hitched in Vegas during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the states that saw the biggest drop in divorce rates were Nevada again (1.2 fewer divorces per 1,000 people), Connecticut (1.13), New York (1.1), Maryland (0.98) and Louisiana (0.96).

Only four states saw marriage rate increases, though in most cases they were small. Utah, Alabama and Texas all saw marriage rates change by less than 1 marriage per 1,000 people.

Montana did see a notably large increase in the marriage rate, from 7.9 marriages per 1,000 people to 10.4 – the highest marriage rate the state has recorded in over 30 years. But some of those couples didn’t even attend their own wedding. Montana is the only state in the U.S. that allows marriages where neither party is present, an option most commonly used by military couples. Many members of the military were not allowed to leave their bases during lockdown, leading to a surge of remote weddings in the rural state.

Now that’s social distancing.