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More North Olympic Peninsula couples are living together instead of getting married.
They, and married couples, are also breaking up leaving more unwed mothers to raise children.
That’s the picture painted by new census information released this week.
According to Peninsula College sociology Professor Jeff Mauger, the data could signal significant changes for our society.
Census figures show the percentage of families headed by married couples in 1990 was 58.4 percent in Clallam County. By 2000, married couples accounted for only 53.9 percent of households.
The number of households headed by married couples dropped 3.8 percent in Jefferson County during the last decade, leaving only 6,242 households led by married couples.
Sequim, Forks, Port Hadlock-Irondale, Neah Bay and Port Townsend followed the trend.
This entire report appears in the Friday/Saturday editions of the Peninsula Daily News, on sale throughout Clallam and Jefferson counties. Or click on “Subscribe” to order your copy via U.S. mail.