CB01-FF.01                                           February 5, 2001

                        Valentine's Day: February 14

Valentine Cards

 -- In 1997, the nation's greeting card publishers shipped $277 million
    worth of Valentine cards, more than the total of any other type of
    special occasion greeting card except Christmas cards and up from
    $210 million in 1992. Sixteen companies shipped $100,000 or more
    worth of these cards. 
    http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/97ecmani.html

Flowers

-- If your valentine prefers flowers, we've got you covered! A total of
   25,617 florists nationwide plied their trade in 1998, employing 
   123,223 people.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2000/cb00-116.html

-- It is possible the flowers you buy this year will have come from
   Colombia, our nation's leading supplier of cut flowers. U.S. imports of
   cut flowers from Colombia between January and October 2000 were valued
   at $300 million. Or the flowers could have been grown right here in the 
   U.S. of A.: domestic production of cut flowers was worth $509 million
   in 1998. Consumer spending on cut flowers averaged $28 per person in 
   1998. 
   http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/
   http://www.census.gov/statab/www/

Chocolate and Candy

-- The chocolate and candy you give or receive probably were made in
   one of our nation's manufacturing establishments. In 1998, 1,093 such
   establishments, employing 44,973 people, produced chocolate and
   cocoa products. These manufacturers shipped $11.5 billion worth of
   goods that year. Meanwhile, 627 U.S. establishments, employing
   25,320 people, manufactured nonchocolate confectionary products.
   They shipped $6.4 billion worth of goods that year.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2000/cb00-116.html
   http://www.census.gov/mcd/

-- In at least one respect, California and Pennsylvania could be
   considered the nation's sweetest states. California has more
   establishments making nonchocolate confectionary products (85) 
   than any other state. California also leads the nation in the number of
   estabishments making chocolate and cocoa products, with 115, closely
   followed by Pennsylvania with 110.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2000/cb00-116.html

-- Then again, these sugary delights may have come from outside the United
   States. Between January and October 2000, the United States imported
   $314 million worth of chocolate and other foods containing cocoa from
   Canada, more than from any other country. Canada also was the leading
   supplier of nonchocolate candy to the United States during the same
   period, with shipments totaling $169 million.
   http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/

-- Though people can buy candy in many places, perhaps the best single
   retail source is one of the 3,826 confectionary and nut stores located
   in the United States in 1998.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2000/cb00-116.html

-- If you're planning on waiting until the last minute to buy flowers and
   candy for your sweetie, you'll be glad to know that some retailers give
   you a choice: there were more than 4,000 florists in 1997 
   (roughly 1 in 6) who also sold candy.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2000/cb00-129.html

-- Americans consumed 26 pounds of candy per person in 1999 no doubt a
   large portion of it on Valentine's Day.
   http://www.census.gov/cir/www/ma20d.html

Romantic-Sounding Places

-- Niagara Falls long has been considered one of our nation's more
   romantic places. But it doesn't have the most romantic-sounding
   name. Among the contenders for that distinction are Valentine,
   Neb., whose population was an estimated 2,862 in 1999, and
   Valentine, Texas, at 260. 

-- Another contender is Loveland, Colo. With a population of 48,385, it is
   the most populous of the eight places around the nation that have the
   word "love" as part of their name. The others: Lovejoy, Ga.; Loves
   Park, Ill.; Lovelock, Nev.; Love Valley, N.C.; Loveland, 
   Ohio; Loveland, Okla.; and Lovelady, Texas. If you still haven't gotten
   your fill of love, try visiting Love County, Okla., Love township,
   Ill. or Lovejoy township,Ill.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2000/cb00-178.html

Marriage and Divorce

-- During 1998, 2.3 million marriages and 1.1 million divorces took place
   in the United States. That breaks down to about 6,200 marriages and
   3,100 divorces a day.
   http://www.census.gov/statab/www/

-- Nevada was both the nation's marriage capital and its divorce capital,
   racking up the highest marriage rate (79.5 marriages per 1,000
   population), as well as the highest divorce rate (6.8 per 1,000) of any
   state in 1998. Hawaii was a distant runner-up in marriages, with 17.5
   per 1,000 population while Wyoming was a close second in divorces
   (6.7 per 1,000). (Note: Divorce rate data are unavailable for
   California, Colorado, Indiana and Louisiana.
   http://www.census.gov/statab/www/

-- The estimated U.S. median age at first marriage in 1998 was 25.0 years
   for women and 26.7 years for men. The age for women equaled the 20th
   century high reached in 1997 while the age for men dipped 0.4 years
   since reaching a 20th century high in 1996. 
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-03.html

Singleness

-- There were 114 unmarried men (i.e., never married, widowed or
   divorced), ages 18 to 44, for every 100 unmarried women of the same
   ages in 1998. At older ages, however, the ratio reverses to 146
   unmarried women for every 100 unmarried men for 45- to 64-year-olds
   and 315 unmarried women for every 100 unmarried men for people 65 and
   over.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-03.html

-- In 1998, 13.7 million people, ages 25 to 34, had never been married,
   representing 35 percent of all people in this age group. The total of
   never-been-marrieds among the 35- to -44 age bracket dropped to 6.8
   million or 15 percent.
   http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/1999/cb99-03.html

The preceding facts come from population estimates; the 1997 Economic
Census; County Business Patterns; Current Population Survey; U.S. import
and export trade reports; the Statistical Abstract of the United States;
Annual Survey of Manufactures; and Current Industrial Reports. The data
are subject to sampling variability and other sources of error. Questions
or comments should be directed to the Census Bureau's Public Information
Office (Tel: 301-457-3030; Fax: 301-457-3670; E-mail: pio@census.gov).