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Divorce Rates in America

Guide to Divorce Rates in America

How Can I find Reliable Data on Divorce Rates in America?

There are a massive amount of variables that go into calculating divorce rates in America.  The only truly reliable source for collecting data of divorce rates in America is the official government website of the U.S. Census.  All of the statistics within this article are taken from the U.S. Census, but even the data within the U.S. Census is guaranteed to be slightly flawed as well.  No statistic is perfect, but some statistics are better than others.  

Divorce Rates Over the Last 20 Years

Divorce rates in America have slightly fallen since 1990.  There are several reasons for the decreasing percentage, and some of the factors include:

• Couples living together before marriage

• Men and women marrying at a later age

• Women becoming financial independent within the workforce 

Because the divorce rate has fallen since 1990, there are not about 9.2 divorces per 1000 men in the United States, and about 9.7 divorces per 1000 women.  

Statistics from State to State

Some of the states with the lowest divorce rates for men are Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Idaho.  The divorce rate within these states ranges from 6.1 to 7.9% for men.  Some of the states with the highest divorce rates for men are in the South from Louisiana to Georgia and up to Indiana.  Other states include Oklahoma, Colorado, and Nevada, and the divorce rates within these states usually falls within 11 to 13.5% for men.   

Divorce rates slightly differ between men and women from state to state.  As for women, some of the states with the lowest divorce rates are New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, South Carolina, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Hawaii.  The divorce rates within these states falls from 6.0 to 8.2% for women.  Other states have fairly high divorce rates for women.  Some of the states with higher divorce rates for women include the belt of states from Texas to Georgia and up through Tennessee to West Virginia.  Other states include Vermont, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Montana.  The high divorce rates within these states fall between 11.1 and 16.2% for women.  

Miscellaneous Divorce Rates in America

Apart from national averages, there are also a couple important statistics that apply to a wide variety of people.  For example, divorce rates are at their lowest in the Northeast and highest in the South.  There are a variety of reasons for the divorces rates in America, but some of the main reasons include marriages at younger ages in the south and less overall marriages in the Northeast.  Some more statistics include:

1) Children living with a divorced parent were three times as likely to live with their mother.  75% percent of children will live with their mother, and 25% will live with their father on a regular basis.  

2) Women who divorced within the last two months were more likely to live in a multigenerational household.  

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