Americans continue to divorce at a high rate, but divorce rates have gotten smaller in recent years.  This is especially true for the professional/managerial class.  According to a study by the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, only 11% of college-educated Americans are now divorcing within the first 10 years of marriage, compared with almost 37% for the rest of the population.  It appears that college–educated Americans, who in general are more politically and socially liberal, are developing a greater commitment to getting and staying married.

This trend has economic ramifications and, in particular, contributes to growing disparities in wealth distribution.  In this day and age, both husband and wife are likely to work for pay outside the home, and two-income households are usually better off than single-income households.  It’s further proof, I guess, of the way the private family sphere is always intertwined within the public market sphere.

For more discussion of the topic, see Pamela Paul, “How Divorce Lost Its Cachet,” New York Times, 17 June ’11, Styles 1:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/fashion/how-divorce-lost-its-cachet.html?pagewanted=all