Census Bureau finds Pa. divorce rates declined over the last decade

Maybe those branding experts had it right when they attempted to adopt the “Pennsylvania is for lovers” slogan a few years back.

Or, at least it is a land of lasting love.

No less authority than the U.S. Census Bureau — that fountain of all things numerical across America — has come out with a report looking at divorce and marriage rates among women 15 and older across the country.

When the number-crunchers looked at reports of divorces and marriages nationally from 2008 and 2018, they found divorce rates had fallen significantly— from 10.5 divorces among 1,000 women in 2008, to 7.7 per 1,000 women 10 years later.

They dropped even lower in Pennsylvania, where divorce rates dipped from 8 divorces per 1,000 in 2008 to0 6.5 per 1,000 in 2018.

Based on census numbers, Virginia, which eventually did adopt the slogan “Virginia is for Lovers,” couldn’t hold a candle to the Keystone State in terms of lasting love. Divorce rates in Virginia, which started out at 11.2 per 1,000 in 2008 had only dipped to 8 per 1,000 in 2018.

On the downside, things looked a little bleak for those hoping to tie the knot in Pennsylvania.

Census researchers found marriage rates in the Keystone State clocked in a 14.7 per 1,000 in 2018 compared to 16.6 per 1,000 nationally that same year.