A study of marriage stability and birth rates released earlier this month ranks all 50 states according to what researchers call the Family Structure Index.
Topping the list for 2025 is Utah, which boasts an index score of 94.4. At the bottom is Rhode Island, which posted an index score of 32.1.
Index scores higher than 60 indicate the state is above the national average in at least one of the components measured in the index, according to a fact sheet released with the results. Index scores lower than 60 mean the state is below average in at least one area.
The index analyzes demographic and fertility data to determine which states are best situated to improve the prospects for happy and healthy children and the economic well-being of a state.
Developed by Brad Wilcox, a professor of sociology and director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, the index is composed of three main components.
The first is the percentage of “prime-aged” adults (ages 25 to 54) who are married. Second is the average number of lifetime births, which the index refers to as fertility rate, for women in the state. Third is the percentage of children in the state who are “raised intact,” defined in the study as living with their married birth or adoptive parents between the ages of 15 and 17.
In earning its top ranking, 68% of prime-aged adults are married with a total fertility rate of 1.85. The percentage of 15- to 17-year-olds raised intact came in at 70.4%.
By contrast, Rhode Island has just 50.8% prime-aged married adults and a fertility rate of 1.4. The state’s percentage of children raised intact was 47.3, according to the study.
Western states dominated the index. Appearing in descending order after Utah is Idaho, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas, North Dakota, Iowa, Texas, Minnesota, and Alaska.
The bottom of the index is more a mixed geographical bag, with New Mexico finishing just ahead of Rhode Island, followed in ascending order by New York, Nevada, Massachusetts, Vermont, California, Louisiana, Oregon, and Illinois.
Wilcox developed the index in partnership with the Center for Christian Virtue and the Family Institute for Family Studies, which is an allied family policy council with the Center for Christian Virtue.
'Success Sequence'
Wilcox has written extensively on the benefits of marriage and family, and the “Success Sequence,” defined as the idea that a child will find greater success in life if they graduate high school, get married, and have children — in that order.
As part of the release of the Family Structure Index, Wilcox offered ideas on how states and families can strengthen marriages and families.
“One thing must be clear: There is no easy path out of a crisis,” he said. “Our nation didn’t get to this point overnight, and getting back on track will not happen quickly.
“It starts with a commitment to addressing the root cause driving the challenges in our communities — the decline of marriage and the collapse of family. Changing course requires both church and state solutions.
State solutions offered by Wilcox include eliminating marriage penalties. He said state legislatures should direct state government agencies to detail any marriage penalties associated with taxes and programs run by the state and look for ways to eliminate obstacles.
Others include requiring schools to teach the Success Sequence in public schools and have them focus on increasing the marriage rate and promoting strong, stable marriages.
Church emphasis
Wilcox recommends churches emphasize marriage and family, celebrate marriage, and incorporate its benefits in preaching.
“Marriage is the most common pathway for the faithful to grow in holiness and happiness,” he said. “Accordingly, churches should routinely proclaim an inspiring vision of marriage where the beauty, goodness, power and difficulties of marriage and family life can be shared in age-appropriate ways to the entire congregation.”
The Success Sequence was developed by social historian Barbara Dafoe Whitehead and Marline Pearson, a sociology professor, and popularized by the Brookings Institute.
According to data posted on the website for the Institute for Family Studies, 97% of young people who follow all three steps of the sequence — graduate, get a job and marry before children — do not live in poverty as adults. Those who complete only the first two steps do not live in poverty in their 30s, while 52% of young adults who complete none of the steps live in poverty.
“Putting marriage first, before becoming a mom or a dad, is a key step in escaping the trap of poverty,” the Institute for Family Studies concludes.
The results show that children born to unmarried couples who just live together are twice as likely to end up in a broken home by the age of 12 and more likely to be poor, experience abuse and get in trouble with the law.
In his book, Get Married, Wilcox says having a good marriage is a primary key to happiness.
“Marital quality is, far and away, the top predictor I have run across of life satisfaction in America,” he writes. “Specifically, the odds that men and women say they are ‘very happy’ with their lives are a staggering 545 percent higher for those who are very happily married, compared with peers who are not married or who are less than very happy in their marriages.”
“When it comes to predicting overall happiness, a good marriage is far more important than how much education you get, how much money you make, how often you have sex, and, yes, even how satisfied you are with your work.”
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