Fewer couples getting married

Marriage Licenses Filed in Butler County since 2000

2000: 2,513

2001: 2,419

2002: 2,345

2003: 2,232

2004: 2,122

2005: 2,116

2006: 2,130

2007: 2,129

2008: 2,123

2009: 2,041

HAMILTON — With fewer couples popping the big question, Butler County marriage license applications have dropped to their lowest number since 1970, when only 2,030 were filed.

Butler County mirrors a national trend where more couples seem to be choosing cohabitation over getting hitched. Local and national experts offer varying opinions on this recent phenomenon, ranging from the economic downturn to changes in social norms.

Laura Moon, deputy clerk of marriage license at the Butler County Probate Court, said 2,041 marriage license applications were filed for the 2009 year compared to 2,123 applications in 2008.

Moon, who has worked in the office for 25 years, said court house marriages also have declined.

“It’s slow all over, not just here in Butler County,” she said. “I don’t know what it is right now.”

Kevin Bush, associate professor of family studies and social work at Miami University in Oxford, said that cohabiting has become more popular among couples over the past few decades.

“There’s definitely a decreased stigma on cohabitation,” Bush said. “It goes across social class, ethnicity and age groups. We’ve even seen an increase in cohabitation in the last few years with the elderly.”

For the younger people, the role education plays in lifestyles has changed the composition of marriage, Bush said.

“By the time you get out of college, you have $30,000 in debt and you need to put that off before you get married,” Bush said.

For older couples who have decided to delay marriage, Bush had a more complex answer.

“We have a lot of widows who could never work and are dependant on their spouse’s retirement,” Bush said. “They lose that if they get (remarried).”

Vonnie Bittikofer, co-owner of Highview Center, an outpatient behavioral private practice in Middletown, said she has seen an increase in those delaying marriage, especially during the recession.

“People in their 20s are more frequently having to move back in with their parents because of the economy,” Bittikofer said. “It’s been harder for them to find employment.”

Bush agreed the economy in Butler County, which had a 9.9 percent jobless rate in December, plays a key role.

Hamilton and Middletown are “economically depressed and (decline in) marriage does follow that,” Bush said.

Bush said fewer couples are getting married out of obligation due to a pregnancy.

“There’s less of a stigma about getting pregnant,” he said.