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More divorces in Nashville than anywhere else in the South

| Sep 2, 2011 | Divorce

Ever wondered what states have the highest divorce rates? Recent statistics released by the American Community Survey answers that question. Looking at census data from across the nation, the ACS released the list of the 14 states with the highest divorce rates.

Tennessee is one of those fourteen states, meaning that the divorce rate is one of the highest in the country. In addition, a closer look at the statistics shows that Nashville’s divorce rate is actually higher than all of the southern states’ rates combined. Why does it seem like more couples are getting divorced in the South?

There are a few hypotheses as to why the rates are so high. One is simply that more people are getting married in Southern states. Perhaps the divorce rate is higher because the marriage rate is higher. There is no data in the article that confirms this hypothesis; however it is possible that it is more regionally expected to get married.

Another reason why divorce rates may be so high, especially in Nashville, is that more married couples move to the city only to eventually get divorced. With fewer marriages and growing numbers of divorces, the rate increases. However these are all speculations. A combination of factors could be what is driving the numbers up.

It will be interesting to see if this trend continues over the years. The data used by the ACS was from 2009 – the most current data available. But even if the rates drop, people are still finding themselves getting divorced no matter what region of the United States they are living in.

Source: Examiner: “Census: Nashville’s divorce rate higher than southern states,” Frances Childress, Aug. 25, 2011

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