Utah Best State for Family Stability
It leads among adults who are married and raise their children through high school years.
State Utah
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Tennessee
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FAMILY STRUCTURE INDEX | 2025 Rank
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
80.5 78.1 77.2 75.3 75.1 71.1
70.3 69.3 67.9 67.2 67.2 65.9 65.1 64.1 63.5 63.5 62.8 61.8 61.1
60.6 60.5 59.6 59
58.1 57.4 55.4 55.4 55.4 54.8 54.2 53.4 53.1 52.7 52.3 52.3 50.9 50.8 50.7 48.9 48.1 47.9 44.8 44.7 43.1 40.7 34.2 32.1
Index Score % Prime-aged Adults Married 94.4 85.4 82
68
64.6 62.3 60.2 63
62.3 60.7 60.8 60.3 59.3 57.8 59.8 58.9 59.3 58.5 58.4 59.4 58.5 58.8 57.7 57.9 58.6 55.2 56.9 58.8 56.8 56.5 58.2 55.7 56.5 55.6 55.4 53.3 56
55.7 54.9 54.8 55.2 53.6 55.5 55.7 55.8 52
54.8 55.4 54.7 52.8 52.1
49.5 50.8
A
BY VAN CHARLES
new study of marriage stability and birth rates ranks Utah as the state with the most family stability — and
Rhode Island with the least. Utah came in with a ranking of 94.4, while Rhode Island only scored 32.1, according to the Family Structure Index. 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 sociology
professor 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 25-54) 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. 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. “It starts with a commitment to
addressing the root cause driving the challenges in our communities,” he said, “the decline of marriage and the collapse of family. Changing course requires both church and state solutions.” 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 dificulties of marriage and family life can be shared in age-appropriate ways to the entire congregation.” 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.
APRIL 2025 | NEWSMAX 19
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