Expressing one’s
love to another is a celebrated custom on Valentine’s Day; whereby sweethearts
and family members present gifts to one another, such as cards, candy, flowers
and other symbols of affection. Opinions differ as to who was the original
Valentine, but the most popular theory is that he was a clergyman who was
executed for secretly marrying couples in ancient Rome. In A.D. 496, Pope
Gelasius I declared Feb. 14 as Valentine Day. Esther Howland, a native of
Massachusetts, is given credit for selling the first mass-produced valentine
cards in the 1840s. The spirit continues today with even young children
exchanging valentine’s cards with their fellow classmates.
Candy
1,177
Number of U.S.
manufacturing establishments that produced chocolate and cocoa products in
2009, employing 34,252 people. California led the nation in the number of
chocolate and cocoa manufacturing establishments, with 135, followed by
Pennsylvania, with 111.
Source: U.S. Census
Bureau, County Business Patterns: 2009, NAICS code (31132) and (31133), <http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/>
409
Number of U.S.
establishments that manufactured nonchocolate confectionary products in 2009.
These establishments employed 16,974 people. California led the nation in this
category, with 45 establishments.
Source: U.S. Census
Bureau, County Business Patterns: 2009, NAICS code (31134)
$12.6 billion
Total value of shipments
in 2009 for firms producing chocolate and cocoa products. Nonchocolate
confectionery product manufacturing, meanwhile, was a $7.4 billion industry.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 Annual Survey of Manufactures
3,386
Number of confectionery
and nut stores in the United States in 2009.
Source: U.S. Census
Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS code (445292),
24.7 pounds
Per capita consumption of
candy by Americans in 2010.
Source: U.S. Census
Bureau, Current Industrial Reports, Confectionery: 2010 <http://www.census.gov/manufacturing/cir/historical_data/ma311d/index.html>
Flowers
$375 million
The combined wholesale
value of domestically produced cut flowers in 2010 for all flower-producing
operations with $100,000 or more in sales. Among states, California was the
leading producer, alone accounting for more than three-quarters of this amount ($286
million). Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service <http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1072>,
<http://usda01.library.cornell.edu/usda/current/FlorCrop/FlorCrop-04-21-2011_new_format.pdf>
$17 million
The combined wholesale
value of domestically produced cut roses in 2010 for all operations with
$100,000 or more in sales.
Source: USDA National
Agricultural Statistics Service <http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1072>,
<http://usda01.library.cornell.edu/usda/current/FlorCrop/FlorCrop-04-21-2011_new_format.pdf>
17,124
The number of florists
nationwide in 2009. These businesses employed 75,855 people.
Source: U.S. Census
Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS code (453110)
Jewelry
24,973
Number
of jewelry stores in the United States in 2009. Jewelry stores offer
engagement, wedding and other rings to couples of all ages. In February 2011,
these stores sold $2.27 billion in merchandise.
Source: U.S. Census
Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS code (448310), <http://censtats.census.gov/cgi-bin/cbpnaic/cbpdetl.pl>
and Monthly Retail Trade and Food Services <http://www.census.gov/retail>
The merchandise at these
locations could well have been produced at one of the nation’s 1,547 jewelry
manufacturing establishments.
Source: U.S. Census
Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS code (339911), <http://censtats.census.gov/cgi-bin/cbpnaic/cbpdetl.pl>
“Please Be Mine”
2.1 million
The
number of marriages that took place in the United States in 2009. That breaks
down to nearly 5,800 a day.
Source: National Center
for Health Statistics, <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/nvsr.htm>,
108,150
The number of marriages
performed in Nevada during 2009. So many couples tie the knot in the Silver
State that it ranked fifth nationally in marriages, even though its total
population that year among states was 35th. (California ranked first in
marriages.)
Source: National Center
for Health Statistics, <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/nvsr.htm>,
<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr58/nvsr58_25.htm#tableA>
and population estimates, <http://www.census.gov/popest/>
28.7 and 26.5
years
Median age at first
marriage in 2011 for men and women, respectively.
Source: U.S. Census
Bureau, Families and Living Arrangements: 2011, <http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/hh-fam/ms2.xls>,
Table MS-2
53.1%
The overall percentage of
adults who reported being married.
Source: U.S. Census
Bureau, Families and Living Arrangements: 2011,
69%
Percentage of people 15
and older in 2011 who had been married at some point in their lives — either
currently or formerly.
Source: U.S. Census
Bureau, Families and Living Arrangements: 2011,
74.5%
Among
women who married for the first time between 1990 and 1994, the percentage who
marked their 10th anniversary. This compares with 83 percent of women who
married for the first time between 1960 and 1964.
Source: U.S. Census
Bureau, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2009,
6.2%
As of 2009, the
percentage of currently married women who had been married for at least 50
years. A little more than half of currently married women had been married for
at least 15 years.
Source: U.S. Census
Bureau, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2009 <http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p70-125.pdf>, Table
9
Looking for
Love
393
The number of dating
service establishments nationwide as of 2007. These establishments, which
include Internet dating services, employed 3,125 people and pulled in $928
million in revenue.
Source: U.S. Census
Bureau, 2007 Economic Census <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet?_program=ECN&_submenuId=&_lang=en&_ts=>
Try Looking Here
. . .
Romantic-sounding
places to spend Valentine’s
Day:
Rose City,
Texas Rose City,
Mich. South Heart, N.D.
Loveland,
Colo. Darling,
Minn. Loveland, Ohio
Romeo,
Colo. Sacred Heart,
Minn. Loveland Park, Ohio
Lovejoy,
Ga. Heart Butte,
Mont. Love County, Okla.
Loves Park,
Ill. Valentine,
Neb. Loveland, Okla.
Lovington,
Ill. Lovelock,
Nev. Lovelady, Texas
Romeoville,
Ill. Loving,
N.M. Loving County, Texas
Rosemont,
Ill. Lovington,
N.M. Valentine, Texas
Romeo, Mich. Love Valley,
N.C. Rose Hill Acres, Texas
Rosemont,
Md.
Source: U.S. Census
Bureau, American FactFinder <http://factfinder2.census.gov>
Giving Love a
Second Chance
19%
Percentage of people
married twice as of 2010. Five percent have married three or more times. By
comparison, 75 percent of people who have ever been married have made only one
trip down the aisle.
Source: 2010 American
Community Survey <http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B12505&prodType=table>
8
Median length, in years,
of first marriages that ended in divorce.
Source: Number, Timing,
and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2009 <http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p70-125.pdf>,
Table 8
3.8 and 3.7
The median time in years
between divorce and a second marriage for men and women, respectively.
Source: Number, Timing,
and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2009 <http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p70-125.pdf>,
Table 8
9% and 8%
Among people 15 and older
in 2009, the percentage of men and women, respectively, who had married twice
and were still married.
Source for the data in
this section, unless otherwise noted: Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages
and Divorces: 2009 <http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p70-125.pdf>
Following is a list of
observances typically covered by the Census Bureau’s Facts for Features series:
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