Lasting Marriages In NJ? Garden State Tops U.S. Ranking: Report

NEW JERSEY — Looking for a state where you may find “happily ever after?”

A recent analysis from Point2, a real estate search portal, ranked New Jersey third nationwide of all states with lasting marriages.

Trailing behind South Dakota and then Hawaii as the top state, Point2’s results showed that half of New Jerseyans are married. The average timeframe for marriage in New Jersey is 20.6 years.

According to the study, New Jersey is additionally a state with the lowest divorce rate, tied with North Dakota and Utah. Each of those states' averages of divorced and separated people were at 10.3 percent.

New Jerseyans also take both their vows and romance seriously, the study said. Couples in the Garden State enjoy regularly heading out for getaways and celebrating their anniversaries. New Jersey couples love to spend time bonding over romantic dinners and movies, Point2 said.

Though a state like Nevada has the highest number of weddings with 23.11 per 1,000 people, the Point2 study also showed Nevada as one of the states with the highest divorce rate of all.

Love — or lack of it — isn’t all about being in a state or zip code, said experts that Point2 interviewed.

“People in long-lasting relationships tend to want to be in long-lasting relationships,” said Scott S. Hall, a family studies professor from Ball State University. “It takes a certain mindset to invest in something you hope to have endure, and to be able to look beyond “the small stuff” for the sake of longevity.”

“Where you live certainly has something to do with it, as some of our research has found; but there are entire theories about what keeps people together,” said, William Chopik, a Michigan State University associate professor of psychology.

He said couples in enduring marriages tend to find their partners are mutually responsive and empathetic.

Chopik said many people in long-lasting relationships work on keeping that spark by spending quality time together, even if it’s a meal at home or reading a book with one another.

Theresa E. DiDonato, a professor of psychology from Loyola University, said couples who have a joy-filled relationship demonstrate “healthy habits of showing care, attention, and concern for each other, efforts to support each other’s goals and day-to-day needs, mutual attraction, and genuine enjoyment of each other’s company.”

Read Point2’s full report here.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.