Kansans are known for their conservative values, and one place they prove that is having one of the lowest divorce rates in the country. Kansas ranks 42nd out of 46 states that supply data, as only Maryland, Texas, Illinois and Massachusetts have lower rates.
April 14 is National Ex-Spouse’s Day. While it’s not likely that people are buying flowers for their former flame, one must wonder just how many out there are feeling the burn.
BetKansas.com, where we typically stick to Kansas sports betting, used data from the National Center for Health Statistics to determine the states with the highest and lowest divorce rates. The figures for the divorce rate are per 1,000 women in 2021, the latest year for which the data has been compiled by the Center.
States Ranked By Divorce Rate
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Kansas Couples Just Get Along
The Kansas divorce rate is 1.9 per 1,000 according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Conversely, Kansas ranks 34th in marriage rates at 5.4 per 1,000.
Apparently, married couples in Kansas do a much better job of getting along with each other than just about anywhere else in the country.
Kansas is a no-fault state when it comes to divorce, which means you don’t have to cite fault on one side of the relationship to obtain the divorce. According to Jeffers Law Group in Overland Park, Kansas, the three grounds for divorce in Kansas are Incompatibility or “No-Fault,” Failure to Perform a Material Marital Duty and Incompatibility By Reason of Mental Illness.
In Kansas, only one party has to file for Incompatibility in order for the divorce to be granted.
Kansas wraps up several things under the umbrella of Failure to Perform a Material Marital Duty. Those include extreme cruelty, gross neglect of duty, adultery and habitual drunkenness and, according to the Jeffers Law Group, this isn’t cited very often in Kansas courts.
In some states, divorce can be costly for the family, so that could be a reason why some keep the marriage going in states with low divorce rates. However, Kansas can’t point to that as a reason for its low rates. A 2020 story by USA Today cites Kansas with the eighth-lowest cost of divorce without children at $10,900 and ninth-lowest with children at $16,400.
So it seems that in Kansas, married couples are just doing a better job of getting along and keeping their families intact. No matter the reason, there are fewer Kansans celebrating National Ex-Spouse’s Day than just about everywhere else.
For more stories like this, as well as reviews of Kansas sports betting apps, keep reading BetKansas.com.
Author
Douglas Pils has been a sports journalist for 30 years in Texas, Arkansas and New York having worked for the San Antonio Express-News, the Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News and Newsday. He currently runs the Student Media Department at Baylor University.
