Utah’s Reputation For Good Marriages May Be Going Bad

Utah is known for its big families and homey culture due it its LDS ties and generally large population, but not everything is perfect when it comes to marriage in the state.  

Though divorce rates aren’t exceptionally high, neither are they very low on the list according to the U.S. News & World Report. Despite Utah’s reputation for solid marriages, maybe speaking to the LDS culture and beliefs, it still has its issues.  

In 2021, the divorce rate in Utah was 7.32 per 1000 women and increased in 2022 to 8.08 per 1000 women.  

It seems that across the country, divorce rates were spiking during 2022. However, Utah still isn’t the worst when it comes to divorce rates. Arkansas had the highest divorce rates in 2022 with 11.9 of 1,000 women being divorced.  

Vermont had the lowest divorce rates that year at 4.65 divorces for every 1,000 women.  

Utah is somewhere in the middle on the scale and made neither the top 10 states with the highest divorce rates nor the lowest. So, is divorce common in Utah? Yes. Is it Utah’s biggest issue? No. 

In fact, perhaps this whole issue of divorce rates increasing is a part of why younger adults seem less inclined to get married. The Institute for Family Studies said that marriage rates are the lowest they have ever been.  

And it isn’t just those in their 20s but also older adults in their 30s and 40s who are avoiding the whole ordeal.  

Why divorce is rising is unclear but hey, at least Utah isn’t the WORST state to get married in.