INDIANA MARRIAGE REPORT

State and County Data

1995

Indiana State Department of Health

Epidemiology Resource Center/Data Analysis Team

2 North Meridian Street

Indianapolis, Indiana 46204

For questions about this report, please call: (317) 233-7349,
or e-mail data-analysis@isdh.IN.gov

Preface

The 1995 Indiana Marriage Report provides a summary of information about all of the marriages that occurred in the state during 1995. The information provided in the tables in this report is intended for professionals, students, legislators, and others interested in information on marriages that occurred in Indiana.

Information about marriages is tabulated by place of occurrence rather than place of residence as is the case for most other vital events (births, deaths, etc.). This is a consequence of the fact that marriages involve two individuals who often reside in different states or counties. In the table on place of residence, the number of marriages involving out of state residents is specified.

In Indiana, the minimum age for marriage is 18. Exceptions to this minimum age are provided for those under age 18 if court approval and/or parental consent are obtained.

Counts and marriage rates are provided for Indiana and each of the 92 counties. Rates are expressed as the number of marriages per 1,000 population in specified state, county, age and/or marital status categories. High county marriage rates mean an unusually high number of marriages for the size of the county population. This is most likely a consequence of nonresident marriages rather than inherent differences in the marrying behavior among residents of different counties.

Information is also provided on a number of characteristics of the marriage (month of occurrence, day of occurrence, and ceremony type) as well as characteristics of both the bride and the groom (age, education level, race, place of residence, previous marital status, and number of marriages).

INDIANA STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

Richard D. Feldman, M.D., State Health Commissioner

Information Services Commission

Assistant Commissioner

Epidemiology Resource Center

Gregory K. Steele, Dr.P.H., Director

Data Analysis Team

Roland E. Gamache, Ph.D., M.B.A., Director

Contributing Staff

Jeanne E. Moorman, M.S.
Cheryl Thomas

The Epidemiology Resource Center gratefully acknowledges the efforts of the clerks of courts and staff of the Vital Statistics Division that provide assistance in the collection and reporting of marriage certificate information.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Highlights

• There were 50,628 marriages performed in the State in 1995.
• The marriage rate per 1,000 population was 9.1. The rate per 1,000 population age 15 and older was 11.7. The rate per 1,000 unmarried population age 15+ was 28.3.

• Brown County (83.1), Steuben County (60.7), and Owen County (48.8) had the highest rates per 1,000 unmarried population age 15+:

• The most frequent months for marriages were June, July and September.
  • More marriages occured on Saturday (60.6%) than on any other day of the week. However, civil marriages were more likely to occur on Friday, while religious marriages were more likely to occur on Saturday.

• Almost 95% of the brides were residents of Indiana while 92% of the grooms were residents of Indiana. For 90.7% of the marriages both the bride and groom were Indiana residents. For another 5.5% of marriages either the bride or the groom was a resident of Indiana. Neither the bride nor the groom were residents for 3.5% of the marriages that occurred in Indiana.

• In 89.8% of marriages both the bride and the groom were White. In 5.6% of the marriages both the bride and the groom were Black. Only 1.8% of marriages were interracial (White/Black). In the remaining 2.8% of marriages the race of the bride or groom was other or unknown.

• Only 48% of marriages were first marriages for both the bride and the groom. Almost 25% of marriages were subsequent to a divorce for both the bride and the groom. In another 21.6% of marriages, one or the other participant had been previously divorced. In 5% of marriages the bride, the groom, or both had been previously widowed.

• Almost 12% of marriages were second marriages for both the bride and the groom; 8% were first marriages for the bride and second marriages for the groom; 8.8% were first marriages for the groom and second marriages for the bride.
• In 48% of marriages the bride and the groom were in the same education level category. In 24% of the marriages the bride was in a higher education level category than the groom. In 22% of marriages the groom was in a higher education level category than the bride.

• Almost 28% of grooms and almost 31% of brides married between the ages of 20 and 24.

• For over 50% of marriages, brides or grooms were between the ages of 20 and 29. In almost 40% of marriages both the bride and the groom were between 20 and 29 years of age.

• Marriage rates per 1,000 unmarried population were highest for 25-29 year old brides and grooms.

• Previously divorced grooms age 55-64 had higher marriage rates than previously divorced grooms of other ages. Previously divorced brides age 20-24 had higher marriage rates than previously divorced brides of other ages.

• Previously widowed brides age 20-24 had a higher marriage rate than previously widowed brides of other ages. Previously widowed grooms age 25-29 had higher marriage rates than previously widowed grooms of other ages.

• The average age at marriage for brides and grooms who had never been married before was 23.8 and 25.7 years, respectively.

• The average age at marriage for brides and grooms who had been previously divorced was 35.5 and 38.4 years, respectively.

• The average age at marriage for brides and grooms who had been widowed was 53.5 and 60.2 years, respectively.

• Never married and divorced White brides and grooms married, on the average, 3 to 4 years younger than never married and divorced Black brides and grooms. Previously widowed White brides and grooms married, on the average, 3 years older than previously widowed Black brides and grooms.

Technical Notes

Adjacent States: States which border Indiana include Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky.

Age: In this report, age refers to age in years as reported by the applicants on the Record of Marriage (State Form 27553). If a birthday occurs between submitting the application form and the marriage ceremony, age at the time of the actual marriage ceremony may be one year older than that reported on the license application form. The application form is valid for 90 days.

In Indiana, marriages involving persons 15-17 years of age require parental consent and/or court order, depending on the actual age.

Mean Age: The mean age is the arithmetic average of the age for those individuals for whom age was reported.

Median Age: The median age is the age that divides the number of brides or grooms into two equal groups. One-half of the grooms are older than their median age and one-half of the brides are older than their median age. Because the distribution of age is skewed (not normally distributed or bell shaped), the median is a better measure than the mean.

Ceremony Type: Whether the ceremony was a civil ceremony or a religious ceremony is determined by the title and name of the officiating individual or the place the ceremony occurred. If the title reflects a government official, such as mayor, magistrate, or judge, the ceremony is categorized as civil. If the title reflects a religious entity, such as reverend, father, or priest, or the location of the marriage was a place of worship, the ceremony is categorized as religious.

Education Level: The education levels of the bride and groom reflect the highest grade completed as reported by the applicants on the Record of Marriage (State form 27553).

Marriage Rates: Rates are expressed as the number of marriages per 1,000 population in specified age and/or marital status categories. Rates are provided for a number of different population bases to allow for comparisons with commonly used rates for the nation and other states. Population bases from the 1990 Census MARS counts were used in this report. Population estimates for more recent calendar years are not available by marital status.

Place of Occurrence: By convention marriages are tabulated by place of occurrence (County and State) rather than place of residence as in other vital events (births, deaths, etc.). This is primarily because marriages involve two individuals who may have different places of residence.

Previous Marital Status: Marital status prior to the marriage is reported for both the bride and the groom. Individuals are categorized as never married, or if previously married, by how the last marriage ended (death, divorce or annulment). The number of previous marriages is also reported. In the tables in this report, annulments are included in the category labeled divorced.

Unmarried: This category includes the never married, the widowed and the divorced.