New Family Structure Index ranks Wisconsin 24th in the Nation

Tuesday, February 18, 2025, the Family Structure Index was released by the Center for Christian Virtue and The Institute for Family Studies. Wisconsin ranks 24th as the strongest family culture in the country. The Family Structure Index measures which states have the most stable and sustainable families, highlighting the importance of strong families for the future of our state and nation.

The Index analyzes demographic and fertility data to determine which states are best situated to improve the prospects for happy and healthy children and the economic well-being of a state. Utah ranks at the top, and Rhode Island ranks last.

Wisconsin Family Action President Daniel Degner asserts,

“Strong families are the foundation for a strong Wisconsin. The best long-term solution to budgetary constraints in BadgerCare, the Department of Corrections, and even in education, is to invest in the natural family where children are raised by their married biological mother and father. As the Governor prepares to deliver his budget address later today, we encourage him and the State Legislature to pass a budget that incentivizes the natural family.

“43.9% of teenagers in Wisconsin are raised in broken or never-formed family situations. To move Wisconsin forward our churches and our state government need to partner together in championing marriage from the pulpit and in public policy.”

Developed by Brad Wilcox, Professor of Sociology and Director of the National Marriage Project of the University of Virginia in partnership with Center for Christian Virtue and The Institute for Family Studies, the Index focuses on the share of adult residents of a state who are married, have children, and raise those children together through the child’s high-school years. The index showed the following:

·         56.9% of adults aged 25 to 54 in Wisconsin are married.

·         The average number of lifetime births per woman in the Wisconsin is just 1.65 (the Total Fertility Rate). Replacement fertility rate is 2.1.

·         56.1% of children in Wisconsin live with their married birth or adoptive parents at ages 15 to 17.

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Unsurprisingly, we see a connection between healthy and stable families and the economic well-being of a state. Seven of the top 10 states in the Family Structure Index are also in the top ten in the American Legislative Exchange Commissions Laffer State Economic Outlook Rankings of 2024, analyzing the states with the lowest tax and regulatory policies.

Degner notes, “For years, we have asserted ‘as the family, so the state.’ This Index reinforces that truth and helps show a path to a better, stronger, more prosperous Wisconsin by strengthening our best natural resource—our natural families. Ranking 24th in the nation isn’t good enough for our future and our children’s future. Let’s do the hard work necessary to get The Badger State into the top 10 or higher.”