research on divorce rates

Revealing Divorce Statistics In 2024

Updated: May 30, 2024, 5:33am

Table of Contents

Key divorce statistics in 2024, crude divorce rate vs. refined divorce rate, divorce trends over time, most common reasons for divorce, divorce rates by state, divorce rates by country, divorce rates by occupation, divorce rates by income, divorce rates by age, divorce rates by gender, divorce rates by race, divorce rates by education level, divorce rates by religion, divorce with children, divorce settlements.

Most people have heard that half of all marriages end in divorce, but is there more to the story? These divorce statistics shed more light on when and how marriages come to an end in the United States. Read on to find out the truth about who is dissolving their marriages.

In 2022, a total of 673,989  divorces and annulments occurred across the 45 U.S. states that report this statistic. [1] During that same year, 2,065,905 marriages occurred, making the U.S. marriage rate 6.2 per 1,000 people. [1]

Far more people get married over the course of each year than get divorced . These divorce statistics show what happens to marriages that end and when and how couples decide to end them.

How Many Marriages End in Divorce?

So, what about the famous statistic that half of all marriages end in divorce? That’s a bit of an exaggeration when it comes to first marriages, only 43% of which are dissolved. [2] Second and third marriages actually fail at a far higher rate, though, with 60% of second marriages and 73% of third marriages ending in divorce. [3]

When Do Couples Divorce?

When marriages end, usually some time has passed since the wedding. In fact, the average length of a marriage prior to divorce is eight years. [4]

How Long Does Divorce Take and How Much Does It Cost?

Divorces take time. Contested divorces usually take over a year to finalize—although simple divorces can be completed in as little as three months. [4] Divorce comes at a big cost, with couples spending an average of $7,000 to dissolve their union. [5]

What Happens After Divorce?

Fewer people are remarrying after divorce than did so in the past. In 2008, there were 48.9 remarriages per 1,000 previously married males and 25.2 remarriages per 1,000 previously married females. Those numbers fell to 32.0 remarriages per 1,000 males and 17.2 remarriages per females. [6]

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When considering the divorce rate, it is helpful to understand there are two different measures used.

• The crude divorce rate refers to how many divorces occur per 1,000 people
• The refined divorce rate refers to how many divorces occur per 1,000 married women

The refined divorce rate is often believed to be more accurate. When measuring on a per-population basis, changes in marriage trends could affect the data on rates of divorce. However, as a growing number of same-sex couples marry, divorce statistics based solely on divorces per married women may become less relevant. [7]

Trends in divorce have changed over time, with the number of people dissolving their unions decreasing.

The Divorce Rate Has Decreased From a Rate of 4.0 to 2.4 Since 2000

Both the marriage and divorce rates have declined over time.

In 2000, a total of 944,000 divorces and annulments occurred. The crude divorce rate was 4.0 per population during that year. By 2022, it had fallen to 2.4 per 1,000, with just 673,989 people divorcing that year.

The marriage rate has declined, too, dropping from 8.2 per population in 2000 to 6.2 per population in 2021. [1]

Third Marriages Have the Highest Divorce Rate—73%

Many people accept it as fact that half of all marriages end in divorce, but as mentioned above, this applies only to first marriages. Those who wed multiple times face a far higher rate of divorce. In fact, 67% of second marriages end, and 73% of third marriages are dissolved. [3]

40% of New Marriages Include a Partner Who Is Remarrying

Most marriages (60%)—are first marriages for both partners. But, as many as 20% of unions involve one person who has been married before, while another 20% are repeat marriages for both parties. [8]

Only 6% of Divorced Couples Remarry Each Other

Divorce is a final legal end to a marriage, but divorce statistics show that couples sometimes want to be married again to each other after formally dissolving their union.

In fact, a total of 6% of divorced couples get remarried to each other. When this occurs, the odds of future success are high. A full 72% of reunited couples remain married after reuniting. [9]

Divorcees Are More Likely To Die Earlier Than Married People

Divorce can have surprising—and long-lasting—consequences. One of those consequences is an increased risk of early death. Sadly, the mortality rate is 1,363 per 100,000 for divorcees compared with 779 per 100,000 for married couples.

Divorced men bear the brunt of this increased risk, with mortality rates of 1,772 per 100,000 compared to divorced women, with mortality rates of 1,095 per 100,000. [10]

Gray Divorce Takes a Heavier Toll on Women's Standard of Living

Gray divorce is a term used for those who end a marriage at age 50 or older. When these late divorces occur, women pay a heavier price.

Women experienced a 45% decline in their living standards after a gray divorce, with living standards defined by comparing income to needs. By contrast, men experienced just a 21% decline.

Women are more likely to pay a financial price when a marriage ends because they are more likely to compromise or limit their careers due to homemaking responsibilities or to support their partner's ambitions. Because of the gender wage gap, women also make less than men on average, even in comparable roles. [11]

The Majority of Divorcees Own Their Home

Decisions about the family home are some of the most contentious when a marriage ends and a property settlement is determined. This is a common issue that must be resolved, as 53.4% of people divorced in 2022 owned their own homes. Just 46.6% were renters. [12]

Couples Who Live Together Before Marriage Are More Likely To Divorce

Living together prior to marriage is one predictor of the likelihood of divorce. Among those who lived together before engagement, 34% of marriages ended in divorce. By contrast, just 22% of couples who waited until after marriage or engagement to cohabitate ended up dissolving their union. [13]

Many factors could explain this, including the fact that couples with stronger religious beliefs may be both less likely to live together before marriage and less likely to divorce.

Having Friends Who Are Divorced Increases Your Risk of Divorce

The marital stability within a couple's social network also plays a role in whether their union lasts. Couples who have friends who divorce have a 75% increase in the risk of their marriage ending. Even couples with two degrees of separation from divorce still have a 33% greater risk. [14]

Because of this link, some sociologists believe divorce is a social contagion.

Couples report many different reasons for ending a marital relationship. However, these are the most common explanations cited by divorcing couples.

Lack of Commitment Is the Most Common Reason for Divorce

Marriage is not always easy, so success requires both spouses to be dedicated to their union and serious about making it last. That’s why it is not surprising that a lack of commitment could spell disaster for a couple.

In fact, 75% of individuals and couples cited lack of commitment as the reason for their divorce. This was the most common cause of a marriage ending, exceeding even infidelity. [15]

60% of Divorced Couples Cited Infidelity as a Reason for Their Divorce

Infidelity is another leading cause of divorce, with 60% of couples citing a partner’s unfaithfulness as a reason their union ended. When a marriage is supposed to be monogamous, and one party fails to fulfill this obligation, trust can be lost, and the marriage may be irretrievably broken.

Domestic Abuse Prompts a Divorce in 24% of Cases

Domestic abuse is a serious crime. It is also common among couples who are divorcing. Nearly a quarter of divorces—24% in total—cite domestic abuse as a cause of divorce. [15]

When a couple ends a marriage for this reason, the divorce process may look different. An uncontested divorce arranged through a mediator may not be the best approach, despite its benefits in ordinary situations, due to the difficulties of an abuse victim negotiating a settlement with an abusive partner.

Basic Incompatibility and Money Issues Are Among the Top Reasons for Divorce

Couples divorce for many other reasons as well. Other than a lack of commitment or infidelity, here are three of the top causes of divorce. [15,16]

• 58% of couples report arguing and excess conflict
• 45% of divorcing couples indicate they married too young
• 38% report financial problems as a divorce cause

The “Final Straw” Causing Divorce Is Most Commonly Infidelity, Domestic Violence or Substance Abuse

Often, there is not just one factor resulting in a marriage ending. Couples may face many problems, as these divorce statistics show.

But, even when there are a variety of issues, people who dissolve their unions usually report there is one “final straw” or tipping point that pushes them over the edge and causes them to make the final decision to divorce. In fact, 69% of divorcing couples report this is the case.

When there was a final straw, infidelity was the most common issue that ultimately prompted divorce, with 24% of couples reporting this as their final straw. Domestic violence was the ultimate cause of divorce for 21% of couples, and 12% said substance abuse was the deciding issue.

Interestingly, couples often disagree on the final straw that led to their marriage’s end. In fact, not a single couple reported the same deciding issue as the ultimate reason for the end of their marriage. [15]

66% of Men and 74% of Women Think Their Partners Should Have Worked Harder to Save the Marriage

When a marriage ends, there is often plenty of blame to go around. However, many people believe they did all they could to save their marriage while believing their spouse should have worked harder. In fact, just 32% of men and 33% of women believe they should have made more of an effort to prevent divorce. [15]

Over 70% of Couples Report not Understanding the Realities or Stages of Marriage

A lack of knowledge about what marriage entails is one of the leading contributing factors to divorce. In fact, 72% of couples reported they didn’t fully understand the commitment involved in marriage before they tied the knot. Many divorced people said they were surprised their partner changed over their marriage and were unable to cope with new problems that arose over time personally. [15]

Divorce rates are not the same from one state to the next. Here are the states with the highest and lowest rates of divorce.

States With the Highest Divorce Rates

Nevada has the highest divorce rate of any U.S. State. There are 4.5 divorces per 1,000 marriages in Nevada. One reason why more divorces may occur in Nevada is the state’s reputation for having lax rules regarding both getting married and ending a marriage. [17]

States With the Lowest Divorce Rates

In sharp contrast to Nevada, Louisiana has a divorce rate of just 0.7 divorce per 1,000 marriages.17 The divorce rate was unusually low in Louisiana in 2022, falling from a rate of 2.2 per 1,000 residents the year prior. [17]

The United States has a higher divorce rate than most parts of the world, but it is far from the country with the most divorces.

In fact, the U.S. crude divorce rate is 2.4 [1] , while the worldwide average crude divorce rate is just 1.6. [18]

The Country With the Highest Divorce Rate is Maldives With a Crude Divorce Rate of 5.52

Some countries have more than double the average divorce rate. This includes the Maldives, with a crude divorce rate of 5.52, Kazakhstan, with a rate of 4.6 and Russia, with a rate of 3.9. [19]

The Country With the Lowest Divorce Rate in the World is Sri Lanka

By contrast, other countries have far lower divorce rates than the global average. The countries with the lowest rate of divorce include India, with a divorce rate of 0.01, Mozambique with a divorce rate of 0.04, and Kenya, with a divorce rate of 0.06. [19]

These low divorce rates may be explained by strict laws limiting when a marriage can be dissolved. For example, India only introduced no-fault divorces in 2023, [20]. while this more lenient approach has been the norm in the U.S. for decades

There Are Only Two Countries Where Divorce Is Illegal

In some countries, it is not possible to divorce at all. Neither The Republic of the Philippines nor Vatican City permits divorce. [19]

Divorce statistics show that a person’s job can affect the likelihood of their marriage ending. Here’s which professions have the highest and lowest rates of marriage dissolution.

Gaming Managers and Bartenders Have the Highest Divorce Rates

There are several professions where the divorce rate exceeds 50%. These include gaming managers, who have a divorce rate of 52.9%, and bartenders, who have a divorce rate of 52.7%. These professions tend to involve working long hours outside of normal business hours, which can strain a relationship. [21]

You can see below which other professions have a high rate of divorce.

Actuaries Have the Lowest Divorce Rate

The divorce rate is far lower in certain professions—less than half of the often-cited 50% divorce rate. Actuaries, for example, have the lowest rate of divorce at just 17%. The table also shows other professions for which divorces tend to be less common. [21]

Architecture and Engineering Industries Have the Lowest Divorce Rate

When looking at the divorce rate on an industry-by-industry basis, architects and engineers stand out for their low rates of marriage dissolution, as do the other professions shown below. [21]

Office and Administration Industry Has the Highest Divorce Rate

In stark contrast to the architecture and engineering industries, the office and administration industry has a divorce rate of 40.6%. The table below also shows other professions for which there is a higher rate of marriages ending. [21]

Money is a leading cause of marital conflict, so unsurprisingly, couples with lower incomes face a higher likelihood of divorce. But just how high do the divorce statistics show?

The Divorce Rate Steadily Decreases From 40% to 30% as Income Increases

As couples’ incomes increase, divorce rates tend to decrease—but only to a certain point. Once a couple has a household income of around $200,000, divorce rates remain steady at around 30%. The rate of divorce does not decline again until household income reaches $600,000, at which point it drops closer to 25%. However, once income exceeds $600,000, the divorce rate again begins to climb back up to 30% steadily. [21]

This suggests that increasing income can reduce the risk of divorce, but once income climbs too high, a different set of complications can threaten the stability of a marriage.

Divorce Rates Are Higher Among Couples Below the Poverty Line

Living below the poverty level can cause enormous stress, which can have consequences for a marriage. One study found as many as 46% of adults ages 18 to 55 who live below the poverty level have divorced.21 The American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census also revealed that 12% of men and 19% of women who lived below the poverty line were divorced in 2022. [12]

Divorce Rates Are Similar Among Men and Women not in the Labor Force

When one partner does not work, this can impact the chances of a marriage surviving. This is true regardless of whether a male or a female partner remains at home. In 2022, for example, 21% of divorces involved men not in the labor force, and 22% of divorces involved women who were not working. [12]

Divorce statistics show that each partner’s age at the time of marriage can also impact how likely the union will last. Couples on both the older and younger end of the spectrum tend to face higher divorce rates.

The Average Age of People Divorced in 2022 Is 46 for Men and 44 for Women.

As people grow older, the chance of ending a marriage increases. 42% of people between ages 45 and 54 have been divorced. This makes sense as it takes time to get married and the union to fail. [12]

The Median Age of a First Marriage Is Increasing

Many couples have chosen to delay marriage—often for financial reasons or due to changing cultural norms. In fact, in 2022, the median age of marriage was 30.5 for men and 28.6 for women. [22]

By contrast, in 2012, the average age for women marrying was 27.1 and the average age for men was 29.1. These older marriages could potentially increase the divorce risk if couples wait too long to tie the knot and face increased difficulties in learning to cohabitate and merge their lives. [22]

The Divorce Rate of Baby Boomers Is Increasing

As Baby Boomers enter retirement, their divorce rate is creeping up. In fact, here's what the data shows about couples within this age range.

• Adults aged 55 to 64 have a divorce rate of 46%
• Adults aged 65 to 74 have a divorce rate of 39%
• Adults aged 75 or older have a divorce rate of 24% [22]

Understanding divorce rates by gender is helpful—especially as this can shed more light on the accuracy of the refined divorce rate. This is the divorce rate measured relative to the number of married women, while the crude divorce rate looks at the number of divorces relative to the population.

69% of Divorces Are Initiated by Women

Women are far more likely than men to initiate divorce. In fact, nearly 7 in 10 marriage dissolutions are initiated by the female partner. This is based on research involving heterosexual couples. [23]

Women often carry more of the mental load in a relationship and also take on a primary caregiving role for children. The added burden they face—especially when they feel their support system is lacking—could help to explain why they are more likely to initiate divorce.

In 2021, The Divorce Rate for Women Was 6.9 per 1,000 Women Over the Age of 15

In 2021, 6.9 per 1,000 women over age 15 divorced. This is a substantial decrease from 9.7 new divorces per 1,000 women 15 and over, which was the number of divorces among women in 2011. [23]

In 2021, The Marriage Rate for Women Was 14.9 per 1,000 Women Over the Age of 15

This reflects a sharp decrease from 2011, when there were 16.3 new marriages for every 1,000 women. Fewer women are marrying as there are more career options available for women and more acceptance of choices beyond becoming a wife and mother. [23]

Divorce rates also vary by race. Many factors could explain these discrepancies, including differing cultural norms surrounding the institution of marriage as well as systemic biases that undermine family structures in certain communities.

Here’s what the data shows about both divorce and marriage rates by ethnicity.

• The divorce rate for white couples is 15.1%. The marriage rate among these couples is 32.1%.
• The divorce rate for Black couples is 30.8%, and the marriage rate is 17.3%
• The divorce rate for Latino couples is 18.5%, and the marriage rate is 33.2%
• Asian Americans have the highest percentage of marriage, with 65% married. They also have the lowest percentage of divorce at 4%. [25]
• Nearly 39% of the American Indian/Alaska Native population is currently married (excluding couples who are separated). The same percentage has never been married, and approximately 13% are divorced. [25]

Education level affects the chances of a marriage succeeding, with those who have attained more education experiencing a reduced likelihood of divorce.

• The divorce rate for people with an education of high school or less is 39% for men and 37% for women [21]
• The divorce rate for individuals with a high school diploma was 38.8%, while the divorce rate for those with less than a high school diploma was 45.3% [26]
• The divorce rate for people with an advanced education—defined as having more than a bachelor’s degree—is 26% for men and 30% for women [21]
• 29% of men and 32% of women with a bachelor’s degree or higher were divorced in 2022 [21]

College-Educated Women Are Most Likely to Have a Lasting Marriage

One particular demographic group has the highest likelihood of a long-lasting marriage: College-educated women.

Earning a degree significantly decreases the chances of a woman divorcing. However, the benefits apply only when the degree is earned. Women who attend some college but who do not graduate are far less likely than their credentialed counterparts to remain married over the long term.

In fact, while 78% of women with a bachelor’s degree have a marriage that lasts at least 20 years, just 49% of women with some college education reach this milestone. And just 40% of women with a high-school education or less have a marriage that lasts 20 years or more. [27]

Many religions discourage the practice of divorce. However, this does not necessarily mean their followers adhere to these tenets. Here’s how religion affects the divorce rate.

The Religion With the Lowest Divorced Population Is Hindu

While 60% of the Hindu population is married, just 5% of members of this demographic group are divorced. [28]

The Religion With the Highest Divorced Population Is Evangelical Protestant

Evangelical Protestants divorce at a higher rate than any other religious group. While 55% of this population is married, 14% are divorced. This is more than double the percentage of divorced Hindus. [28]

People without a religion/unaffiliated have a divorced population of 11%

Those not affiliated with any religion are less likely to marry and more likely to divorce than individuals with religious beliefs. Just 37% of the unaffiliated population is married, while 11% are divorced. [28]

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Children can place strain on a marriage due to the added caregiving burden. When children are involved, the divorce process also becomes more complicated as issues related to child custody and child support must be addressed.

In 2023, About 5.8% of Children Under 18 Lived With Only Their Mother After Divorce

While there’s a long-held belief that mothers are favored in custody proceedings, this is no longer necessarily true. In 2023, only 5.8% of children under 18 lived exclusively with their mother following a divorce. [29]

Shared custody has become the norm as societal views on parenting have shifted and courts and parents increasingly recognize the importance of a child continuing to build a relationship with both parents post-divorce.

In 2023, About 1.6% of Children Lived With Only Their Father After Divorce

While living alone with a mother is no longer the default, even fewer children live independently with their father. Just 1.6% of all children under 18 reside exclusively with their father following a divorce. [29]

Among One-Parent Family Groups, 41% of Single Fathers Never Married and 38% Were Divorced

The majority of single fathers were never married, with just 38% of men fitting this description finding themselves with children post-divorce. When a child is born out of wedlock, it may be important for a father to assert his paternity rights to protect his claim to his child if it is in dispute. [30]

While there are a substantial number of never-married single fathers, the number of never-married single mothers is even higher at 51%. By contrast, just 29% of single mothers are divorced. [30]

Having More Children Does not Increase the Risk of Divorce

The good news for parents who want large families is that more kids do not increase the risk of divorce. While 17% of couples with two children experienced divorce, this number dropped to 13% of couples with three children. [31]

Divorce statistics can shed light on how common divorce is, as well as on what is likely to happen when a marriage ends. Couples can reach a settlement when their union is dissolved. This settlement will address issues such as property division, child custody, alimony and child support.

Couples can negotiate on these issues with the help of an experienced divorce attorney or can go to court where their attorney can help them make a persuasive case to the judge for their preferred outcome.

The Most Expensive Divorce Was Bill and Melinda Gates for Roughly $76 Billion

Divorces are more complicated when high-net-worth individuals dissolve their marriages, as there is much more property to be distributed.

The most expensive divorce in U.S. history was the end of the marriage of Bill and Melinda Gates, which involved an estimated $76 billion in property. Jeff Bezos and Mackenzie Scott had the second most expensive settlement at a more modest $38.3 billion.

20% of Married Couples Report Signing a Prenup

The process of divorce is far simpler when married couples have a prenuptial agreement in place. As long as this premarital contract is enforceable, it provides clarity on key issues in the divorce. Couples can agree on these issues before marriage when they are still able to work together easily to come to a consensus.

Despite the benefits of a prenuptial agreement during the divorce process, only 20% of married couples report signing this type of agreement. [34]

50% of U.S. adults said they at least somewhat supported the use of prenups, although about only 1 in 5 married couples has a prenuptial agreement

It’s not surprising such a small number of couples have premiums when only half of U.S. adults indicate they somewhat support their use. [34]

Many couples view prenuptial agreements with skepticism because they don’t want to go into a marriage contemplating its end. But, these documents can provide crucial protection for assets and are also important in situations where either spouse enters the relationship with a substantial amount of debt.

Over Two in Five Gen Z (41%) and Millennials (47%) Who Are Engaged or Have Been Married Said They Entered a Prenup Before

Younger generations are more open to embracing prenuptial agreements, with 41% of Gen Z and 47% of millennials who are engaged or have been married indicating they have entered a prenup. [34] With so many members of this younger generation growing up at a time when divorce was the norm, it’s also not surprising they are more willing to prepare for the potential end of a marriage.

Those who choose not to use a prenup need to make certain they find a qualified divorce attorney to help protect their rights during the dissolution of their marriage. An attorney can also provide guidance during the drafting of a prenuptial agreement to help ensure the contract is fair and enforceable in the future.

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• Cook and Garcia. Post-randomization bias.
• Fareed et al. Predicting Divorce Prospect Using Ensemble Learning: Support Vector Machine, Linear Model, and Neural Network
• U.S. Census. Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2016
• Forbes Advisor. How Much Does A Divorce Cost In 2024 ?
• Bowling Green State University. Remarriage Rate 2021
• Psychology Today. What Is the Divorce Rate, Really?
• Pew Research. 8 facts about Love and Marriage in America
• Love to Know. Restore Marriage After Divorce
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• Pew Research. Is Divorce Contagious?
• National Library of Medicine. Reasons for Divorce and Recollections of Premarital Intervention: Implications for Improving Relationship Education
• Institute for Divorce Financial Analysis. Survey: Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®) professionals Reveal the Leading Causes of Divorce
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Divorce Rates by State
• United Nations. Divorces and crude divorce rates by urban/rural residence
• World Population Review. Divorce Rates by Country
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• Flowing Data. Divorce and Occupation
• U.S. Census. Median Age at First Marriage
• U.S. Census. U.S. Marriage and Divorce Rates by State: 2011 & 2021
• BGSU. Marriage to Divorce Ratio in the U.S.: Demographic Variation, 2018
• Healthy Marriage. Native Americans
• The Center for Divorce Education. Divorce Rates by Education Level
• Pew Research. The link between a college education and a lasting marriage
• Pew Research. Religious Landscape Study: Marital Status
• U.S. Census. Children’s Living Arrangement
• U.S. Census. Marital Status of One Parent family Groups
• National Library of Medicine. Shorter birth intervals between siblings are associated with increased risk of parental divorce
• Institute for Family Studies. MARCH 11, 2024
• Investopedia. The Most Expensive Divorces in History
• Harris Poll. America Embraces Prenups
• NYC Divorce Lawyers
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• Austin Divorce Lawyers
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• San Jose Divorce Lawyers
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• Best Online Divorce Services
• How to File for Divorce
• Divorce Papers & Forms
• The Divorce Process
• How Much Does A Divorce Cost?
• What Is A Divorce Settlement Agreement?
• Community Property States
• What Is A Contested Divorce?
• What Is An Uncontested Divorce?
• Legal Separation Vs. Divorce
• How Does Alimony Work?
• What Is A Prenup?
• How Long Does A Divorce Take?
• Annulment Vs. Divorce
• What Is A Dissolution of Marriage?
• Divorce With Kids
• Divorce Mediation Guide
• What Is A Separation Agreement?
• What Is A Divorce Decree?
• What Is A No Fault Divorce?
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Christy Bieber has a JD from UCLA School of Law and began her career as a college instructor and textbook author. She has been writing full time for over a decade with a focus on making financial and legal topics understandable and fun. Her work has appeared on Forbes, CNN Underscored Money, Investopedia, Credit Karma, The Balance, USA Today, and Yahoo Finance, among others.

Marriages and Divorces

How is the institution of marriage changing? What percentage of marriages end in divorce? Explore global data on marriages and divorces.

By: Esteban Ortiz-Ospina and Max Roser

This page was first published in July 2020 and last revised in April 2024.

Marriage, as a social institution, has been around for thousands of years. 1 With things that are thousands of years old, it is easy to assume that they can only change slowly. But developments since the middle of the 20th century show that this assumption is wrong: in many countries, marriages are becoming less common, people are marrying later, unmarried couples are increasingly choosing to live together, and in many countries, we are seeing a ‘decoupling’ of parenthood and marriage. Within the last decades the institution of marriage has changed more than in thousands of years before.

Here we present the data behind these fast and widespread changes and discuss some of the main drivers behind them.

Marriages are becoming less common

In many countries, marriage rates are declining.

The proportion of people who are getting married is going down in many countries across the world.

The chart here shows this trend for a selection of countries. It combines data from multiple sources, including statistical country offices and reports from the UN, Eurostat, and the OECD.

For the US we have data on marriage rates going back to the start of the 20th century. This lets us see when the decline started, and trace the influence of social and economic changes during the process.

• In 1920, shortly after the First World War, there were 12 marriages annually for every 1,000 people in the US. Marriages in the US then were almost twice as common as today.
• In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, the rate fell sharply. In the 1930s marriages became again more common and in 1946 – the year after the Second World War ended – marriages reached a peak of 16.4 marriages per 1,000 people.
• Marriage rates fell again in the 1950s and then bounced back in the 1960s.
• The long decline started in the 1970s. Since 1972, marriage rates in the US have fallen by almost 50%, and are currently at the lowest point in recorded history.

The chart also shows that in comparison to other rich countries, the US has had particularly high historical marriage rates. But in terms of changes over time, the trend looks similar for other rich countries. The UK and Australia, for example, have also seen marriage rates declining for decades, and are currently at the lowest point in recorded history.

For non-rich countries the data is sparse, but available estimates from Latin America, Africa, and Asia suggest that the decline of marriages is not exclusive to rich countries. Over the period 1990 - 2010, there was a decline  in marriage rates in the majority of countries around the world.

But there’s still a lot of cross-country variation around this general trend, and in some countries, changes are going in the opposite direction.

Marriages across cohorts have declined

This chart looks at the change in marriages from a different angle and answers the question: How likely were people of different generations to be married by a given age?

In many rich countries there are statistical records going back several generations, allowing us to estimate marriage rates by age and year of birth. The chart here uses those records to give marriage rates by age and year of birth for five cohorts of men in England and Wales.

For instance, you can look at 30-year-olds, and see what percentage of them in each cohort was married. Of those men who were born in 1940, about 83% were married by age 30. Among those born in 1980 only about 25% were married by age 30.

The trend is stark. English men in more recent cohorts are much less likely to have married, and that’s true at all ages.

There are two causes for this: an increasing share of people in younger cohorts are not getting married; and younger cohorts are increasingly choosing to marry later in life. We explore this second point below.

People are marrying later

In many countries, declining marriage rates have been accompanied by an increase in the age at which people are getting married. This is shown in the chart here, where we plot the average age of women at first marriage. 3

The increase in the age at which people are getting married is stronger in richer countries, particularly in North America and Europe.

In countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the average age at marriage has increased less or broadly remained unchanged.

More people marrying later means that a greater share of young people are unmarried.

According to the British census of 1971 about 85% of women between the age of 25 and 29 were married, as this chart shows. By 2011 that figure had declined to 58%.

For older people the trend is reversed – the share of older women who never got married is declining. In the 1971 census, the share of women 60-64 who had ever been married was lower than it is for women in that age bracket in the decades since.

You can create similar charts for both men and women across all countries, using the UN World Marriage Data site . This lets you explore in more detail the distribution of marriages by age across time, for both men and women.

There has been a ‘decoupling’ of parenthood and marriage

The share of children born outside of marriage has increased substantially in almost all oecd countries.

An arrangement where two or more people are not married but live together is referred to as cohabitation. In recent decades cohabitation has become increasingly common around the world. In the US, for example, the US Census Bureau estimates that the share of young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 living with an unmarried partner went up from 0.1% to 9.4% over the period 1968-2018; and according to a survey from Pew Research, today most Americans favor allowing unmarried couples to have the same legal rights as married couples.

The increase in cohabitation is the result of the two changes that we discussed above: fewer people are choosing to marry and those people who do get married tend to do so when they are older and often live with their partner before getting married. In the UK, for example, 85% of people who get married cohabited first. 5

Long-run data on the share of people living in cohabitation across countries is not available, but some related data points are: in particular, the proportion of births outside marriage provides a relevant proxy measure, allowing comparisons across countries and time; if more unmarried people are having children, it suggests that more people are entering long-term cohabiting relationships without first getting married. It isn’t a perfect proxy – as we’ll see below, rates of single parenting have also changed, meaning that rates of births outside marriage will not match perfectly with cohabitation rates – but it provides some information regarding the direction of change.

The chart here shows the percentage of all children who were born to unmarried parents.

As we can see, the share of children born outside of marriage has increased substantially in almost all OECD countries in recent decades. The exception is Japan, where there has been only a very minor increase.

In 1970, most OECD countries saw less than 10% of children born outside of marriage. In 2014, the share had increased to more than 20% in most countries, and to more than half in some.

The trend is not restricted to very rich countries. In Mexico and Costa Rica, for example, the increase has been very large, and today the majority of children are born to unmarried parents.

Globally, the percentage of women in either marriage or cohabitation is decreasing, but only slightly

In recent decades there has been a decline in global marriage rates, and at the same time, there has been an increase in cohabitation. What’s the combined effect if we consider marriage and cohabitation together?

The chart below plots estimates and projections, from the UN Population Division, for the percentage of women of reproductive age (15 to 49 years) who are either married or living with an unmarried partner.

Overall, the trend shows a global decline – but only a relatively small one, from 69% in 1970 to 64% projected for 2020. At any given point in the last five decades, around two-thirds of all women were married or cohabitated.

There are differences between regions. In East Asia, the share of women who are married or in a cohabiting union increased, in South America the share is flat, and in North America and North Europe it declined.

Single parenting is common, and in many countries, it has increased in recent decades

This chart shows the share of households of a single parent living with dependent children. There are large differences between countries. 6

The causes and situations leading to single parenting are varied, and unsurprisingly, single-parent families are very diverse in terms of socio-economic background and living arrangements, across countries, within countries, and over time. However, there are some common patterns:

• Women head the majority of single-parent households, and this gender gap tends to be stronger for parents of younger children. Across OECD countries, about 12% of children aged 0-5 years live with a single parent; 92% of these live with their mother. 7
• Single-parent households are among the most financially vulnerable groups. This is true even in rich countries. According to Eurostat data , across European countries, 47% of single-parent households were “at risk of poverty or social exclusion” in 2017, compared with 21% of two-parent households. 8
• Single parenting was probably more common a couple of centuries ago. But single parenting back then was often caused by high maternal mortality rather than choice or relationship breakdown; it was also typically short in duration since remarriage rates were high. 9

Same-sex marriage has become possible in many countries

Marriage equality is increasingly considered a human and civil right, with important political, social, and religious implications around the world.

In 1989, Denmark became the first country to recognize a legal relationship for same-sex couples, establishing ‘registered partnerships’ granting those in same-sex relationships most of the rights given to married heterosexuals.

It took more than a decade for same-sex marriage to be legal anywhere in the world. In December 2000, the Netherlands became the first country to establish same-sex marriage by law.

In the first two decades of the 21st century legislation has quickly spread across more countries.

Where are same-sex marriages legal?

This map shows in green all the countries where same-sex marriage is legal.

Many of the countries that allow same-sex marriage are in Western Europe. But same-sex marriage is also legal in other parts of the world, especially in North and South America.

Some perspective on the progress made regarding marriage equality

The rate of adoption of marriage equality legislation over time gives us some perspective on just how quickly things have changed. The first chart shows that in the year 2000, same-sex marriage was not legal in any country – two decades later it was legal in many more.

Changes in attitudes towards homosexuality are one of the key factors that have enabled the legal transformations that are making same-sex marriage increasingly possible. 10

The second chart shows that the number of people living in countries that have legalized same-sex marriage has also increased a lot.

And as the third chart shows, same-sex sexual acts are now legal in a majority of all countries 11 .

Despite these positive trends, much remains to be done to improve the rights of LGBTQ people. In some countries people are imprisoned and even killed simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity; and even in countries where same-sex sexual activity is legal, these groups of people face violence and discrimination.

Marriage trends show that social institutions can, and often do change quickly

Across the world, fewer people are choosing to marry, and those who do marry are, on average, doing so later in life.  The underlying drivers of these trends include the rise of contraceptives , the increase of female participation in labor markets (as we explain in our article here ), and the transformation of institutional and legal environments, such as new legislation conferring more rights on unmarried couples. 12

These changes have led to a broad transformation of family structures. In the last decades, many countries have seen an increase in cohabitation, and it is becoming more common for children to live with a single parent, or with parents who are not married.

These changes have come together with a large and significant shift in people’s perceptions of the types of family structures that are possible, acceptable, and desirable. Perhaps the clearest example of this is the rise of same-sex marriage .

The de-institutionalization of marriage and the rise of new family models since the middle of the 20th-century show that social institutions that have been around for thousands of years can change very rapidly.

Divorce rates increased after 1970 – in recent decades the trends very much differ between countries

Trends in the rate of divorces relative to the size of the population.

How have divorce rates changed over time? Are divorces on the rise across the world?

In the chart here we show the crude divorce rate – the number of divorces per 1,000 people in the country.

When we zoom out and look at the large-scale picture at the global or regional level since the 1970s, we see an overall increase in divorce rates. The UN in its overview of global marriage patterns notes that there is a general upward trend: "at the world level, the proportion of adults aged 35-39 who are divorced or separated has doubled, passing from 2% in the 1970s to 4% in the 2000s."

But, when we look more closely at the data we can also see that this misses two key insights: there are notable differences between countries; and it fails to capture the pattern of these changes in the period from the 1990s to today.

As we see in the chart, for many countries divorce rates increased markedly between the 1970s and 1990s. In the US, divorce rates more than doubled from 2.2 per 1,000 in 1960 to over 5 per 1,000 in the 1980s. In the UK, Norway, and South Korea, divorce rates more than tripled. Since then divorce rates declined in many countries.

The trends vary substantially from country to country.

In the chart, the US stands out as a bit of an outlier, with consistently higher divorce rates than most other countries, but also an earlier 'peak'. South Korea had a much later 'peak', with divorce rates continuing to rise until the early 2000s. In other countries – such as Mexico and Turkey – divorces continue to rise.

The pattern of rising divorce rates, followed by a plateau or fall in some countries (particularly richer countries) might be partially explained by the differences in divorce rates across cohorts , and the delay in marriage we see in younger couples today.

Economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers looked in detail at the changes and driving forces in marriage and divorce rates in the US. 13 They suggest that the changes we see in divorce rates may be partly reflective of the changes in expectations within marriages as women enter the workforce. Women who married before the large rise in female employment may have found themselves in marriages where expectations were no longer suited. Many people in the postwar years married someone who was probably a good match for the postwar culture but ended up being the wrong partner after the times had changed. This may have been a driver behind the steep rise in divorces throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

The share of marriages ending in divorce

Trends in crude divorce rates give us a general overview of how many divorces happen each year but need to be interpreted with caution. First, crude rates mix a large number of cohorts – both older and young couples; and second, they do not account for how the number of marriages is changing.

To understand how patterns of divorce are changing it is more helpful to look at the percentage of marriages that end in divorce and look in more detail at these patterns by cohort.

Let's take a look at a country where divorce rates have been declining in recent decades.

In the chart here we show the percentage of marriages which ended in divorce in England and Wales since 1963. This is broken down by the number of years after marriage – that is, the percentage of couples who had divorced five, ten and twenty years after they got married.

Here we see that for all three lines, the overall pattern is similar:

• The share of marriages that end in divorce increased from the 1960s to the 1990s.
• In 1963, only 1.5% of couples had divorced before their fifth anniversary, 7.8% had divorced before their tenth, and 19% before their twentieth anniversary. By the mid-1990s this had increased to 11%, 25% and 38%, respectively.
• Since then, divorces have been on the decline. The percentage of couples divorcing in the first five years has halved since its 1990s peak. And the percentage who got divorced within the first 10 years of their marriage has also fallen significantly.

Divorces by age and cohort

What might explain the recent reduction in overall divorce rates in some countries?

The overall trend can be broken down into two key drivers: a reduction in the likelihood of divorce for younger cohorts; and a lengthening of marriage before divorce for those that do separate.

We see both of these factors in the analysis of divorce rates in the US from Stevenson and Wolfers. 13 This chart maps out the percentage of marriages ending in divorce: each line represents the decade they got married (those married in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 1990s) and the x-axis represents the years since the wedding.

We see that the share of marriages ending in divorce increased significantly for couples married in the 1960s or 70s compared to those who got married in the 1950s. The probability of divorce within 10 years was twice as high for couples married in the 1960s versus those who got married in the 1950s. For those married in the 1970s, it was more than three times as likely.

You might have heard the popularised claim that "half of all marriages end in divorce". We can see here where that claim might come from – it was once true: 48% of American couples that married in the 1970s were divorced within 25 years.

But since then the likelihood of divorce has fallen. It fell for couples married in the 1980s, and again for those in the 1990s. Both the likelihood of divorce has been falling, and the length of marriage has been increasing.

This is also true for marriages in the UK. This chart shows the cumulative share of marriages that ended in divorce: each line represents the year in which couples were married. A useful way to compare different age cohorts is by the steepness of the line: steeper lines indicate a faster accumulation of divorces year-on-year, particularly in the earlier stages of marriages.

You might notice that the divorce curves for couples in the 1960s are shallower and tend to level out in the range of 20% to 30%. Divorce rates then became increasingly steep throughout the 1970s; 80s and 90s, and eventually surpassed cumulative rates from the 1960s. But, since the 1990s, these curves appear to be falling once again, mirroring the findings from the US.

We don't know yet how long the marriages of younger couples today will last. It will take several decades before we have the full picture on more recent marriages and their eventual outcomes.

Marriages in many countries are getting longer

As we saw from data on divorce rates , in some countries – particularly richer countries such as the UK, US and Germany – divorce rates have been falling since the 1990s. This can be partially explained by a reduction in the share of marriages ending in divorce, but also by the length of marriages before their dissolution.

How has the length of marriages changed over time?

In the chart here we see the duration of marriages before divorce across a number of countries where this data is available. An important point to note here is that the definitions are not consistent across countries: some countries report the median length of marriage; others the mean . Since the distribution of marriage lengths is often skewed, the median and mean values can be quite different. 14

So, we have to keep this in mind and be careful if we make cross-country comparisons. On the chart shown we note for each country whether the marriage duration is given as the median or mean value.

But we can gain insights from single countries over time . What we see for a number of countries is that the average duration of marriage before divorce has been increasing since the 1990s or early 2000s. If we take the UK as an example: marriages got notably shorter between the 1970s to the later 1980s, falling from around 12 to 9 years. But, marriages have once again increased in length, rising back to over 12 years.

This mirrors what we saw in data on the share of marriages ending in divorce: divorce rates increased significantly between the 1960s/70s through the 1990s, but have seen a fall since then.

We see a similar pattern in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and Singapore. However, there is still a significant amount of heterogeneity between countries.

Interactive charts on Marriages and Divorces

Recorded evidence of marriage ceremonies (and divorce) dates back to to the third millennium BCE, in ancient Mesopotamia and Babylonia. Bertman, S. (2005). Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia . Oxford University Press.

UK Office for National Statistics (2014) – Marriage statistics, cohabitation and cohort analyses . Download the underlying data for this chart (.csv)

The average age at first marriage can be measured by directly asking people the age at which they first married. This data is unfortunately not available for all countries, so in some cases, figures correspond to an indirect estimate based on marriage rates by age. You find more details here .

United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Marriage Data 2019 . Download the underlying data for this chart (.csv)

Office for National Statistics (2014). Marriage statistics, cohabitation and cohort analyses. Available online .

A different way to slice the data is to calculate the proportion of children who live in single-parent households. When calculated this way the ranking of countries changes, and the US stands out as the country with the highest share of children living with a single parent. You find a discussion, as well as a map with cross-country estimates of this alternative metric here .

This is based on estimates from 2016 published in the OECD Family Database (Table SF1.3.A. Living arrangements of children by age, online here ).

The concept of “risk of poverty or social exclusion” corresponds to the intersection of several vulnerability dimensions. It covers persons who are either at risk of poverty, severely materially deprived, or living in a household with a very low work intensity. You find more details about this in Eurostat here .

For a discussion of historical remarriage patterns see for example Van Poppel, F. (1998). Nineteenth-century remarriage patterns in the Netherlands. The Journal of interdisciplinary history, 28(3), 343-383. Available online .

For details see Adamczyk, A., & Liao, Y. C. (2019). Examining public opinion about LGBTQ-related issues in the United States and across multiple nations. Annual Review of Sociology, 45, 401-423.

For more details see Jean-François Mignot. Decriminalizing Homosexuality: A Global Overview Since the 18th Century. Annales de démographie historique, In press, 1.

You can read more about the driving forces of family change in Stevenson, B., & Wolfers, J. (2007). Marriage and divorce: Changes and their driving forces. Journal of Economic Perspectives , 21(2), 27-52. Available online .

Stevenson, B., & Wolfers, J. (2007). Marriage and divorce: Changes and their driving forces.  Journal of Economic Perspectives ,  21 (2), 27-52. Available online

As the UK Office for National Statistics notes:

"The median duration of marriage at divorce in this release is represented by the middle value when the data are arranged in increasing order. The median is used rather than the mean because the duration of marriage for divorces is not symmetrically distributed. Therefore, the median provides a more accurate reflection of this distribution. The mean would be affected by the relatively small number of divorces that take place when duration of marriage exceeds 15 years."

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More couples are divorcing after age 50 than ever before. Psychologists are helping them navigate the big changes

Practitioners working with later-in-life divorcees can help patients explore eroded connections with family, friends, and their sense of belonging

Vol. 54 No. 8 Print version: page 58

• Divorce and Child Custody
• Marriage and Relationships

Divorce poses a daunting schism at any age, as one of life’s most profound stressors. But for adults who split from their partners later in life, the emotional and practical complexities can further stack up, mirroring their life experience.

While divorce has declined among adults in their 20s and 30s , the rate among adults age 50 and older has surged upward, doubling between 1990 and 2010 before leveling off more recently. Divorce is still more common among younger people, with roughly two-thirds occurring among the under-50 crowd, but the change is nevertheless significant. In 1990, 8.7% of all divorces in the United States occurred among adults 50 and older. By 2019, that percentage had grown to 36% ( Brown, S. L., & Lin, I., Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences , Vol. 77, No. 9, 2022 ).

The logistics and stakes involved can present unique challenges, according to researchers and psychologists. Adults who separate finances later in life may have more assets involved. If they married when they were young, their mutual social ties may stretch back decades to their religious community, volunteer organizations, and neighborhood friends. Their children—whether youths, teenagers, or adults themselves—will be emotionally impacted in differing ways.

“Getting a divorce is never easy, but it’s going to look a little different in your 50s when you’ve potentially been with someone for a long time,” said Kelly Cichy, PhD, a professor of human development and family science at Kent State University in Ohio. “In some cases, adult children are out of the house; they are more autonomous. But that doesn’t mean that there might not still be very real consequences and renegotiating of relationships or a need for additional support.”

Divorce also can be financially depleting. Women 50 and older experience a 45% decline in their standard of living; for men it’s 21% ( Lin, I., & Brown, S. L., Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences , Vol. 76, No. 10, 2021 ). Other research, based on interviews with 66 adults who divorced at 50 or older, found that worries about finances and loneliness were the two most pressing concerns expressed. But the adults described positive aspects as well, including an improvement in overall happiness, liberation from their ex-spouses, and a sense of enhanced independence and freedom ( Crowley, J. E., Journal of Family Issues , Vol. 40, No. 11, 2019 ).

Amid this pivotal life transition, psychologists can help their patients foster and maintain the emotional resiliency that middle-age and older adults are more likely to have accrued through a lifetime of weathering prior difficult experiences. They can provide therapeutic support as they navigate related losses, both emotional and literal. Such losses may include grief over the death of a long-planned future with a spouse, as well as the more tangible loss of connections with others, such as extended family and mutual friends.

Psychologists can also work with patients who are contemplating divorce to think through the extent to which their frustrations with a partner are intertwined with broader identity-related challenges that can emerge later in life, said Rowena Gomez, PhD, department chair and a professor of psychology at Palo Alto University. They may have recently retired and lost their job-related identity, she said. They may still have the pressures of younger children or their children may have moved out, altering their sense of being a parent.

“That’s why it’s important for them to figure out who they are and if they can be who they want to be with or without the divorce,” Gomez said. “Sometimes the grass is not always greener if the real issue is with themselves. And hopefully that’s what psychotherapy, if they are going, can help them think through.”

Later-life divorce predictors

To some extent, the trends in later-life divorce reflect more modern trends, Cichy said. Women are more likely now to have careers and related economic autonomy. Over time, society has placed greater expectations on marital quality, leaving partners more reluctant to settle for what some have described as “empty shell” marriages, particularly after the children leave home, she said. Increased life expectancy may be a possibility, with potentially decades of relatively good health ahead.

“What does that mean for staying in a conflicted or difficult marriage?” Cichy asked. “If you stay married, you are going to continue to have those stressors for more years and maybe additional stressors that come with just normal aging,” she said, such as caregiving, frail health, or managing relationships with adult children.

Some of the reasons for the increase in over-50 divorces include societal trends: More men and women expect marriage to be a partnership of equals, women are more likely to have careers and related economic autonomy, and lowered stigma about divorce reduces social pressure to settle for “empty shell” marriages.

But while these life changes can be influential, demographic research has identified broad similarities for why marriages break down regardless of age, Cichy said. For instance, people who have been divorced once are more likely to divorce again, she said.

One analysis scrutinized whether three common turning points after 50—an empty nest, retirement, or poor health—boosted a couple’s likelihood of divorcing ( Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences , Vol. 73, No. 6, 2018 ). “Those factors remain relevant but they’re not as critical or central as we had initially anticipated,” said Susan L. Brown, PhD, one of the authors, who has conducted extensive demographic research involving gray divorce.

Other factors play a greater role, such as economic stability, said Brown, a professor of sociology and codirector of the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Couples who don’t carry debt and own a home are less likely to separate ( Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences , Vol. 73, No. 6, 2018 ).

Brown has become increasingly convinced that trends in later-life divorce are largely driven by the baby boomer generation, who spawned the initial divorce wave in the 1970s. “Many of them went on to remarry,” Brown said, noting that some are on their second or third marriages, which boosts the likelihood of divorce.

This baby boomer influence, according to Brown, explains why rates of divorce among people ages 50 to 64 have largely stagnated since 2010 after a steep rise beginning in 1990. Divorce rates among adults 65 and older have continued to increase through 2019 as more baby boomers move into that age group ( Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences , Vol. 77, No. 9, 2022 ). “To me it’s just really striking that 1 in 10 people getting divorced is 65 or older,” Brown said.

For adults who initiate divorce and are in relatively good shape in terms of their health and finances, that move can be “a relatively benign event,” Brown said. “But for other people getting divorced in their 50s, 60s, or beyond, if they are precarious from an economic standpoint, if they are having health issues, or if they didn’t want to get divorced, it can be challenging and difficult. Longer term, we have to consider—what does divorce mean for the experience of aging?” she said, pointing out that Social Security and other benefits are tied to marital status.

Jeff (who requested only his first name be used) recalls a profound sense of loss when he realized several years ago that his marriage of 30-plus years was ending. Gone was the potential for a lifelong love and the opportunity to share with his wife the next stages of parenthood, their adult children’s accomplishments, perhaps even grandchildren one day, the 60-year-old said.

He also struggled with feelings of failure, believing that his broken marriage layered on top of prior failures, such as an earlier decision to give up his pursuit of a professional career as a musician and switch to information technology. At Jeff’s worst, during a pandemic video call with friends in 2020, he acknowledged that he was experiencing suicidal thoughts.

[ Related: Talking through practicalities of divorce later in life ]

His friends helped Jeff get an appointment with a local therapist. Those meetings, he said, have enabled him to work through his feelings of failure, including those related to the divorce. The therapist also encouraged him to remain open to new possibilities, including possibly a romantic partner—not an easy step to take on the cusp of his sixth decade.

“When I was in my 20s or 30s, there was a whole lifetime ahead; there were people looking for partners,” he said. “It felt like, boy, here I am coming up on 60. Am I going to be alone the rest of my life? I don’t want to be alone. I’m not an alone person. I’m a people person. That was a real concern.”

Working through ripple effects

Social science researchers have compiled a multifaceted picture of the trends that underpin later-life divorce, said Karen Fingerman, PhD, director of the Texas Aging and Longevity Consortium at the University of Texas at Austin. But it’s the psychologist’s role to assist these adults on an individual level as they process this life detour so they can recover and move forward, she said. “How do you help an older adult understand what’s happening, what their role was, and what their next step is? How do you do that when something this big has disrupted your life story?”

A common fear is loneliness, given the many years that adults in the second half of life have already committed to various relationships, Fingerman said. One study that she was involved with looked at how much contact adults 65 and older have with social and familial connections and found that only 11% of those relationships had started within the prior decade ( The Gerontologist, 2023 ).

“You will lose in-laws, you will lose some of your friends,” Fingerman said. “And when you do, there’s no replacement. It’s not like when you’re in your 20s and everybody is still making friends, and your oldest friends you met 5 years ago.”

One advantage adults over 50 have is a better perspective, which helps when life throws curveballs their way, said Susan T. Charles, PhD, a professor of psychological science at the University of California, Irvine, who developed the theoretical model of strength and vulnerability integration ( Psychological Bulletin , Vol. 136, No. 6, 2010 ). They are more likely to have suffered prior crises than their younger counterparts and can tap into the emotional and behavioral tools that they previously relied upon, Charles said. “The older you get, the more you’ve experienced life (in its good and its bad), the more you can put things into perspective.”

Moreover, as people age, they have a heightened awareness that they have fewer years before them, Charles said. “Which makes them focus more on the here and now, the right now, as opposed to the future,” which can ease worrying and bolster emotional resilience, she said.

A traumatic event such as a divorce will surely cause a notable uptick in emotional distress, Charles said. But there’s some evidence that older adults, amid the emotional tumult of a divorce, may be able to better handle the smaller daily stressors that arise in its wake, such as the strain of assuming tasks previously handled by the ex-spouse. She cited a recent study in which younger adults and older adults were given a cognitively difficult anagram task, and their emotional responses were subsequently assessed. While both groups were negatively impacted by the cognitive stressor, the recovery of the older adults surpassed that of the younger adults ( Minton, A. R., et al., Psychology and Aging , Vol. 38, No. 6, 2023 ).

As psychologists work with these adults, they should strive to unpack to what extent a marital separation has eroded the patient’s connections with others as well as, generally, their sense of belonging to a broader community, Charles said. Given the vital importance of connections to emotional health, psychologists can help patients think through ways to build new social bonds, whether that’s joining a bowling league or volunteering for a political organization, she said.

Divorce may stress parental ties with their adult children as well, even if they’re not surprised by the separation, said Carol Hughes, PhD, a Laguna Hills, California, psychotherapist and coauthor of Home Will Never Be the Same Again: A Guide for Adult Children of Gray Divorce. In some cases, divorce can shatter an adult child’s sense of their own backstory, Hughes said. For example, adult children of later-life divorce often say, “We seemed like a happy family. How long ago were they not happy? Was my whole childhood smoke and mirrors, like a facade at Disneyland?”

Amid the grief surrounding a divorce, therapists should remain aware that not everyone in the family is necessarily on the same timeline, Hughes said. One parent may have quickly moved on, including finding a new partner, and wants the children—whether they’ve left home or are still living with one of their parents—to embrace their newfound happiness, she said.

“And so sometimes if the parent is happy and the child isn’t, then the child feels guilty,” Hughes said. Psychologists can work with the child, validating that it’s OK to be on a different timeline, she said. “And that grieving takes time, just like healing takes time, and grieving is part of healing.”

For children in their teens or even younger, divorce can hit at a key developmental time, when they are still forming their identity as an individual and as part of a larger family, Hughes said. In situations when the children are already adults, often just launching into their own lives, they may fret about their parents’ mental health, and especially if one of the parents didn’t want the separation, Hughes said. “It’s like a role reversal,” she said. “They feel like they should help their parents. But they don’t have the tools and skills to do so.”

Another major complication is inheritance rights and next-of-kin relationships for medical decision-making in the wake of a later-life divorce (see sidebar page 63). Within the first decade, 37% of men either remarry or cohabit with a new partner, as well as 22% of women ( Brown, S. L., et al., Demography , Vol. 56, No. 2, 2019 ). Other adults keep the romance but maintain separate residences, a phenomenon dubbed living apart together, according to Deborah Carr, PhD, a sociology professor at Boston University who coauthored a review article looking at later-life families ( Journal of Marriage and Family , Vol. 82, No. 1, 2020 ). “You essentially go steady, but you have your separate home,” she said.

Jeff describes a good relationship with his adult children, as well as amiable communication with his ex-wife. The divorce also led to some changes in his daily life, such as achieving a long-desired dream to move to a rural area, purchasing property with a pond that’s richly populated by birds. He gave up on online dating and subsequently met “a wonderful woman” introduced to him by a mutual friend.

And he continues to seek counseling. “This therapist has been really a staunch and encouraging support, just an extremely positive influence, helping me get through some of the past issues,” he said.

Living through a divorce after 50 can force individuals to revisit and knit back together their own life story, something they can hopefully achieve with the support of the therapeutic process, Fingerman said.

“You’re at a stage of your life where you’re reflecting more on your life and where it’s gone, and where it’s taken you,” she said. “How do you understand your life in a way that gives you that sense of integrity when something fell apart that was such a fundamental part of that life?”

Further reading

Depressive symptoms following later-life marital dissolution and subsequent repartnering Lin, I., et al., Journal of Health and Social Behavior , 2019

Not just how much, but how many: Overall and domain-specific activity variety and cognitive functioning in adulthood Jeon, S., et al., Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences , 2022

Older adult’s marital status, conversation frequency, and well-being in everyday life Ng, Y. T., et al., Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences , 2022

Recommended Reading

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• Divorce statistics

51+ Divorce Statistics in the U.S., Including Divorce Rate, Race, & Marriage Length

By Divorce.com staff Updated Jul 15, 2024

Stay informed about divorce by joining our newsletter.

With the latest data from trusted sources like the CDC and Pew Research, we bring you a comprehensive and updated look at the real state of divorce in America.

From declining rates to surprising trends across different states and demographics, this deep dive into divorce statistics will give you a clearer understanding of how marriages are evolving in today's society.

Dive in to uncover the truths about divorce in the U.S.

Key Takeaways

• The U.S. divorce rate has decreased from 3.6 per 1,000 people in 2010 to 2.4 per 1,000 in 2022.
• Common statistics claiming that half of all marriages end in divorce are misleading and unverified.
• Nevada and Louisiana have the highest and lowest divorce rates, respectively.
• Nearly 69% of divorces are initiated by women, often due to unmet needs and infidelity.
• African-American women have the highest divorce rates, while Asian women have the lowest.
• The U.S. marriage rate rose to 6.2 per 1,000 people in 2022, with Nevada having the highest rate.
• First marriages last 8-9 years on average, second marriages 7-10 years, and third marriages 5-8 years.
• Divorced individuals are, on average, 45.8 years old, with 30.1% having a bachelor’s degree or higher, 63.3% employed, 11.9% below the poverty line, and 23.2% living with children under 18.

What Is the Divorce Rate in the U.S.?

The national average divorce rate in the U.S. in 2022 was 2.4 per 1,000 people , as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported (Excluding data from California, Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota, and New Mexico).

It was approximately 33% lower than the average of 3.6 per 1,000 people in 2010 (Excluding California, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, and Minnesota data.)

The Centers for Disease Control also reported 673,989 total divorces in the U.S. in 2022, compared to 695,509 in 2021.

How Many Marriages End in Divorce? Busting a Common Myth

A prevalent myth about divorce rates in the U.S. suggests that 50% of first marriages, 67% of second marriages, and 73% of third marriages end in divorce.

However, these statistics are not based on any verifiable data, and their origins are untraceable, as highlighted in Shaunti Feldhahn's book The Good News About Marriage.

This misleading information has been widely quoted, including in reputable sources like Psychology Today and Forbes. It is important to acknowledge that these figures are inaccurate and should not be perpetuated.

U.S. States With the Highest Divorce Rates

These are the states with the highest divorce rates per 1,000 people as of 2022 (excludes data for California, Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota, and New Mexico):

• Nevada: 4.2
• Oklahoma: 3.7
• Arkansas: 3.5
• Alaska: 3.5
• Wyoming: 3.3
• Alabama: 3.2
• West Virginia: 3.2
• Florida: 3.1
• Kentucky: 3.0
• Mississippi: 3.0
• Tennessee: 3.0
• Virginia: 2.9

Nevada has the highest divorce rate, with 4.2 divorces per 1,000 people.

U.S. States With the Lowest Divorce Rates

These are the states with the lowest divorce rates per population of 1,000 as of 2022:

• Louisiana: 0.7
• Illinois: 1.1
• Massachusetts: 1.4
• Kansas: 1.9
• Montana: 2.0
• Georgia: 2.1
• Wisconsin: 2.1
• Vermont: 2.3
• South Dakota: 2.3
• New York: 2.3
• New Jersey: 2.3

Louisiana, Illinois and Massachusetts are tied for the lowest divorce rate.

Divorce Rate by Year

Divorce rates have continuously declined since the end of the 20th century, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• In 2010, there were 3.5 divorces per 1,000 people

Who Files for Divorce More?

A study by M. Rosenfeld from Stanford University discovered that women started almost 69% of all divorces among about 2,000 surveyed couples.

Related Reading

The main reasons why women initiate divorce more often than men are:

• Unmet needs
• Deficient Life-Work Balance
• Husband’s Unfaithfulness
• Alcohol Addiction
• Physical and Emotional Violence
• Better Support System
• Fewer Regrets

The Rate of Divorce for Women

Women get divorced at a significantly higher rate compared to men.

The 2021 divorce rate dropped to 6.9 in the last year from 9.7 divorces per 1,000 women in 2011. Experts suggest this is a more accurate statistic of the actual divorce rate than the crude rate.

Some prognoses suggest that in 2022-2025, this number is set to increase.

Percentages of Divorced Women Across the U.S.

There is a consistent trend regarding marriage and divorce rates among women across the U.S. For example, Black women usually display the lowest marriage probability and the highest divorce rates.

At the same time, Asian women get married at a higher rate and are less likely to get divorced.

These are the following percentages of divorced women across the United States:

• African-Americans: 33%
• Hispanic women: 22%
• White women: 19%
• Asian women: 11%

What Is the Rate of Marriage in the U.S.?

• The marriage rate in the U.S. rose to 6.2 in 2022 despite having declined for many years prior.
• In 2022, there were 2,065,905 registered marriages.
• In 2022, 67.85 million men and 68.45 million women were married in the United States.

U.S. States With the Highest Rates of Marriage

These are the states with the highest marriage rates per 1,000 people as of 2022:

• Nevada: 25.9
• Hawaii: 14.4
• Montana: 9.9
• Arkansas: 7.9
• Vermont: 7.8
• Colorado: 7.5
• Tennessee: 7.3
• Wyoming: 7.3

Nevada stands out as a clear leader in marriage rates, with an impressive 25.9 marriages per 1,000 people as of 2022. This rate is significantly higher than any other state, making Nevada a popular destination for couples looking to tie the knot, likely due to the state's renowned wedding industry centered in Las Vegas.

U.S. States With the Lowest Rates of Marriage

These are the states with the lowest marriage rates per 1,000 people as of 2022:

• Louisiana: 3.7
• New Mexico: 4.2
• Illinois: 4.9
• Delaware: 5.1
• Massachusetts: 5.1
• New Jersey: 5.1
• Minnesota: 5.2
• Michigan: 5.3
• Wisconsin: 5.3

The Average Length of Marriage in America

In the United States, the dynamics and longevity of marriages have shown varied patterns based on whether it's a first, second, or third union.

As of data available up to January 2022, the average duration of a first marriage that ends in divorce is commonly cited to be around 8-9 years.

However, subsequent marriages tend to have shorter durations on average.

Second marriages , which generally have a higher divorce rate than first ones, tend to last between 7-10 years when they end in divorce.

Third marriages , with an even higher propensity for dissolution, have an average duration of 5-8 years when they culminate in divorce.

It's essential to understand that these figures represent general averages and individual experiences can vary widely based on a multitude of factors, including age, socio-economic status, education, and the presence of children from previous unions.

Divorce Demographics for Adults Over the Age of 15

The CDC.gov report provides the following demographics for the divorced population over 15 years old:

• Average age: 45.8
• Bachelor’s degree or higher: 30.1%
• Employed: 63.3%
• Unemployed: 36.7%
• Living below the poverty line: 11.9%
• Living with children under 18: 23.2%
• Homeowner: 67.4%
• Renter: 32.6%

How Does Income Impact Divorce?

The following statistics demonstrate the explicit dependence of divorce rates on financial stability. Namely, the higher the income, the lower the percentage of divorces, and vice versa.

For instance, half of the states with the most insufficient median income are among the top ten with the highest divorce rates.

Median Income Levels Across The U.S.

These are the states with the highest median household income :

• Maryland - $90,203 (low divorce rates)
• DC - $90,088
• Massachusetts - $89,645 (low divorce rates)
• New Jersey - $89,296 (low divorce rates)
• New Hampshire - $88,465
• California - $84,907
• Hawaii - $84,857
• Washington - $84,857

These are the states with the lowest median household income:

• Mississippi - $48,716 (high divorce rate)
• West Virginia - $51,248
• Louisiana - $52,087
• Arkansas - $52,528 (high divorce rate)
• Alabama - $53,913 (high divorce rate)
• New Mexico - $53,992
• Kentucky - $55,573 (high divorce rate)
• Oklahoma - $55,826

Income also impacts the decision to marry, seemingly decreasing the divorce rate.

In 2018, the Census Board reported that:

• 20% of 18 – 34-year-olds who made $40,000+ per year were unmarried.
• 40% of 18 – 34-year-olds who made $40,000+ per year were married.

Financial difficulties are often cited as the main reason for not getting married among never-married adults, according to research :

• 47% of them have incomes below $30,000
• 40% of them have incomes of $30,000-$75,000

In Which Year of Marriage Is Divorce Most Common?

The average length of a marriage is 8 years, according to Census.gov statistics.

Divorces typically occur during two periods in a marriage: either within the first two years or between the fifth and eighth years.

Although no conclusive results have been reached, the seventh and eighth are generally believed that the most challenging years in an average marriage.

This period is often referred to as the "7-year itch”.

What is the Most Common Reason for Divorce?

Surveys by Businessinsider.com , The Huffington Post and Forbes found a diversity of reasons for couples to initiate the divorce process.

• Lack of commitment (75%)
• Infidelity/relationships outside of the marriage (59.6%)
• Conflict, irreconcilable differences (57.7%)
• Marrying too young (45.1%)
• Money issues/debt (36.1%)
• Substance abuse/alcohol addiction (34.6%)
• Communication problems (31.9%)
• Inability to have children (27%)
• Domestic violence (23.5%)
• A child has a mental illness or is incapacitated (22.7%)
• Health problems, mental illness of a spouse (20%)
• Lack of support from family (17.3%)
• Religious differences (13.3%)

What Are the Most Common Reasons for Marriage?

According to the 2019 Survey of U.S. adults , the most common reasons to get married are:

• Love – 90%
• Companionship – 66%
• Commitment – 63%
• The desire to have children – 31%
• Finances – 13%
• Legal rights and benefits –10%
• Pregnancy – 6%

How Does Age Impact Divorce?

Studies show that 48% of people who get married before 18 are likely to divorce within ten years after the wedding. Research also suggests that 60% of couples married between the ages of 20 to 25 will end in divorce.

Couples who get married between the age of 28 and 32 are less likely to have their marriage end in a divorce, according to research by Dr. N. Wolfinger from Utah University.

Average Age at the First Divorce

According to bgsu.edu , In 1970, the median age at first divorce for men was 30.5 and 27.7 for women; by 2020, it reached 42.6 and 40.1, respectively. The divorce rate for people in their sixties has doubled since 1990, from 4.9 to 10.3 in 2008.

This type of divorce is known as a “gray divorce” and can cause severe depression, worse than if one’s partner passed away.

Trends in divorce rates among Baby Boomers have been dramatic.

Following their parents’ era (the “Silent Generation”), Boomers who came of age in the late 70s and early 80s started to divorce at a rate not seen before 1970. In 1990, there were 5 divorces for every 1,000 marriages.

In 2015, this figure doubled, according to the Pew Research survey .

Divorce Rates by Generation

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Community Survey and the Pew Research report , the number of divorces per 1,000 individuals declines through each 10-year age group, as well as senior citizens 65 and older.

• Although the number of divorces declined country, Boomers’ divorce rate has doubled from 5 to 10 divorces per 1,000 since 1990, according to research . They got to 15 divorces in 2017.
• Gen X divorce rate is 18 divorces per 1,000 people, putting this generation and the Millenials at the bottom of the divorce rate table.
• Millennials’ divorce rate (people 25 to 34 years old) dropped by 30% over the last years - from 33 to 23 per 1,000 people.
• Gen Z divorce rate (15 to 24-year-olds) has decreased by roughly 40% from 47 to 27 divorces per 1,000 people.

How Does Age Impact Marriage?

The marriage rate has fallen in the last decades, primarily because of the Millennials. They are also the only age group to see a reduction in both divorce and marriage rates. According to a 2020 report by Pew Research :

• Baby Boomers’ marriage rate was quite impressive when they were 18 to 32 years old - 68% .
• Baby Boomers’ marriage rate is the second highest after the “Silent Generation,” with an 85% marriage rate in 1968.
• The Gen X marriage rate for the same age group in 2003 was 66% .
• The Millennials’ marriage rate is among the lowest - 55% of adults aged 18 to 32 in 2019 were married.
• The Gen Z marriage rate is still relatively low compared to other generations - only 8% .

The reports posit that events such as the Great Recession of 2008, increasing home prices, and the high financial burden of student loan debt that millennials incur create barriers to marriage and creating a family.

How Does Age at Marriage Impact the Likelihood of Divorce?

Young age at first marriage is generally a high-risk factor for getting a divorce. For example, the Institute for Family Studies research shows that people who get married before they turn 20 have a 32% likelihood of getting divorced in the first five years of marriage.

Marriages concluded between 20 and 24 years old are 20% likely to end in divorce, while marriages at 25-29 end in 15% of cases.

Couples who tied the knot at 30-34 are the strongest, with only 14% of divorces. And lastly, marriages entered after 35 years old are at relatively high risk (19%) of breaking down.

According to the most recent estimates , the average age of those getting married for the first time in 2021 was 28.6 for women and 30.6 for men.

How Does Education Impact Divorce?

Surveys show that divorce rates depend on education level. So, the more educated a person is, the more likely they will stay married.

The National Center for Health Statistics found that 78% of college-educated women were still married 20 years later, compared to women who only have a college diploma.

These are the divorce rates for those with different education levels :

• Less than high school: 16.4 divorces per 1,000 individuals
• High School: 16.4 divorces per 1,000 individuals
• College degree: 20.4 divorces per 1,000 individuals
• Bachelor’s degree: 14.1 divorces per 1,000 individuals
• Master’s degree: 12.5 divorces per 1000 individuals

What Is the Divorce Rate by Ethnicity?

Different studies show that African-American women are more likely to get divorced than women of other races. Sociologists suggest that it may be because of lower income and job prospects.

These are the divorce rates of each ethnicity as of 2018 per 1,000:

• The black divorce rate is the highest among other races: 30.8
• The Hispanic divorce rate is the second highest: 18.5
• The white divorce rate makes up almost half of the Black divorce rate: 15.1
• The Asian divorce rate is the lowest among other races: 12.4

What Race Has the Highest Divorce Rate

Black adults have the highest divorce rate and the lowest marriage rate. However, according to research , they also marry at later ages: 32 for men and 31 for women.

Black women are the only group among other races with a number of divorces higher than the marriage rate. In 2018, there were 31 divorces among the Black population and 17.3 marriages per 1,000 people.

The share of ever-divorced Black women was 38.9% per 1,000 married women in 2016, compared to 34.4% for Whites, 13.9% for Asians, and 33.7% for Hispanic-origin women.

Black adults also make up the largest share of the never-married group. Notably, 79% of 25-29- year-old Black women and 18% of 55-year-olds were never married as of 2016.

How Does Race Impact Marriage and Divorce?

Ethnicity is one of the notable predictors of divorce.

For instance, Asian Americans have traditionally shown the lowest divorce rates of all other races. Currently, it’s 12.4 divorces per 1,000 people, with at least one divorce for 18% of Asian American women and 16% of men.

Hispanic-origin Americans are the second largest group regarding the number of divorces. An average of 18.5 marriage dissolutions were registered in 2018 among the representatives of this ethnicity, 30% of them being women and 27% being men.

White (Caucasian) Americans fall third with 15.1 divorces for 1,000 people. Specifically, 38% of White women and 36% of men have been divorced at least once.

Finally, Black Americans divorce at the highest rate compared to any other ethnicity in the U.S. In Particular, they had 30.8 divorces per 1,000 people in 2018.

Are Children of Divorce More Likely to Experience Divorce Themselves?

Different studies suggest that children of divorced parents may experience divorce as adults.

For example, a 2008 study by S. Whitton from Boston University indicates that parental divorce causes lower levels of commitment towards marriage in the children.

Another study by researchers Paul Amato and Danelle Deboer found that if a woman’s parents divorced, her chances of getting divorced increased by 69%. They also suggested that if both of a married couple’s parents divorced, the possibility of their divorce increased to 189%.

However, many predictions and suggestions have not been adequately tested so far.

Divorce Rate by Occupation

The most traditional opinion on the connection between divorce rates and occupation is that low-paid jobs create more friction and financial instability, leading to divorce.

As it turns out, money doesn’t necessarily determine whether people get divorced.

Sometimes, an occupation’s atmosphere also impacts a married couple’s relationship, ultimately making some call it quits.

These are the ten occupations with the highest divorce rates:

• Gaming and casino managers: 52.9%
• Bartenders: 52.7%
• Flight attendants: 50.5%
• Gaming services workers: 50.3%
• Rolling machine setters: 50.1%
• Switchboard operators: 49.7%
• Extruding machine operators: 49.6%
• Telemarketers: 49.2%
• Textile knitting operators: 48.9%
• Compacting machine operators: 48.8%

Divorce Rate by Religion

Pewresearch.org found that the highest divorce rates are among the Historically Black Protestant church attendees, while the lowest is among Hindus.

• Historically Black Protestants: 19% divorced in the U.S.
• Evangelical Protestant: 14%
• Catholic: 12%
• Jehovah’s Witness: 12%
• Mainline Protestant: 12%
• Unaffiliated: 11%
• Buddhist: 10%
• Orthodox Christian: 9%

Divorce Rates of Same-Sex Marriages

Census.gov's analysis of same-sex couple households in 2019 shows that 53.4% were female married couples, compared to 46.6% male married couples

The divorce rate for same-sex couples has risen from 1.1 per 1,000 people since 2015, when these marriages became legal nationwide. In 2017, about 5% to 6% were divorced, and 2.1% were separated.

Same-sex couples are 50% more likely to get divorced than different-sex couples.

Studies also found that lesbian couples are more likely to divorce if they have children. For example, 12.3% of two-female couples break up within the first 5 years of marriage compared to 2% of gay spouses.

Divorce Rates for Military Couples

In 2017, the divorce rate among military members ranged between 3% and 3.1% , nearly mirroring the 3.2% rate for non-military couples. In 2019, 30,608 military marriages ended in divorce.

Military members under 30 years old enlisted in air weapons and tactical operations have higher divorce rates than other military positions.

The highest divorce rate was among the Marine Corps and the Air Force - 3.3%. The Navy divorce rate was the lowest - 2.8%.

Military.com also shows that female enlisted officers and troops get divorced more often than men in other military positions.

Female officers divorced three times more than male military members.

The divorce rate of female troops in 2019 was 7%, while the divorce rate of male soldiers in the same year was only 2.5%.

Divorce Rates by Political Party

Republicans are more likely to get married and less likely to get divorced, according to research by W.B.Wilcox.

The most Republican-friendly states have the highest marriage rates - Utah (56%), Idaho (55%), and Wyoming (53%).

Republicans are generally happier in their marriages than Democrats, according to the studies . For example, 67% of Republican spouses, compared to 60% of Democratic couples, said they were satisfied with their marriages in the 2010-14 General Social Survey.

The Second Marriage Divorce Rate

The divorce rate regarding second marriages in the U.S. is 60% compared to 40-50% for the first marriages and 73% for the third ones, according to statistical research .

64% of people with at least a bachelor’s degree are likely to be married just once compared to all adults.

White men have the highest rate of second and third marriages, while Asian men and women have the lowest rate of remarriages.

Provisional number of marriages and divorces: United States, 2000-2022 | CDC.gov

Divorce rates by State: 1990, 1995, and 2000-2022 | CDC.gov

Women more likely than men to initiate divorces, but not non-marital breakups | ScienceDaily

Divorce: More than a Century of Change, 1900-2018 | BGSU.edu

Marital status of the U.S. population by sex 2022 | Statista

Median Household Income by State 2024 | World Population Review

As U.S. marriage rate hovers at 50%, education gap in marital status widens | Pew Research Center

In What Year of Marriage is Divorce Most Common | Marriage.com

Is the 7-Year Itch a Myth or Reality? | Psychology Today

The Most Common Reasons for Divorce, Ranked | Business Insider

In-Laws And Marriage Study: Son-In-Law Key To Lasting Marriage | HuffPost Life

Does Having Children Contribute To Your Risk Of Divorce? | Forbes

Divorce Statistics and Facts | What Affects Divorce Rates in the U.S.? | WF Lawyer

Replicating the Goldilocks Theory of Marriage and Divorce | Institute for Family Studies

Median Age at First Divorce, 2020 | BGSU.edu

Divorce rates up for Americans 50 and older, led by Baby Boomers | Pew Research Center

8 facts about love and marriage in America | Pew Research Center

Divorce rate plunges to its lowest level in 40 years - except for boomers | Daily Mail Online

How Millennials Approach Family Life | Pew Research Center

Want to Avoid Divorce? Wait to Get Married, But Not Too Long | Institute for Family Studies

Age of Americans at their first wedding 2022 | Statista

Who gets divorced in America, in 7 charts | The Washington Post

The link between a college education and a lasting marriage | Pew Research Center

Marriage to Divorce Ratio in the U.S.: Demographic Variation, 2018 | BGSU.edu

Effects of parental divorce on marital commitment and confidence. | APA.org

If My Parents Are Divorced, Is My Marriage Doomed to Fail? | Psychology Today

Marital status - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics | Pew Research Center

Same-sex divorce poses complications for some splitting couples | CNBC.com

Stability Rates of Same-Sex Couples: With and Without Children: Marriage & Family Review: Vol 56, No 1

Troop Divorce Rate Unchanged; Marriage Rate Continues Fall | Military.com

Military Marriage Day | Armed Forces Insurance

Divorce Rate Among Active Duty Troops Remains Stable | Military.com

Study Challenges Which Political Party is Linked to a Happier Marriage | UVA Today

How Do People in Same-Sex Couples Compare to Opposite-Sex Couples? | Census.gov

Millennial Marriage: How Much Does Economic Security Matter to Marriage Rates for Young Adults? | Census.gov

Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2016 | Census.gov

National Marriage and Divorce Rates Declined From 2011 to 2021 | Census.gov

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Divorce and Health: Current Trends and Future Directions

David a. sbarra.

Department of Psychology, University of Arizona

Associated Data

Social relationships play a vital role in health and wellbeing, and it follows that loss experiences can be highly stressful for some people. This paper reviews what is known about the association between marital separation, divorce and health outcomes.

Key findings in the area of divorce and health are discussed, and the review outlines a series of specific questions for future research. In particular, the paper integrates research in social epidemiology with research in social psychophysiology. The former approach provides a broad-based estimate of the association between marital status and health outcomes, whereas the latter approach studies mechanisms of action and individual differences associated with increased risk for poor outcomes.

The experience of separation or divorce confers risk for poor health outcomes, including a 23% higher mortality rate. However, most people cope well and are resilient after their marriage or long-term relationship ends. Despite the fact that resilience is the most common response, a small percentage of people (approximately 10–15%) struggle quite substantially, and it appears that the overall elevated adverse health risks are driven by the poor functioning of this group. Several candidate mechanisms and novel (ambulatory) assessment techniques are discussed that may elucidate the poor outcomes among people who adapt poorly to separation.

CONCLUSIONS

To increase knowledge on the association between divorce and health, three primary areas require more research: (a) genetic and third variable explanations for divorce-related health outcomes; (b) better studies of objective social behavior following separation; and, (c) increased attention to interventions targeting high risk adults.

In the last four decades, relationship research has burgeoned into a legitimate scientific enterprise ( 1 ). High quality social relationships are positively associated with increased life satisfaction and psychological well-being ( 2 ) and negatively associated with morbidities and mortality from a range of disease processes ( 3 ). Meta-analytic findings indicate that the effects linking low social integration to increased risk for all-cause mortality are as robust as many other public health risk factors ( 4 , 5 ). Animal studies suggest the neuropeptide oxytocin, which is associated with social bonding, may be health protective ( 6 ) and that disease-relevant biological changes may have their roots in early care giving, especially as gene expression is established in the context of care giving environments ( 7 , 8 ). Similar patterns of gene expression – e.g., over-expression of inflammatory signaling pathways – are observed among adults who are low in social embeddeness ( 9 ). Relationship quality predicts time to death following treatments for a range of medical conditions (e.g., 10 ). Brain regions associated with the detection of physical pain are also sensitive to social rejection ( 11 ); early assessments of preschoolers’ attachment relationships are strong predictors of self-reported health in adulthood, nearly three decades later ( 12 ); and, the quality of marital interactions during daily life is associated with carotid artery intima-medial thickness, a marker of subclinical cardiovascular disease ( 13 ). These examples, from all corners of psychosomatic medicine and other areas where the biopsychosocial model plays a critical role, share one common theme: relationships and social connection are central to human health.

Because high quality relationships may promote positive health and wellbeing—we have only limited evidence that these effects are causal, a point to which I return below— it stands to reason that social separations and loss place people at unique risk for poor health. Indeed, a large literature also links marital status to morbidity and mortality. Increased risk of death from all causes following conjugal bereavement, the so-called ‘widowhood effect’, is well documented ( 14 , 15 ). Similarly, relative to married adults, separated or divorced adults evidence substantially increased risk for death from multiple disease processes. Figure 1 displays the results from a large meta-analysis (including studies that assessed over 6.5 million people, 160,000 deaths, and 755,000 divorces from 11 different countries) examining the association between divorce and all-cause mortality ( 16 ). As shown, on average, separated/divorced adults were 23% more likely to have died at the successive follow-up period (in the 32 prospective studies included in the meta-analysis) relative to their married counterparts. In addition, divorced men were significantly more likely to die early than were divorced women. These findings were subsequently replicated in a sample of 600 million adults ( 17 ). In the remainder of this review, I break down the epidemiological association between divorce and death by discussing research relevant to the question of who is at the greatest risk for poor health when marriage comes to an end and why. 1 In doing so, this article provides a selective review of the literature on the health consequences of separation and divorce, especially the topics of individual differences and potential mechanisms of change. An interesting feature of the work in this area is that although the average effect linking divorce with risk for early mortality suggests elevated risk, the modal effect is one of psychosocial resilience (cf. 18 ) and the bulk of the risk for poor outcomes appears to be limited to a sub-set of adults. Before addressing these topics in detail, I consider two orienting questions. Why is the study of divorce and health important for psychosomatic medicine? What is the organizing theory behind this work?

Reproduced from Sbarra et al.( 16 ). Forest plot illustrating the raw risk hazard (RH) statistic and associated 95% confidence interval for each study in the meta-analysis. The RH statistic quantifies risk for early death among separated/divorced relative to married adults in each study; the estimates are displayed according to their proportional (inverse variance) weighting in the random effects meta-analysis. Results from the overall meta-analysis are presented in the final row of the table, and the overall meta-analytic effect is illustrated by the diamond marker.

Relevance for Psychosomatic Medicine and Organizing Theory

As a field, psychosomatic medicine seeks integrative approaches to human disease processes, including an understanding of how social factors are associated with health-relevant physiology. (For distinctions between social psychophysiology, health psychology and psychosomatic medicine, see 19 .) As I have written elsewhere, the study of divorce provides an ideal “model system” for understanding how these processes may unfold ( 20 ), and there are several compelling reasons why studying divorce is an excellent means of studying stress and health more generally. First, marital dissolution remains relatively common, with roughly 40% of first marriages ending in divorce ( 21 ); up to 75% of people who end a first marriage will remarry, and the divorce rate of second marriages is considerably higher than first marriages. Thus, in absolute terms, more than 2 million adults are newly affected by marital separation each year .

Second, for the vast majority of these people, even for people who report relatively transient disturbances in psychological wellbeing, the transition out of marriage constitutes a significant life stress ( 18 , 22 , 23 ). In the original Social Readjustment Rating Scale ( 24 ), for example, divorce was rated as the second most stressful experience a person could have, sandwiched between the death of a spouse and a jail term among the top of the list. It is easy to see why this is the case. For many people, marital separation means substantial financial upheaval, the renegotiation of parenting relationships and co-parenting conflict, changes in friendships and social networks, moving locally or relocating cities, as well as a host of psychological challenges, including re-organizing one’s fundamental sense of self: Who am I without my partner?

Third, and most critically, although each of these challenges present numerous interpersonal and logistical obstacles, most people are psychologically resilient in the face of divorce ( 25 ). A large, prospective study of German adults, for example, demonstrated that the vast majority, nearly 72% of over 600 divorces, could be considered to have a resilient outcome, with little self-reported change in life satisfaction across a 9-year period that included the divorce ( 26 ). In contrast, 19% of people in the sample demonstrated what the authors referred to as a “moderate-decreasing” trajectory, with declines in life satisfaction that precede and follow the divorce year, but also seem to level off in the mid-range of overall functioning. Similarly, a recent study of adults who divorced after 25 years of marriage found that 79% of people could be described as either “average copers” (with average levels of life satisfaction and self-reported health, and little depression) or “resilient” (with high levels of life satisfaction and self-reported health, and the lowest levels of depression) ( 27 ). These studies and the broader literature on resilience following divorce ( 28 ) illustrate a key point: Most people fare well, but some people suffer quite a lot. Who are the people at greatest risk for poor outcomes? What mechanisms explain their declines in wellbeing and, potentially, physical health?

Taken together, these three observations—that divorce is common, highly stressful for many people, but also quite variable in terms of distal outcomes—make the study of marital dissolution ideally suited to informing our understanding of stress and health more generally. In addition, social baseline theory ( 29 ) and attachment theory ( 30 , 31 ) provide excellent frameworks for understanding the importance of close relationships in promoting psychological wellbeing and physical health. These theories can be used to derive specific hypotheses about the consequences of separation or loss (e.g., see 32 , 33 ). Social baseline theory proposes that the presence of other people, especially close others, helps guide the way people perceive threat in the environment; social embeddedness represents the default—or, baseline— state for emotion regulation, largely because this state allows for the sharing and conserving of physiologically “costly” metabolic resources for dealing with environmental challenges ( 29 ). Holding the hand of one’s partner (especially a partner in a high quality relationship), for example, attenuates women’s neural response to threat relative to being alone or to holding the hand of a stranger ( 34 ).

The obvious implication of this work is that transitioning out of a relationship means that people shoulder the burden of moving from their innate, prepared baseline state for dealing with task demands to – quite literally at times – an “alone condition” in which emotional challenges require greater physiological effort and output. This perspective is consistent with the ideas outlined by Sbarra and Hazan ( 32 ), who suggested that one function of normative attachment to another person is coregulation—the dyadic maintenance of physiological homeostasis within an intact relationship (cf. 35 , 36 ), and that the loss of coregulation portends a physiological stress response.

Attachment theory provides an excellent vantage point for understanding why the challenges of the so-called alone condition may be especially difficult for some people after divorce ( 37 ). One of the most robust and well-replicated findings in the literature on social separations is that individual differences in attachment styles, which are presumed to be relatively stable person variables ( 38 ), are associated with divorce adjustment ( 39 ) and moderate the ways in which people respond to non-marital breakups ( 40 ). Attachment styles reflect how individuals view themselves and others in close relationships and play a critical role in regulating the experience of felt security ( 37 ). In the face of real or perceived threats to felt security, when the primary strategy of attachment figure proximity seeking is not a viable option, people high in attachment anxiety and avoidance engage in different secondary strategies to regulate distress—essentially, two different emotion regulation strategies. People high in attachment anxiety often engage in hyper activating strategies , including repetitive efforts to feel close to, or reunite with, the attachment figure that render the system chronically activated. In contrast, highly avoidant individuals tend to engage in deactivating strategies by becoming hyper self-reliant and down-regulating the attachment system to minimize their distress. Hyper activating strategies, in particular, have clear health-relevant physiological correlates ( 41 – 46 ). Thus, attachment theory is highly generative for not only understanding who may be at greatest risk for poor outcomes when relationships end, but also for understanding the mechanisms that may explain these outcomes (a point to which I return below).

Studying Moderators to Understand Mechanisms

When attempting to deconstruct the association between marital separation/divorce and distal health outcomes, two of the observations I outlined above stand in opposition. How is it possible that most people are resilient in the face of divorce but that divorce also carries with it a significant risk for early death? Consider this oft-asked question by a divorced adult who becomes aware of these findings: “Even though I am actually happier now than I was prior to my divorce, are you also saying my health is at risk?” One critical detail to remember about meta-analysis is that this statistical approach deals, for the most part, with an arithmetic average of weighted effect sizes. Statistical averages are highly susceptible to the influence of outliers; thus, if some people suffer much more than others when marriage ends, it is entirely possible for an average effect to suggest that exposure to divorce is associated with poor outcomes while the modal response is a fairly quick return to life as normal.

Thus, in the study of divorce and health, it appears that individual differences moderate many of the outcomes of interest, and that a relatively small percentage of adults – perhaps 10 to 15% – fare quite poorly when their marriage comes to an end. Recent research provides evidence to support this assertion. Using two waves of data from the nationally-representative Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, Sbarra, Emery, Beam, and Ocker ( 47 ) compared rates of major depressive disorder (MDD) among people who were married at the first wave of the study and then divorced at the second wave relative to those people who were continuously married at both assessments. As shown in Figure 2 , the effects of divorce on the probability of depression depend almost entirely on adults’ history of MDD at the first MIDUS assessment. For people without a history of MDD , the experience of marital separation and divorce do not significantly elevate risk for a future depressive episode. In contrast, roughly 6 out of 10 people with a history of MDD who also become divorced will experience a subsequent depressive episode. In the U.S. population, the lifetime prevalence of MDD is roughly 17% ( 48 ); the rates observed by Sbarra et al. (2013) for people with a history of MDD who experience divorce are substantially elevated. This effect fits well with classic diathesis-stress models of psychopathology ( 49 ). After divorce, risk of poor mental health outcomes appears limited to people who have struggled prior to the end of marriage.

Reproduced from Sbarra et al. ( 47 ). Probability for a Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in the second wave of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Study (M2) as a function of participants’ marital status and depression at the first MIDUS assessment (M1). The greatest risk for a MDE was observed among people who experienced a separation/divorce between M1 and M2 and who also experienced a MDE at M1.

We have also shown that a similar type of moderating effect is observed in the study of divorce and mortality. Specifically, it appears that the association between divorce and risk for early death depends on how researchers define a person’s marital biography (i.e., their personal history of moving into and out of marriage). Using data from the Charleston Heart Study that followed over 1600 adults across 40 years, Sbarra and Nietert ( 50 ) examined the association between marital status and risk for death from all causes. The risk associated with divorce varied quite substantially depending on whether a person was divorced at the inception of the study or whether they had reported being divorced at some point during the study. The former group—people who divorced and never re-married—were at substantially elevated risk for early death, evidencing a 66% greater chance of being dead at each successive follow-up period than the continuously married participants. In contrast, mere exposure to divorce was not associated with significantly elevated risk for early death. This finding raises a series of interesting questions: Does the amount of time spent living as a divorced/single adult explain the observed outcomes, perhaps as a function of cumulative exposure to psychological stress? Alternatively, are there personality or other individual differences that are common to both becoming divorced and never remarrying as well as increased risk for early death? Regardless of the ultimate explanation, questions of this nature are focused squarely on individual differences that may confer risk and suggest that a smaller percentage of people may carry the bulk of the risk for poor outcomes following the end of marriage.

In terms of psychological characteristics associated with adjustment to divorce, it is well known that individual differences in attachment anxiety, as mentioned above, are associated with poor outcomes when people perceive a threat to their relationship and/or their security within the relationship. In a study of adults’ adjustment to marital separation, for example, Lee, Sbarra, Mason, and Law ( 51 ) used language as a behavioral manifestation of attachment-related hyper activation. People higher in attachment anxiety who spoke about their separation experience in a highly immediate, experiential and self-focused manner demonstrated greater increases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure when thinking about their relationship history and separation experience relative to those people lower in attachment anxiety. People at high risk for poor outcomes following marital separation appear to employ coping strategies that are associated with a high degree of physiological activation and this study, focused on blood pressure reactivity, provides an example of the ways in which emotion regulation strategies around attachment themes can provide insights into processes that confer risk for poor distal health outcomes.

The findings discussed above provide clues about the potential mechanisms linking marital separation to poor health outcomes. People who have a hard time distancing themselves from their psychological experiences show excessive cardiovascular responding, which, if maintained over time, is associated with the development of cardiovascular disease ( 52 ). Conceptually, this work fits well with the larger literature on self-distanced reflection and evidence indicating that people who recount their experiences in a blow-by-blow manner rather than reconstrue their experiences to find meaning, are at heightened risk for mood disorders (e.g., 53 )

The process of psychological distancing may be especially difficult for some people and in some contexts. For example, a recent study found that separated adults who reported a high degree of rumination, the tendency to reflect over one’s experiences in a negative, self-focused, and over-general way ( 54 ), reported increases in separation-related emotional distress three months after engaging in a three session expressive writing intervention that encouraged them to express their emotions about the separation event ( 55 ). When assigned to control writing, which asked them to write in a concrete, non-emotional way about how they had spent and would spend their time in the next few days, however, high ruminators reported the lowest levels of separation-related emotional distress eight months later compared to people low in rumination assigned to either condition. For people with a tendency to ruminate and who are in the throes of coping with their separation, engaging in emotional writing may be an ill-advised prescription because it promotes recounting and self-focused reflection. In this circumstance, control writing may operate in a manner similar to behavioral activation treatment for mood disorders by focusing people on re-engaging with pleasurable activities and, colloquially, getting out of their heads about their separation and back into their day-to-day lives.

Proximal Psychosocial Mechanisms

We have suggested that the ability to gain a self-distanced perspective on one’s separation may be a variable linking the end of marriage to health, but it is certainly not the only mechanistic pathway. Chronic psychological stress has health-compromising effects ( 56 – 60 ), and any efforts to understand pathways of action must consider divorce-specific variables above-and-beyond general psychological stress and loneliness. I would like to suggest three additional variables (two psychological and one health behavior) that deserve further consideration in this regard. Some of the earliest immunological work on divorce focused on attachment to/longing for an ex-partner ( 61 ). This research found that ongoing attachment to an ex-spouse was associated with impairments in cellular immune responses (e.g., antibody titers to latent herpes virus) and remains one of the only investigations of the ways in which psychological responses to marital separation may be associated with health-relevant immunological changes. The field needs much more research in this vein; simply studying physiology as a marker of health relevance is not enough, and a number of researchers have called for the need to investigate biologically plausible pathways from life stress to disease outcomes ( 62 ).

Beyond self-distanced reflection and longing, other variables and processes may serve as potential proximal mechanisms leading to health-relevant biological changes. In a prospective study of breakups following non-marital dissolution ( 63 ), improvements in self-concept clarity (knowing who you are as a person after a separation) earlier in the study were associated with future increases in future psychological wellbeing. There was no evidence in this study that people begin to feel better, and then have a greater sense of who they are in the aftermath of their breakup; the direction of the effect seems to operate from self-concept clarity to psychological wellbeing. Self-concept clarity was a key variable in the early empirical study of divorce ( 23 ), yet no studies to date have examined this variable with respect to biomarkers of interest.

Finally, given well-known theories regarding the social control of health ( 64 ), it is also important to investigate whether and how the end of marriage is associated with changes in health-promoting and/or health-compromising behaviors. Sleep is a salubrious health behavior that affects nearly every aspect of psychological functioning, and sleep problems are linked to a variety of physical morbidities. With respect to divorce outcomes, a recent study demonstrated that sleep problems within the first 10 weeks following marital separation were unassociated with adults’ resting blood pressure ( 65 ); ongoing sleep problems lasting longer than 10 weeks after the separation, however, were associated with future increases in resting blood pressure. This work suggests that sleep problems that extend beyond a few months after the physical separation may presage worsening physical health. Sleep is one of many health-promoting and/or - compromising behaviors that could link divorce to pathophysiology, and future research will benefit by studying how psychological responses to divorce work in tandem with changes in health behaviors to predict long-term outcomes (see 16 ).

Future Directions and Conclusions

This review concludes by highlighting three areas of study that can greatly enhance what we know about social relationships and health, and, in particular, the associations between marital separation, divorce, and health outcomes.

First, the observation that changes in marital status (or the dissolution of any partnership, for that matter) might be associated with long-term disease outcomes has spurred a wealth of excitement in the field and a fervent search for explanatory mechanisms. However, divorce is non-random, and it is not yet known whether the alleged health consequences of divorce follow from the end of marriage (social causation) or exist as a function of third-variable processes that also operate to select people out of marriage (social selection). In this respect, the study of divorce and health may be a bit ahead of itself; at this point, it would be ideal to begin asking basic questions about the putatively causal effect of divorce on subsequent health outcomes. The field of behavior genetics provides an excellent method for studying this issue directly ( 66 ). To truly separate selection from causation explanations, it will be critical at some point in the near future to conduct co-twin controlled research in which monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs who are discordant for divorce are compared in terms of their health outcomes. (For an excellent example of this approach, see 67 .) Genetic influences on depression, hostility, or substance abuse, for example, may explain elevated risk for poor outcomes following the end of marriage (cf. 68 ). Hypothetically, if the death rate of the MZ twins exposed to divorce exceeds that of their co-twin and is substantially larger than the death rate differences observed in DZ twins, this would suggest that the end of marriage exerts a causal influence on the outcome in question. All of the variables and processes described in this paper may be related to health outcomes of interest, but until co-twin studies are completed, it would be premature to suggest the health relevant changes are a consequence of the end of marriage itself.

Second, one of the more glaring omissions in the study of divorce and health is that the work in this area focuses largely – almost exclusively – on individual differences in psychological responses to the end of marriage and how variables tapping intrapersonal psychological functioning are related to health-relevant outcomes ( 69 ). We have learned a great deal about adults’ subjective responses to divorce, but we know very little about how social behaviors change after a relationship ends, and the types of interpersonal changes that may promote good outcomes. How much time do people spend alone? How much time do they talk about their ex-spouse and divorce? How much time fighting with their ex- is a lot of fighting? And, perhaps most importantly, are any of these daily behaviors associated with adults’ health outcomes? One tool for studying these questions a bit more precisely is the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR; 70 ). The EAR is a reliable and valid naturalistic observation tool that periodically records snippets of sounds from participants’ momentary environments ( 71 – 77 ). The EAR operates through application software running on the mobile operating system iOS (commonly referred to as “an app” for the iPhone or iTouch devices); participants in the study wear an iTouch device with the EAR installed during their waking hours for an entire weekend. The sampled sounds, which are collected at 30 second intervals every 12 minutes (roughly 5% of the time between 0600 and 1159 each day), are then coded for aspects of participants’ social interactions that are expected to play a critical role in their adjustment to divorce. Currently, ongoing research with divorced adults who wear the EAR is beginning to yield new insights into how people spend their time, with whom they associate, and the topics of their conversations following their recent marital separation. Supplemental Digital Content 1 provides an example of a transcript for a single EAR file recording from one of the study participants (the woman).

From the transcript, it is immediately obvious that you cannot capture this type of rich social interaction from self-report data, nor can laboratory interactions’ assessments of interpersonal behaviors provide as detailed a picture of how social processes unfold in their natural environment. Each audio file is coded by multiple judges who rate the presence or absence of many different specific behaviors (e.g., whether the person is alone or with others; whether the topic of discussion is divorce-related or not) and affective states (e.g., the presence of negative affect or the absence of negative affect), which, when summarized across multiple recordings, yields a quantitative picture (in the form of a percentage of time, for example, the participant was alone on a given EAR weekend—i.e., 32% of all sound files) that can be used in empirical analyses (see 72 , 75 ). The EAR has the potential to reshape our understanding of how people cope with stressful life events, and it will be critical for future studies to compare and contrast what people say they do and what they actually do (to cope with their separation) on a day-to-day basis (e.g., 78 ).

Finally, the field needs better interventions for separated and divorcing adults. In general, the study of social relationships and health lacks clinical trials demonstrating that changes in social functioning are associated with changes in health ( 79 ). Despite the fact that over two million adults face divorce each year and that 10–15% of these people suffer considerable emotional distress, no easily administered and few empirically-validated interventions exist that are specific to this population (see 80 ). One intriguing place to begin would be to expand the control (time use) writing condition, which Sbarra and colleagues ( 55 ) found led to the greatest improvement for people who reported a strong tendency toward psychological rumination, especially the style of self-reflection known as brooding. Conceptually, several lines of work are consistent with the potential value of time use writing for ruminators/brooders. The brooding component of psychological rumination is an abstract and negative form of self-reflection that is concurrently and prospectively associated with mood disturbances (e.g., Why me? ). Nolen-Hoeksema and colleagues found that for dysphoric adults, self-focused (relative to self-distanced) reflection causes people to have more negative feelings and cognitions, and that distraction yields mood improvements for these same people ( 54 ). Self-distanced reflection, the ability to reason about one’s experience in a manner that is not egocentric (i.e., self-immersed), is a key variable for promoting positive adjustment to difficult experiences and for mitigating the psychological toll of depressive states ( 53 , 81 ). Asking high ruminators to reflect over how they spent their time and how they will spend their time in a highly objective and concrete way may promote self-distancing and counteract tendencies toward self-immersion, which maintains distress over time.

Behavioral activation is a well-established treatment for major depression ( 82 ), and it is possible that the control writing instructions activate divorcing adults, especially those at risk for poor outcomes, in a way that helps them re-engage in their daily lives without focusing on the emotional pain of their loss. In situations that are defined primarily by how people deal with feelings of regret, shame, loss, and self-identity disruption, concentrating on what you do with your time may provide the precise antidote necessary to gain psychological distance from painful emotional thoughts.

Other intervention strategies may also be useful following the end of marriage, but the essential task for building treatments that work is identifying targets of interest. For example, one of the main divorce intervention studies focuses on forgiveness ( 80 , 83 ), and it may be useful to expand this work to integrate the topic of self-compassion, which correlational research shows is associated with positive outcomes after marital separation ( 84 ). Many separating and divorcing adults experience profound loneliness ( 85 ), and interventions designed to target loneliness may prove useful in time ( 86 ). Finally, other intervention strategies may be adopted to target people who have difficulty “letting go” of their separation experience. For example, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; 87 ) provides many tools and methods for helping people become more mindful about and accepting of painful thoughts. As a treatment modality, ACT may be ideally suited for people who are at risk for poor outcomes following divorce. One important question for all future intervention research in this area concerns the magnitude of the dosing that is required to effect positive change. Are three days of self-distanced writing too little to bring about positive outcomes? Alternatively, can we observe improvements in divorce-related recovery by modifying empirically-supported treatments like ACT without requiring that people participate in a full-course of ACT therapy?

Many of our most deeply felt emotions are expressed in the context of close relationships, and relationship stress or loss can be profoundly difficult for some people. This paper reviewed what is known about the association between marital dissolution and health, with a focus on the individual difference variables that place some people at risk for poor outcomes, as well as the potential mechanisms that may explain this risk. I also detailed three important areas for further study: genetically-informed designs that can answer questions about social causation/social selection, the use and potential of naturalistic observational methods for understanding the daily social lives of separated adults, and the need for improved intervention research that targets adults who are at high risk for poor outcomes. Research addressing these questions will move the field forward in a number of ways and inform not only the understanding of divorce and health, but also the study of attachment, stress and coping more generally.

Supplementary Material

Supplemental data file _.doc_ .xls_ .jpg etc._, acknowledgments.

The research reported in this paper was funded in part by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD#069498), the National Institute of Mental Health (MH#074637), and the National Institute on Aging (AG#028454 and AG#036895).

Portions of this paper were presented at the 2014 meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society as part of the author’s Herbert Weiner Early Career Award address.

No conflicts of interests to declare.

1 For simplicity, we refer to separated and divorced adults as divorced throughout this proposal. When distinctions between marital separation and legal divorce are meaningful, we use more precise terminology.

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Divorce Rate in the U.S.: Geographic Variation, 2019

This Family Profile is an update of FP-09-02, FP-13-14, FP-14-17, FP-15-18, FP-16-21, FP-17-24, FP-18-21, FP-19-23

Family Profile No. 25, 2020 Author: Leslie Reynolds

This Family Profile, an update to previous profiles on the divorce rate [FP-17-24; FP-18-21; FP-19-23], depicts adjusted divorce rates for the nation and each state for 2019. Using American Community Survey (ACS) data, we estimate the number of divorces occurring in the last year among married women, calculate their margins of error, and describe geographic variation in the divorce rate. For detailed information on the adjusted divorce rate from 2008-2017, see “Charting Marriage & Divorce in the U.S.: The Adjusted Divorce Rate” (Payne, 2018).

U.S. Divorce Rate, 2019 1

• The divorce rate continued to be stable in 2019, reaching a 40-year low.
• The divorce rate was 15.5 divorces per 1,000 married women in 2019, down from a divorce rate of 15.7 in 2018 (FP-19-23).
• Just over one million women (1,042,174) divorced in 2019.

Figure 1. Women’s Adjusted Divorce Rate, 1970-2019

Five Highest and Lowest Divorce Rates, 2019

• Arkansas held the highest divorce rate in 2018, with a rate of 26 divorces per 1,000 married women (FP-19-23). In 2019, it had the second highest rate at 21.5 per 1,000 married women.
• North Dakota held the lowest divorce rate in 2018, with a rate of 8.7 divorces per 1,000 married women (FP-19-23). In 2019, it was at the top of the third quartile at 16 per 1,000 married women.

Figure 2. Women's Highest and Lowest Divorce Rates

2 MOE = Margin of Error. The MOE is a measure of sampling error and expresses the maximum range in which the rate is expected to differ from the actual proportion. The MOE is calculated for the derived estimates at the 90% confidence level.

State Rankings and Geographic Variation in Divorce Rates, 2019

• The 12 states with the highest divorce rates (making up the first quartile) had rates of at least 17.24 divorces per 1,000 married women in 2019.
• The 13 states that experienced the lowest divorce rates (making up the fourth quartile) had fewer than 13.4 divorces per 1,000 married women in 2019.

Figure 3. State Variation in the Adjusted Divorce Rate per 1,000 Married Women Aged 15+ by Quartile, 2019

Figure 4. Geographic Variation of Women’s Adjusted Divorce Rate Among States, 2019

• Exceptions included Virginia, Maryland, and South Carolina, all of which were in the third quartile.
• Exceptions included Ohio, Kansas, Missouri, and Indiana, which were in the first two quartiles of divorce rates.
• States in the Western region of the country exhibited divorce rates in all four quartiles, with the largest share found in the second. 

Data Sources

• Clarke. S. C. (1995). Advanced report of final marriage statistics, 1989 and 1990. Monthly Vital Statistics Report, 42 (12). National Center for Health Statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/mvsr/supp/mv43_12s.pdf
• National Center for Health Statistics (1974). Summary report final marriage statistics, 1970. Monthly Vital Statistics Report, 23 (2), Supp. 1. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/mvsr/supp/mv23_02s1acc.pdf
• National Center for Health Statistics (1977). Advance report of final divorce statistics, 1975. Monthly Vital Statistics Report, 26 (2), Supp. 2. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/mvsr/supp/mv26_02s2acc.pdf
• National Center for Health Statistics (1983). Advance report of final marriage statistics, 1980. Monthly Vital Statistics Report, 32 (5), Supp. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/mvsr/supp/mv32_05s.pdf
• National Center for Health Statistics (2001). Births, marriages, divorces, and deaths: Provisional data for January-December 2000. National Vital Statistics Report, 49 (6), Associated Table 3. Department of Health & Human Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr49/nvsr49_06.pdf
• U.S. Census Bureau (2019). American Community Survey, 2019 1-Year Estimates [Table B12001]. https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=B12001&lastDisplayedRow=18&table=B12001&tid=ACSDT1Y2018.B12001
• U.S. Census Bureau (2019). American Community Survey, 2019 1-Year Estimates [Table B12503]. https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=B12503&hidePreview=false&table=B12503&tid=ACSDT1Y2018.B12503&lastDisplayedRow=10
• Allred, C. (2019). Divorce rate in the U.S.: Geographic variation, 2018. Family Profiles, FP-19-23 . Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-18-23
• Hemez, P. (2017). Divorce rate in the U.S.: Geographic variation, 2016. Family Profiles, FP-17-24 . Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-17-24
• Payne, K. K. (2018). Charting marriage and divorce in the U.S.: The adjusted divorce rate. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/adr-2008-2017
• Schweizer, V. (2018). Divorce rate in the U.S.: Geographic variation, 2017. Family Profiles, FP-18-21 . Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-18-21

Suggested Citation

• Reynolds, L. (2020). Divorce rate in the U.S.: Geographic variation, 2019. Family Profiles, FP-20-25 . Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-20-25

This project is supported with assistance from Bowling Green State University. From 2007 to 2013, support was also provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s) and should not be construed as representing the opinions or policy of any agency of the state or federal government.

Updated: 04/08/2021 12:22PM

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Led by Baby Boomers, divorce rates climb for America’s 50+ population

At a time when divorce is becoming less common for younger adults, so-called “gray divorce” is on the rise: Among U.S. adults ages 50 and older, the divorce rate has roughly doubled since the 1990s.

In 2015, for every 1,000 married persons ages 50 and older, 10 divorced – up from five in 1990, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau. Among those ages 65 and older, the divorce rate has roughly tripled since 1990, reaching six people per 1,000 married persons in 2015.

While the divorce rate for adults 50 and older has risen sharply over the past 25 years, it has remained relatively steady for this age group since 2008, when the Census Bureau began collecting divorce data yearly as part of its American Community Survey.

Still, the divorce rate for those younger than 50 is about twice as high as it is for adults 50 and older. And since 1990 the divorce rate has also climbed slightly for adults ages 40 to 49, though not to the extent of those 50 and older. 

In 2015, 21 adults ages 40 to 49 divorced per 1,000 married persons in that age range – up slightly from 18 in 1990. By contrast, the divorce rate for adults ages 25 to 39 has fallen from 30 persons per 1,000 married persons in 1990 to 24 in 2015. This decline is attributed at least in part to younger generations putting off marriage until later ages. The median age at first marriage for men in 2016 was 29.5, and for women it was 27.4 – up from 26.1 and 23.9, respectively, in 1990.  In addition, those who do end up marrying are more likely to be college-educated , and research shows that college-educated adults have a lower rate of divorce.

The climbing divorce rate for adults ages 50 and older is linked in part to the aging of the Baby Boomers, who now make up the bulk of this age group. (As of 2015, Baby Boomers ranged in age from 51 to 69.)

During their young adulthood, Baby Boomers had unprecedented levels of divorce . Their marital instability earlier in life is contributing to the rising divorce rate among adults ages 50 and older today, since remarriages tend to be less stable than first marriages. The divorce rate for adults ages 50 and older in remarriages is double the rate of those who have only been married once (16 vs. eight per 1,000 married persons, respectively). Among all adults 50 and older who divorced in 2015, 48% had been in their second or higher marriage.

The risk of divorce for adults ages 50 and older is also higher among those who have been married for a shorter time. For example, among adults 50 and older who had been married for less than 10 years, the divorce rate was 21 people per 1,000 married persons in 2015. By contrast, the divorce rate is 13 people per 1,000 married persons for adults ages 50 and older who had been married for 20 to 29 years. This is largely connected to remarriages being less stable than first marriages. In fact, most adults in this group who have been married less than 20 years were in their second or higher marriage.

While the rate of divorce is lower among adults ages 50 and older who have been in longer-term marriages, a significant share of gray divorces do occur among couples who have been married for 30 years or more. Among all adults 50 and older who divorced in the past year, about a third (34%) had been in their prior marriage for at least 30 years, including about one-in-ten (12%) who had been married for 40 years or more. Research indicates that many later-life divorcees have grown unsatisfied with their marriages over the years and are seeking opportunities to pursue their own interests and independence for the remaining years of their lives.

But divorce at this stage of life can also have some downsides. Gray divorcees tend to be less financially secure than married and widowed adults, particularly among women. And living alone at older ages can be detrimental to one’s financial comfort and, for men, their satisfaction with their social lives.

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Renee Stepler is a former research analyst who focused on social and demographic trends research at Pew Research Center .

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What Drives Gray Divorce?

As the rate of gray divorce increases, we look at why older couples are splitting up and some ways to make it work.

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In the early years of her marriage, Joan*, now 57, enjoyed a life full of her three children’s activities, building a business with her husband and community engagement as a business owner in Bethesda, Maryland. But as her children left the house, the lack of emotional connection with her husband troubled her more and more.

“I wanted to save this marriage so much. I did not want to be divorced,” she recalls. At the same time, she says: “I would fall asleep in tears and wake up in tears. I was miserable. I was not getting my needs met at all.”

After seeing five different marriage counselors, she realized that the differences between her and her husband weren’t going to change and that she didn’t want to spend her sixties and seventies in the same situation. The couple separated in 2022 after 22 years of marriage.

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Joan isn’t alone. Long-married older couples, freed from the distractions of raising children or building careers, often reevaluate their life choices and their relationships. While the overall divorce rate in the U.S. has fallen since highs in the 1980s, the rate of gray divorces — between people in their fifties and older — doubled from 1990 to 2010.  Now, 36% of adults getting divorced are 50 or older. The rate is even higher among adults 65 and older.

“The reality check is, ‘I’m closer to death than I am to my birth.’ That is a significant motivator for shaking up your life,” says Kerstin Rao , a dating coach in Westport, Connecticut, whose clients include older divorced women.

Gray divorce: Should you stay, or leave?

The decision is fraught. On one hand, you have decades of mutual history, shared family and friends and joint assets. On the other, with life expectancy stretching into the nineties, do you really want to spend your last decades in an unhappy or detached marriage? How do you know when it’s worth trying to save your marriage, if it’s even possible and whether you’d be happier apart?

Experts suggest getting professional help, looking for ways to compromise, and being clear-eyed about the financial, social and emotional cost of divorce before calling it quits.

“In the big life transitions, our relationships need support, especially if you’ve been together a long time. We’re unpacking patterns that have come about over decades,” says Gina Senarighi, a certified relationship coach in Madison, Wisconsin and author of Love More, Fight Less .

Why gray divorce happens

It may seem counterintuitive that couples encounter marital problems after decades of being together. However, retirement often coincides with other stressful life transitions, from health problems to losing your career identity .

“We look around and say, ‘Are you still the person I want to be doing this with long term? Who am I? Do I even want the same things I thought I wanted when I was 20 or 30 or 40 and I met you?’” says Senarighi.

Meanwhile, you might, for the first time, be able to afford to maintain two separate households. While your retirement resources will be split in two and decline, research shows that you are less likely to be driven into poverty than younger people. 

When you’re unhappy in the marriage, it can be easy to fantasize about a free and better life after splitting up. But separating from a long-time spouse involves a series of losses — from alternating family holidays to losing friends and community ties.

When Robbye Fox, 62, split from her husband of 31 years, she lost all these things. “It’s a pretty lonely thing to go through. I gave up my community, my family home,” Fox says.

“Most couples regret a divorce, at least to some extent. They wish they had done something different,” says Don Cole , a Seattle couples therapist.

Ways to make it work

Before you throw in the towel, Cole and others advise couples counseling, rebuilding the relationship and learning new skills that will lower the level of conflict and help you get along better. 

“Until you’ve tried to create new positive rituals and learn how to regulate some of the disagreements, you shouldn’t give up,” he says.

• Look for opportunities to create rituals of connection throughout the day. Could you share a cup of coffee and connect before diving into your separate projects? Or maybe an after-dinner walk would serve as a low-key conversation time?
• Learn some key communication skills that will help you fight less. Note: this is best done with the support of a couples counselor, who can help you practice skills, break bad relationship habits and find ways to compromise and see each other’s perspective.
• Soften the message. When bringing up a difficult issue, keep it from feeling like an attack. For example, if you’re rushing to get out the door, your habit might be to say: “Why do you always make us late?” Instead, try saying, “I’m worried about the time and I need us to move more quickly.”
• Manage high emotions. When we’re in a conflict, our body and brain go into fight, flight or freeze mode, making it hard to have any rational discussion. Develop a plan for how each person will get out of that state when it happens — and agree to calm down before resuming debate.
• Make repairs . Perhaps the most important skill is recovering after a fight. Couples counselors can help you find your way back to harmony, if you’re out of practice. “Everybody screws up, even me,” Cole says. “Successful couples repair their miscommunications.”
• Accept influence. After decades together, it’s easy to become like two fighters clinging to opposite corners of the boxing ring. The more that one person insists something is black, the more the other views it as white. You need to learn to see the other person’s perspective, and even to agree with it occasionally. Cole says the magic three words in a relationship are: “That makes sense.” Even if you disagree, you are acknowledging the other person’s point of view as valid.

“You’d be amazed at what people, when they have a willingness to work together, what they’re able to do,” says Karen Bridbord , a licensed psychologist and organizational consultant based in New York City. “When there’s been a lot of turning away, it’s really hard to say, ‘I can do it with this person.’ ”

Sometimes, the compromise you reach is more permanent, such as establishing separate homes but keeping extended family connections and shared assets. As Gretel, 64, was anticipating retirement a few years ago, she started spending more time hiking and traveling to the mountains, which her husband Peter, 67, didn't enjoy as much.

As she took more frequent trips from their Rochester, New York, home, Gretel considered ending their nearly 30-year marriage. After a few counseling sessions, she decided to move to the Adirondack Mountains on her own. They stayed married and now live separately, but visit each other. Gretel comes to Rochester monthly and Peter visits her for four to five days at a time.

"He loves my place. It's a vacation for him when he comes. I'm happy because I do what I want and when without giving thought to checking in with him," Gretel explains. "It is rewriting our relationship and making it work somehow."

Editor’s note: Due to the sensitivity of the topic of this article, some persons we interviewed requested that we not publish their last names.

This item first appeared in Kiplinger Retirement Report, our popular monthly periodical that covers key concerns of affluent older Americans who are retired or preparing for retirement. Subscribe for retirement advice that’s right on the money.  

Related content

• How Finances Are Split In a Gray Divorce
• What to Expect in a Gray Divorce (and Three Steps to Prepare)
• A Financial Guide to Gray Divorce

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Katherine Reynolds Lewis is an award-winning journalist, speaker and author of The Good News About Bad Behavior: Why Kids Are Less Disciplined Than Ever – And What to Do About It . Her work has appeared in  The Atlantic , Fortune , Medium, Mother Jones , The New York Times , Parents , Slate, USA Today , The Washington Post and Working Mother , among others. She's been an EWA Education Reporting Fellow, Fund for Investigative Journalism fellow and Logan Nonfiction Fellow at the Carey Institute for Global Good. Residencies include the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and Ragdale. A Harvard physics graduate, Katherine previously worked as a national correspondent for Newhouse and Bloomberg News, covering everything from financial and media policy to the White House.

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