Valentine’s Day is a popular time to declare love, of course. And in Las Vegas, it is a really popular time to get married. The county even offers marriage licenses at the airport, and you can opt for a drive-thru wedding near the strip, starting at $169. For a little more, an Elvis impersonator will drive and serenade you in a pink Cadillac. This is why Nevada has the highest rate of marriage in the U.S.—26.2 per 1,000 residents in 2021, though that number reflects plenty of nonresident newlyweds who flew in for the occasion. The nation’s average is 6 per 1,000 residents, while divorce rates average 2.5 per 1,000. Marriage rates have declined by 50% since 1972, and cohabitation rates have risen, according to ourworldindata.org.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Marriage rate, Divorce rate
Image: A Special Memory Wedding Chapel