Monday, July 8, 2002

A story published today by Washington Post reports that the newspaper tried to determine what city in America has the highest percentage of divorced adults based on the figures of the 2000 Census. It published its finding Sunday, and the winner of the dubious title was Cape Canaveral, Florida where 22 percent of residents 15 and older are divorced and have not remarried. That's more than twice the national average.

Tony Hernandez, a lawyer in the city featured in the Post article, said his phone has been ringing off the hook as reporters from newspapers across the country jumped on the story. Others came to town to see the "divorce capital of America" up close, the former Cape Canaveral City Council member said. "We have more reporters in this city today walking around talking to people than ever before."

Hernandez said it's much ado about nothing.

First of all, he pointed out that although the city of about 9,000 might have the highest percentage of divorced adults, it doesn't mean the city is overrun with the byproducts of broken marriages.

"We have 1,800, 1,900 people who are divorced. That makes us the divorce capital of the world? I don't think so. You can go to one apartment building in New York City and find 1,900 divorced people."

Cape Canaveral, like much of Florida, has a large population of transient residents who might stay in the city for only a year or two before moving somewhere else. In fact, the same census data found 37 percent of city residents were living in the same house in 2000 that they were in 1995. Nationwide, 54 percent do. And more than 20 percent of Cape Canaveral residents lived in a different state in 1995, compared with 8 percent nationwide.

"Maybe we only have a thousand (divorced people) now," Hernandez said.

Some city residents theorized that people in Cape Canaveral don't get divorced at a higher rate than other places. Rather, they said, people come to the city after splitting from their spouses.

"This is a good place to go after you get a divorce," said Nixon, who moved to the city from Columbus, Ohio, after his divorce.

Others thought the city's high median age -- 46.2 years compared with 35.3 years nationwide -- played a role.

"They've lived longer," said never-married John Ward, as he was checking out a book at the Cape Canaveral Library. "They've had more time to get married and then get divorced."