US Divorce Statistics: The 2026 Data Report
About 673,000 American couples finalized a divorce in 2023, and close to a million women report a divorce in a given year, yet the US divorce rate sits near its lowest level in half a century. Both things are true at once, which is exactly why divorce statistics are so easy to get wrong.
This report pulls together the current federal and academic record as of June 2026: the CDC's vital-statistics counts, the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, the Bowling Green NCFMR rate series, and Pew Research Center's October 2025 analysis. Every figure is dated and linked to its primary source, and the recycled claims that fill the search results are checked against the actual data.
The US refined divorce rate was 14.2 divorces per 1,000 married women in 2024, down from 14.4 in 2023 and about 37% below its 1980 peak of 22.6 (NCFMR, Census ACS).
The CDC counted 672,502 divorces in 2023 across 45 reporting states and DC, a crude rate of 2.4 per 1,000 people, down from 4.0 in 2000.
There were about 2.4 marriages for every divorce in 2024 (a marriage-divorce ratio of 2.42), the highest since 2008, and every state recorded more marriages than divorces.
"Half of all marriages end in divorce" is outdated: one in three ever-married Americans has had a first marriage end in divorce, and even the highest-divorcing cohorts (1970s-80s marriages) topped out near 47%, not 50%.
Marriages that end in divorce now last a median of 12 years, up from 10 in 2008, and divorce is falling fastest among the college-educated and the young, with gray divorce (age 50+) the one exception.
How many divorces happen in the US each year?
| Measure | Figure | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Divorces counted (45 states + DC) | 672,502 | 2023 | CDC NVSS provisional |
| Crude divorce rate | 2.4 per 1,000 people (4.0 in 2000) | 2023 | CDC NVSS provisional |
| Women divorcing in the past year | 986,810 (992,677 in 2023) | 2024 | NCFMR / Census ACS |
| Refined divorce rate | 14.2 per 1,000 married women (14.4 in 2023) | 2024 | NCFMR FP-25-31 |
| Marriages counted | 2,041,926 (rate 6.1 per 1,000) | 2023 | CDC NVSS provisional |
| Marriage-to-divorce ratio | 2.42 marriages per divorce | 2024 | NCFMR FP-25-32 |
| Median length of marriages ending in divorce | 12 years (10 in 2008) | 2023 | Pew (Census ACS) |
| Ever-married adults whose first marriage ended in divorce | about 1 in 3 (33%) | 2023 | Pew (ACS/SIPP) |
The gap between "672,502" and "1.8 million" is not a contradiction; it is a counting difference. The CDC tallies divorce decrees filed in reporting states, while the Census surveys households about who divorced in the past year, which captures the non-reporting states and counts each spouse.
For the freshest single-year figure, the American Community Survey is the better source, because it covers the whole country and is updated annually. The CDC count is useful for the long historical trend and the crude rate.
What is the US divorce rate in 2026?
The refined rate is the one to trust. It divides divorces by the number of married women, so it is not distorted by the shrinking share of Americans who are married in the first place. By that measure the rate peaked at 22.6 per 1,000 around 1980, eased to 20.5 by 2008, then fell sharply to 14.4 in 2023 and 14.2 in 2024.
There is no published 2025 or 2026 national figure yet, because the American Community Survey data lags about two years. Nothing in the provisional series points to a reversal, so the honest answer for 2026 is that the latest hard number is 14.2 and the direction is still gently downward.
How has US divorce changed over the last century?
Two shifts drove the mid-century surge. Between 1969 and the mid-1980s, states replaced fault-based divorce, which required proving wrongdoing, with no-fault divorce, and women's rising workforce participation made leaving an unhappy marriage financially possible.
The peak came quickly and the decline has been long. The crude rate roughly doubled between the mid-1960s and 1981, then drifted down for forty years as people married later, cohabited first, and the population that married became more selective.
The current era is best described not as "more divorce" but as "less marriage, and more durable marriage among those who do marry." That reframing is the key to reading every number on this page.
Do half of all marriages end in divorce?
Pew's cohort data settles the level. Among Americans who married in the 1970s, 47% had divorced by 2023; for the 1980s it was 46%, and for the 1960s, 42%. Even the most divorce-prone cohorts in modern history fell short of one in two, and people who married in the 1990s and later are tracking lower so far.
The 33% figure has its own caveat: it includes people who are still married and could divorce later, so it is not "33% of marriages end in divorce" either. It is simply the clearest backward-looking measure available.
Modeled lifetime odds of a first marriage ending in divorce are often put near 40% to 45%, but that average hides enormous variation. A college graduate marrying today faces far lower odds than a high-school graduate, which is why a single headline percentage misleads more than it informs.
Why has the divorce rate been falling?
The education story is the strongest. As marriage rates fell, the people still marrying skewed toward higher earners and graduates, the group least likely to divorce, which pulls the national rate down even if no individual couple changed their behavior.
Timing matters too. The median age at first marriage is now near record highs, and most couples cohabit first, so more shaky relationships end before a wedding rather than in a divorce court.
One honest caveat: a falling divorce rate is not proof that marriages are happier across the board. Part of the decline simply reflects that fewer, and more advantaged, people are marrying at all.
How long do marriages last before divorce?
| Marriage length when the divorce happens | Share of 2023 divorces | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Under 5 years | 16% | Pew (ACS), Oct 2025 |
| 5 to 9 years | 24% | Pew (ACS), Oct 2025 |
| First decade, combined | about 40% | Pew (ACS), Oct 2025 |
| 25 years or longer | 22% | Pew (ACS), Oct 2025 |
| Median length of marriages ending in divorce | 12 years (10 in 2008) | Pew (ACS), Oct 2025 |
The popular "seven-year itch" is a myth. The single most common window is years five to nine, but the median marriage that ends in divorce has actually lasted longer over time, not shorter, as long marriages dissolving later in life become more common.
Who is most likely to divorce?
| Group | Share of ever-married who have divorced | Source |
|---|---|---|
| All ever-married adults | about 33% | Pew (ACS), Oct 2025 |
| Some college | 41% | Pew (ACS), Oct 2025 |
| High school or less | 37% | Pew (ACS), Oct 2025 |
| Bachelor's degree or more | 25% | Pew (ACS), Oct 2025 |
| Black Americans | 41% (highest) | Pew (ACS), Oct 2025 |
| Asian Americans | 16% (lowest) | Pew (ACS), Oct 2025 |
| Born in the US / born abroad | 36% / 22% | Pew (ACS), Oct 2025 |
These are shares of people who have ever divorced, not the odds for any specific marriage, but the pattern is consistent with decades of research: more education and later marriage track with lower divorce risk.
Which states have the highest and lowest divorce rates?
| Highest refined divorce rate (2024) | Rate | Lowest refined divorce rate (2024) | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 20.7 | Maine | 10.0 |
| Nevada | 19.9 | Wisconsin | 10.8 |
| Mississippi | 19.2 | New Jersey | 11.0 |
| Wyoming | 18.7 | Idaho | 11.2 |
| Alabama | 18.0 | Montana / South Carolina | 11.7 |
The same regional split shows up in the marriage-divorce ratio: Washington DC had the most marriages per divorce in 2024 at 3.77, followed by Idaho and Utah, while Delaware (1.44), Vermont, and Rhode Island had the fewest. Age structure, income, religion, and the typical age at marriage all feed these gaps.
For the full ranking of all 50 states and DC, see our companion data hub on the divorce rate by state.
What about divorce after 50, and remarriage?
The aging of divorce is the most important structural change in the data. As overall divorce fell, the share happening later in life climbed, which is why retirement accounts and pensions now dominate the hardest divorces. Military divorces add their own benefit, pension, and jurisdiction questions, so they should be read as a separate subtopic rather than a simple extension of the national rate.
Remarriage remains common but less stable: second and later marriages end in divorce more often than first ones, which is part of why the overall rate has not fallen even faster.
Divorce myths vs the actual numbers
| Claim you will see | Status | The verifiable figure |
|---|---|---|
| "Half of all marriages end in divorce" | Outdated projection | 1 in 3 ever-married have divorced; refined rate down about 37% since 1980 (Pew; NCFMR) |
| "The divorce rate is rising" | Wrong direction | falling since about 1980; 14.2 per 1,000 married women in 2024 (NCFMR) |
| "60% of second and 73% of third marriages fail" | Weak, dated source | remarriages are less stable, but those exact percentages trace to old estimates and are not well supported |
| "The US has the world's highest divorce rate" | False | several countries report higher rates; the US is mid-to-high among wealthy nations |
| "Most divorces happen around year 7" | Mismeasure | median is 12 years; about 40% occur in the first decade, 22% after 25 years (Pew) |
If you remember one thing, make it this: always ask which rate a statistic is using. A number per 1,000 people, a number per 1,000 married women, and a lifetime probability are three different things, and headlines routinely swap them.
Methodology and how to cite this page
Counts come from the CDC's National Vital Statistics System (2023 provisional), which covers 45 reporting states and DC. Rates and the marriage-divorce ratio come from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, analyzed by the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University (family profiles FP-25-31 and FP-25-32, 2024 data). Duration, demographic, and remarriage figures come from Pew Research Center's October 2025 analysis of NCHS, ACS, and SIPP data.
Two limitations are worth stating plainly. The CDC crude count understates the national total because California, Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota, and New Mexico do not report. And ACS-based rates lag about two years, so 2024 is the freshest national figure available; this page is reviewed when the 2025 profiles are released.
Cite or reuse this data. Every chart and table here may be reproduced with attribution and a link. Suggested citation: AI Lawyer, "Divorce Statistics in the US," June 2026, https://ailawyer.pro/blog/divorce-statistics.
Frequently asked questions
What is the divorce rate in the US in 2026?
The most recent published figure is a refined rate of 14.2 divorces per 1,000 married women, from 2024 Census ACS data analyzed by NCFMR. The CDC's crude rate is 2.4 divorces per 1,000 people (2023). No 2025 or 2026 national figure is published yet, because the survey data lags about two years.
Do 50% of marriages end in divorce?
No. The "50%" figure is an outdated early-1980s projection. About one in three ever-married Americans has had a first marriage end in divorce, even the highest-divorcing cohorts (1970s-80s marriages) topped out near 47%, and the refined divorce rate has fallen roughly 37% since its 1980 peak.
Is the divorce rate going up or down?
Down. The refined divorce rate has fallen since about 1980, from 22.6 to 14.2 per 1,000 married women in 2024, with the steepest decline in the past 15 years. The only group that rose was adults 50 and older, and even that has plateaued.
What percentage of second marriages end in divorce?
Remarriages are less stable than first marriages, but the widely quoted "60% of second marriages and 73% of third marriages" figures rest on old, thin estimates and should be treated with caution. The reliable takeaway is directional: divorce risk is higher for later marriages.
How long does the average marriage last before divorce?
The median marriage that ends in divorce lasted 12 years in 2023, up from 10 in 2008. About 40% of divorces happen in the first 10 years, and 22% end marriages of 25 years or more.
Which state has the highest divorce rate?
Oklahoma had the highest refined divorce rate in 2024 at 20.7 divorces per 1,000 married women, followed by Nevada, Mississippi, Wyoming, and Alabama. Maine had the lowest at 10.0. See our divorce rate by state hub for the full ranking.
This page is general information, not legal advice. If you are weighing a divorce, AI Lawyer can help you understand the process, and these guides go deeper: how much a divorce lawyer costs, whether you can divorce online, how to file for divorce without a lawyer, and the free property division calculator, alimony calculator, and divorce step-by-step guide.
Sources and references
Pew Research Center, 8 Facts About Divorce in the United States, October 16, 2025. Pew, divorce analysis methodology (2025).
NCFMR FP-25-31, Refined Divorce Rate in the U.S., 2024. NCFMR FP-25-32, Marriage-Divorce Ratio in the U.S., 2024. NCFMR FP-25-24, Age Variation in the Refined Divorce Rate, 1990 and 2023.
CDC NCHS FastStats, Marriage and Divorce. CDC, National Marriage and Divorce Rate Trends, 2000-2023 (PDF). CDC NVSS, Marriage and Divorce statistics. U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Divorce Rates Down, Marriage Rates Stagnant, 2012-2022 (Oct 2024).