A newly-released report from the U.S. Census Bureau show Iowa’s divorce rate dipped ever-so-slightly in 2005. It’s the most recent data the Census Bureau has analyzed for Iowa and the state’s 99 counties. In 2005, there were over 20,000 marriages. By comparison, there were a little over 8,000 divorces. There were more "new" Iowans, too.
Nearly 40,000 babies were born in Iowa in 2005. Nearly 28,000 Iowans died in that year. The report shows county-by-county stats, illustrating that Iowa’s largest urban and suburban areas are growing but rural areas and some moderately-sized towns are losing population as death rates top live births.
For example, in Cerro Gordo County , the Mason City area, there were 92 more deaths than births in 2005.
Audio: Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson reports on new census data. :48 MP3