Happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day 2014: Feb. 14
Expressing one’s love to another is a celebrated custom on Valentine’s Day. 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
1,148
Number of U.S. manufacturing establishments that produced chocolate and cocoa products in 2011, employing 35,538 people. California led the nation with 122 of these establishments, followed by Pennsylvania, with 109.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns: 2011, NAICS code (31132) and (31133)

440
Number of U.S. establishments that manufactured nonchocolate confectionary products in 2011. These establishments employed 19,198 people. California led the nation in this category with 56 establishments.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns: 2011, NAICS code (31134)

$13.5 billion
The estimated value of shipments in 2011 for firms producing chocolate and cocoa products.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Survey of Manufactures, Products and Service Codes (311320 and 311330)

$8.4 billion
Nonchocolate confectionery product manufacturing, meanwhile, was an estimated $8.4 billion industry.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 Annual Survey of Manufactures, Products and Service Code (311340)

3,320
Number of confectionery and nut stores in the United States in 2011.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS code (445292)

Flowers
15,307
The total number of florists’ establishments nationwide in 2011. These businesses employed 66,165 people.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS code (4531)

$280,357,058
The value of imports for cut flowers and buds for bouquets in 2013 through October. The total value of fresh cut roses as of October 2013 was

$354,703,231.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: Foreign Trade Division USA Trade Online U.S. Import and Export Merchandise trade (Commodity code-060319)

Jewelry
23,394
The estimated number of jewelry stores in the United States in 2011. Jewelry stores offer engagement, wedding and other rings to couples of all ages. In February 2013, these stores sold an estimated $2.8 billion in merchandise.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, NAICS code (448310)

“Please Be Mine”
29.0 and 26.6 years
Median age at first marriage in 2013 for men and women, respectively.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Families and Living Arrangements: 2013

52.7%
The overall percentage of people 15 and older who reported being married.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Families and Living Arrangements: 2013

68.6%
Percentage of people 15 and older in 2013 who had been married at some point in their lives — either currently or formerly.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Families and Living Arrangements: 2013

36.9
The provisional rate of marriages per 1,000 people performed in Nevada during 2011. So many couples tie the knot in the Silver State that it ranked number one nationally in marriage rates. Hawaii ranked second with a marriage rate of 17.6.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics

2.1 million
The provisional number of marriages that took place in the United States in 2011. That breaks down to nearly 5,800 a day.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics

74.5%
The percentage of women who married for the first time between 1990 and 1994, 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

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

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.
Valentine, Neb.
Loves Park, Ill.
Lovelock, Nev.
Loveland, Okla.
Lovington, Ill
Loving, N.M.
Lovelady, Texas
Romeoville, Ill.
Loving County, Texas
Valentine, Texas
Romeo, Mich.
Love Valley, N.C.