Marriages
and Divorces
Number of Marriages
The state
had been experiencing a decline in both the number of marriages and
in the marriage rate over the past decade, but in 1997 there was a reversal
in this trend. The number of marriages in New Jersey in 1997 totaled
55,467, an increase of 7.1 percent from the 51,811 marriages which occurred
in the state in 1996 (Table MD1). The number of marriages in 1997 was
the highest number of marriages since 1991. The marriage rate in 1997
was 6.9 per 1,000 population. This represents a 6.2 percent increase
from the 1996 rate of 6.5 per 1,000 population.
The number
of marriages varied widely by county of occurrence. Essex County had
the highest number of marriages in 1997 (6,245) and Salem County recorded
the lowest number (359) (Table MD9). Six counties together recorded
52.8 percent of the marriages in 1997: Essex (6,245), Bergen (5,584),
Hudson (4,956), Middlesex (4,758), Monmouth (3,929), and Union (3,801).
TABLE
MD1. NUMBER OF MARRIAGES, MARRIAGE RATES AND
MEDIAN AGE AT MARRIAGE FOR BRIDES AND GROOMS
MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES ISSUED IN NEW JERSEY, 1988-1997 |
| YEAR |
MARRIAGES |
MEDIAN
AGE |
| NUMBER |
RATE* |
BRIDES |
GROOMS |
| 1988 |
61,063 |
7.9 |
27.2 |
29.0 |
| 1989 |
60,076 |
7.8 |
27.4 |
29.1 |
| 1990 |
58,747 |
7.6 |
27.7 |
29.3 |
| 1991 |
55,832 |
7.2 |
27.6 |
29.4 |
| 1992 |
55,321 |
7.1 |
27.9 |
29.8 |
| 1993 |
53,505 |
6.8 |
28.1 |
29.9 |
| 1994 |
52,797 |
6.7 |
28.4 |
30.2 |
| 1995 |
52,208 |
6.6 |
28.5 |
30.4 |
| 1996 |
51,811 |
6.5 |
28.8 |
30.7 |
| 1997 |
55,467 |
6.9 |
29.0 |
31.0 |
| *Rates
are computed per 1,000 population. |
To
Health Statistics 1997
Next Marriages and Divorces section
|
