Marriage and Divorce: Statistics and Legal Trends

Not all popular divorce statistics or beliefs are actually true. Unfortunately, misinformation has spread about divorce rates and trends.

Every aspect of marriage has changed since the old days of English common law, including:

• Who can get married or seek a divorce
• Why people choose to get married
• How people get legally married
• Why married people get a divorce
• What the process of divorce entails

Cultural, legal, and economic factors have shaped these aspects. New legal trends have emerged in recent years. Take a look at current marriage and divorce statistics.

Do Half of All Marriages End in Divorce?

No, the popular statistic that 50% of married couples divorce isn’t completely accurate. People cite this figure often, likely because the idea of such a trend is alarming.

In reality, tracking the exact divorce rate is difficult. The 50% figure arose from projections when divorce was at its highest. Over the years, various sources misquoted the projection as a fact.

Old Divorce Statistics Can Be Misleading

Divorce surged in the 1980s. Researchers suggested half of all marriages would eventually end if divorce kept growing at the same rate. Yet, national data did not reflect that estimate.

Around this time, many states had recently reformed their divorce laws, starting with California’s no-fault divorce law in 1969. This new legal option made ending a marriage easier than before in many parts of the country. An unhappy couple no longer needed grounds such as infidelity or domestic violence to seek a divorce in those states.

Cultural attitudes toward divorce were also shifting. Conversations and media sometimes used the 50% projection as a point for discussion. Today’s divorce rate has changed, but the idea has stuck in the public sentiment.

Current Divorce Rate in the United States

The “crude divorce rate” measures how many people out of the total population divorced during a particular year. According to 2022 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the crude divorce rate is 2.4 per 1,000 people. The marriage rate is 6.2 per 1,000 people.

This CDC data does not necessarily mean that over a third of marriages end in divorce. The people who got married are not usually the same people who divorced that same year. This detail illustrates how divorce rate statistics can be confusing. The popular 50% figure is simpler for people to understand and remember — despite its inaccuracy.

Is Divorce on the Rise?

Divorce in America has overall declined since the 1980s, but the issue is multifaceted. Divorce rates can fluctuate differently for subsets of the population. Each year also varies, though some years show a bigger change than others.

The general rate of divorce decreased by 18 percent from 2008 to 2016, according to a 2018 study. The 2021 census showed Idaho and Arkansas were the states with the highest divorce rates. The state with the lowest divorce rate was New Hampshire.

Yet, divorce among specific categories of people increased. For example, older adults are divorcing more than previous generations. The divorce rate quadrupled over the past three decades for people between the ages of 54 and 64.

Divorce trends may also relate to marriage trends. Only 50% of today's American adults tie the knot. In comparison, 72% of Americans got married in 1960. The modern median age for men and women to marry is 29 and 27, respectively. But in the early 1980s, the median ages for men and women to marry were 25 and 22, respectively. 

How Long Do Most Marriages Last?

The majority of marriages last as originally intended: until death. A couple’s ages at marriage and their lifespans therefore define their years of marriage.

For couples who divorce, however, separation often happens roughly a decade into the marriage. The average length of a first marriage ending in divorce is eight years. In 2016, 13% of first marriages ended before their fifth anniversary, according to Census.gov.

Does Living Together Before Marriage Cause Divorce?

Cohabitation does not automatically doom a relationship. Divorce is a complex subject, and every couple is different.

A premarital living arrangement is not the only factor in divorce. Some studies show a link between them. Yet, other studies show the opposite once controlling for variables, such as religious or family background.

The most common reasons for divorce include:

• Lack or absence of commitment
• Overly frequent conflicts and arguments
• Infidelity and extra-marital affairs

In 2022, 20.1 million Americans lived with an unmarried partner — up from 18 million in 2016. Couples may find both benefits and drawbacks to moving in together. Creating a cohabitation agreement can give unmarried partners legal protection regardless of whether they marry or divorce in the future.

How Often Do Divorced People Remarry?

Getting married after a previous divorce is fairly common. The remarriage rate has generally declined in recent years. This decline could relate to the trend of marrying later in life, but you can remarry at any age.

The Pew Research Center and American Community Survey census data have reported the following:

• Around 40% of marriages involve at least one person who has been divorced. 58% of marriages are the first time both spouses are getting married.
• 16% of U.S. children live with a blended family, where one or both parents each have children from a prior marriage.
• 6% of divorced couples end up remarrying each other.

Remarriage after a previous divorce can introduce new legal considerations. For example, current child custody and parenting schedules could change with a new spouse and children. You may also want to review your estate plan to update your beneficiaries and end-of-life decision-making power.

Social Norms and Economics Affect Legal Trends

As the statistics above show, both the marriage and divorce rates are trending downward. Researchers believe this is mostly due to changing social norms and economics.

The following factors may shape marriage and divorce trends.

Millennials Are Making an Impact

Those born from 1981 to 1996 are getting married later when they are older and more established in life and career. Researchers credit millennials with helping to lower the divorce rate, as these marriages tend to be less risky and less likely to end in divorce.

Signs of Social Inequality

Marriage is now more about status than necessity, researchers say. It is more common for people to enter marriage in a financially secure place than hoping to gain financial security, which tends to put negative pressure on a marriage. However, at the same time, marriage is becoming less obtainable for certain demographics, which researchers warn is a sign of social inequality.

Cohabitation

Living together before marriage has become much more common. Today more than 65% of couples live together before tying the knot. Some choose cohabitation as a less formal alternative to marriage, which comes with fewer privileges and responsibilities.

Baby Boomers and Divorce 

The divorce rate is still on the rise for the baby boomer population, which is known as the "gray divorce" phenomenon. Reasons for this include boomers being more likely to marry young (a suggested risk for divorce) and having multiple marriages (second and third marriages have higher divorce rates).

Divorce Isn't Taboo

Unlike a few decades ago, it has become socially acceptable to end a marriage for virtually any reason. Divorce is represented in mainstream TV shows and movies. Public figures such as politicians and church leaders are not afraid to discuss their divorces.

Marrying for Love

The Pew Research Center reported that 88% of Americans said love was a "very important" reason to get married. This is over other reasons, such as making a lifelong commitment, companionship, and having children. Only 23% of people said legal rights and benefits were a "very important" reason to get married.

Intermarriage Has Increased

Marrying a person of a different race or ethnicity is becoming more common. In 2015, 17% of people were intermarried, while only 3% of newlyweds were married to a person of another race or ethnicity in 1967. More than half of younger adults support intermarriage.

Related Resources

Find more statistics and analysis below:

• Breakdown of Marriage Statistics from American Psychological Association: This linked resource covers statistics on the number of divorces that have occurred in any given year during the past two decades. Its useful breakdown of divorce rates contextualizes marital behaviors. It also covers marriage rates over that timeframe, which is also useful for contextualizing marital behaviors. It breaks down the number of divorces on average, across broad demographics, for first marriages and second marriages. It also breaks down these statistics by gender demographic, addressing divorce statistics for married women.

• Upward Trend of Marriages During the Pandemic: This linked resource is from the CDC. The statistics and analysis were conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. It covers and analyzes the upward trend of marriage during the COVID-19 pandemic. It covers and analyzes U.S. divorce rates during this timeframe against the backdrop of the U.S. Census Bureau data on the topic.

• Upward Trend of Divorces During the Pandemic: This linked resource is from the British Broadcasting Company (BBC). It covers and analyzes the upward trend of divorces and break-ups during the pandemic. It breaks down statistics on the risk of divorce and the incidence of remarriage. At the same time, it covers these statistics based on broad breakdowns of number of marriages for any given data set considered. According to this article, the likelihood of divorce increased during the pandemic.

You can also browse FindLaw's divorce guide to find details about:

• Marriage and divorce settlement agreements
• Issues related to alimony and child support
• Topics concerning same-sex couples, from same-sex marriage to divorces in the LGBTQ+ community
• A state-by-state breakdown of marriage and divorce resources

Want To Learn More About Divorce?

You might anticipate divorce in the future, or you may want to discuss a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. You can learn more about the divorce process in your state.

An experienced family law attorney in your area can answer all of your questions. It's important to get legal advice from a divorce lawyer if you're going through a divorce.