After the days of social distancing, Americans apparently wanted to go the distance with their romantic partners.
According to new data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, more Americans have been getting married since the 2020 pandemic.
In that year, the marriage rate dropped to 5.1 per 1,000 people, the data showed. But by 2022, that number bumped up to 6.2 per capita — and more than 2 million “I do’s” in a single year.
“This marked the first instance of surpassing the 2 million mark since 2019 when the figure stood at 2,015,603,” the report noted, adding that marriage rate — 6.2 per 1,000 people — was “the highest rate observed since 2018.”
According to the report, the most substantial marriage percentage increases in 2022 compared to 2021 occurred in New York (21%), the District of Columbia (14%) and Hawaii (13%).
Nevada had the highest marriage percentage rate at 25.9% — all those quickie wedding chapels probably have something to do with it — though its rate declined by a single percentage point between 2021 and 2022.
For the record, the second-highest percentage rate was Hawaii (14.4%), with Montana and Utah (9.9%) tying for second place, followed by the District of Columbia (8.3%) and Arkansas (7.9%).
The researchers clarified that just because the marriage occurred in a particular place doesn’t mean the newlyweds live there.
Also, the number and rate of divorces dropped slightly in 2022 (2.4 per 1,000 population) versus 2021, “continuing a longstanding downward trend,” according to the report.
In 2020, the divorce rate was at a low of 2.3 per 1,000 people.