For the first time in recent history, births were the only vital statistic which increased from 2022 to 2023 in Leelanau County.
According to the county clerk’s office, which is the register of county vital statistics, the total number of births, marriages, divorces and deaths recorded in 2023 was 458, down 3.5% from the previous year. This was fueled by a drop in three of four categories: marriages, divorces and deaths.
The largest drop, percentwise was in divorces which fell from 56 in 2022 to 50 last year. The highest number of divorces was in 1999, when 105 were counted. The lowest number of court-approved marriage splits in the county was 35 in 1984.
The number of marriages recorded in the county has grown substantially in recent years as Leelanau County exploded in popularity as a wedding venue.
However, for just the third time since 2012 the number of marriages performed failed to top 200. The 198 marriages, which included 102 “out-ofstate” applicants, is down from 203 in 2022. In 2021 this milestone was recorded for 196 couples. In 2016, just 199 marriages were recorded.
The 2023 total falls short of the record 238 marriage licensed. The lowest yearly total in this category was in 1992 when 94 marriages were counted.
Death records, usually the highest number in terms of vital statistics category was still the most frequently recorded demographic. However, last year, the volume of death certifi cates issued dropped for a second-straight year. In 2023, 190 deaths were recorded, down from 207 in 2022 and 210 in ‘21 — a record in this category. The lowest number of deaths were in 1988 when 64 were recorded.
Births more than doubled from the nine recorded in 2022 to 20 last year.
It is also the largest number of births since before the longclosed Leelanau Memorial Hospital discontinued baby deliveries in 1988.
Today, the bulk of parents go to Traverse City to deliver their children. The births recorded by the Leelanau County Clerk are for births within the county.
Twenty-two births were recorded in the county in 1987.
