Pennsylvania is the Nation's Sweetest State

                February 12, 1998


   Pennsylvania is the Nation's Sweetest State

     MIDDLETOWN, Pa. -- As February 14th  fast
approaches, here is some information from the
Pennsylvania State Data Center at Penn State Harrisburg
related to Valentines Day in Pennsylvania.

     Marriage and Divorce:  In 1995, 74,504 marriages
and 39,493 divorces took place in Pennsylvania, according
to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.  This marks the
seventh consecutive year that the annual number of
marriages declined and represents the lowest annual
number of marriages in Pennsylvania since 1963.  The
Pennsylvania marriage rate per 1,000 population was 6.2.
The U.S. marriage rate per 1,000 population was 8.9.

     In 1995, 30.4 percent of all new brides were age
25-29.  The largest proportional increase among age groups
occurred with women in their 30's.  The number of
marriages for those 30-34 years was 228.6 percent higher
than in 1970 and number of marriages for women 35-39
increased 224 percent between 1970 and 1995.  The
median age of brides in 1970 was 22.2.

     The median age of brides in 1995 was 28.2.  The
median age of the groom at the time of marriage was
similar to that of the bride - in 1970 was it 23.8 while the
median age in 1995 was 29.7.

     More marriages occurred in September (10,533) in
1995 than any other month.  Seventy percent of all
marriages in Pennsylvania in 1995 took place in either
September, June (9,138), October (8,744), May (8,670),
July (7,635) or August (7,624).

     Age 20-24 was the most common age group for first
marriages for women in 1995.  Among men, age 25-29
was most common.  For persons previously widowed, 59.7
percent of the women and 77.1 percent of the men were
age 50 and older at the time of their re-marriage.  For
those previously divorced, the median age for women being
remarried was 37 while for men it was 39.7.

     While the number of marriages has declined, so has
the number of divorces.  For the fourth year in a row, the
annual number of divorces declined and is at the lowest
annual point since 1989.  The divorce rate in 1995 was 3.3
per 1,000 population compared to 4.4 for the United States. 
Almost half of all divorces (49.4 percent) occurred in the
first nine years of marriage.

     Nevada had both the highest marriage rate (96.3
marriages per 1,000 population) and divorce rate (9.0
divorces per 1,000 population) in 1994 followed by
Arkansas (15.6), Tennessee (15.5) and Hawaii (15.2). 
Arkansas had the second highest divorce rate (7.1) followed
by Oklahoma (6.7) and Wyoming (6.5).

     Flowers:  The Census of Retail Trade estimates that
there were 27,341 florists in the U.S. in 1992.  There were
1,340 florists in Pennsylvania employing 6,477 people and
with sales in 1992 of $301 million.

     Cut flowers accounted for $3.6 billion nationally. 
In Pennsylvania in 1996 there were 207 producers of cut
flowers with 3.3 million square feet of production area. 
The value of sales at wholesale in 1996 totaled $6.5
million.  Roses accounted for more than half (58 percent)
of those sales.

     Lancaster County led the Commonwealth in the
number of cut flower farms in Pennsylvania (28) followed
by Bucks County (18) and York County (14).  Chester
County, however, had the highest volume in sales ($2.9
million) followed by Lancaster County ($1.7 million) and
Bucks County ($1.3 million).

     Candy:  In 1992 there were 346 stores in
Pennsylvania specializing in candy, nuts and
confectioneries with annual sales of $69 million. 
Allegheny County led the state in the number of stores with
46, Philadelphia County followed with 37 and Montgomery
County with 27 candy stores.  

     Pennsylvania leads the nation in the number of
establishments making candy and other confectionery
products: 83 candy and other confectionery and 25
chocolate and cocoa product making establishments. 
Pennsylvania also leads the nation in the number of persons
employed in establishments manufacturing chocolate and
cocoa products, 4,891, about four times more than the next
leading state, Wisconsin.

     The state-sponsored Pennsylvania State Data Center
is the Commonwealth's official source of population and
economic statistics and services. It is based at Penn State
Harrisburg's Institute of State and Regional Affairs.

_____________________________________________

Editors:  For more information, contact Lesley Nearman at
the Data Center's State Capital Office, (717) 772-2710, or
the Penn State Harrisburg's Public Information Office,
(717) 948-6029.

Source of Information:	U.S. Census Bureau and the
			Pennsylvania Department of Health,
			Division of Health Statistics and
			Research
			
Accompany Table:        Marriage and Divorce Rates by County, 1995

Accompany Chart:        Pennsylvania Marriage and Divorce Rates, 1970-1995