Marriage & Divorce:
(2002 except where noted)
Total divorces granted in 1997:
1,163,000
Rate per 1,000 population (1999):
(excluding CA, CO, IN and LA)
4.1
State with the lowest divorce rate: (1997) Massachusetts. Rate per 1,000 population:
2.4
State with the highest divorce rate: Nevada. Rate per 1,000 population: (1997)
9.0
Percentage of population that is married:
59% (down from 62% in 1990, 72% in 1970)
Percentage of population that has never married:
24%
Percentage of population that is divorced:
10% (up from 8% in 1990, 6% in 1980)
Percentage of population that is widowed:
7%
Median age at first marriage:
Males: 26.9
Females: 25.3
Median age at first divorce:
Males: 30.5
Females: 29
Median age at second marriage:
Males: 34
Females: 32
Median age at second divorce:
Males: 39.3
Females: 37
Median duration of first marriages that end in divorce:
Males: 7.8 years
Females: 7.9 years
Median duration of second marriages that end in divorce:
Males: 7.3 years
Females: 6.8 years
Median number of years people wait to remarry after their first divorce:
Males: 3.3 years
Females: 3.1 years
Percentage of married people who reach their 5th, 10th, and 15th anniversaries:
5th: 82%
10th: 65%
15th: 52%
Percentage of married people who reach their 25th, 35th, and 50th anniversaries:
25th: 33%
35th: 20%
50th: 5%
Percentage of people who have ever been married by the age of 25:
Males: 32%
Females: 50%
Percentage of people who have ever been married by the age of 35:
Males: 77%
Females: 84%
Percentage of people who have ever been married by the age of 45:
Males: 87%
Females: 90%
Percentage of people who have ever been married by the age of 55:
Both males and females: 95%
Likelihood of new marriages ending in divorce in 1997:
43%
Percentage of all householders who are unmarried in 2000:
48%
Percentage of weddings which are remarriages for at least one partner in 1997:
43%
Percentage of first marriages that end in divorce in 1997:
50%
Percentage of remarriages that end in divorce in 1997:
60%
Percentage of divorced women who remarry within five years as of 1995:
54%
Estimated average length of divorce proceedings in 1997:
1 year
Percentage of African American adults in this age group never married in 1998:
53%
Percentage of households occupied by one person in 2000:
25.5%
Percentage of population (by area of US) who had never married in 1999:
Midwest: 28%
Northeast: 28%
South: 26%
West: 29%
Number of married couples (2000):
56,497,000
Number of married people whose spouses are absent (2000):
Males: 1,365,000 (1.3%)
Females: 1,365,000
(1.2%)
People who have been widowed (2000):
Males: 2,604,000
(2.5%)
Females:11,061,000 (10%)
People who are divorced (2000):
Males: 8,572,000 (8.3%)
Females: 11,309,000 (10.2%)
People who are separated (2000):
Males: 1,818,000 (1.8%)
Females: 2,661,000 (2.4%)
Percentage of people that married under the age of 20 who eventually get divorced as of 1995:
40%
Percentage of people that married over the age of 25 who eventually get divorced as of 1995:
24%
Percentage of couples not affiliated with any religious group who eventually get divorced as of 1995:
46%
Percentage of women whose parents were divorced who get divorced within 10 years as of 1995:
43%
Percentage of women whose parents stayed together who get divorced within 10 years as of 1995:
29%
Interracial married couples in 2000:
1,047,000
Number of unmarried couples living together:
5.5 million
Percentage of unmarried couples living together that are male-female unions:
89%
Percentage of women who cohabited before they turned 30 in 1995:
50%
Percentage of couples living together for more than five years who eventually marry as of 1995:
70%
Number of people divorcing each year as of 1997:
2.5 million
Drop in standard of living of females after divorce as of 2000:
45%
Number of women who are stalked by a husband or ex-husband every year as of 1997:
380,000
Number of men who are stalked by a wife or ex-wife every year as of 1997:
52,000
Children/Single parents:
(2000 except where noted)
Number of children in new divorces each year as of 1997:
1 million
Percentage of parents who had never married in 1998:
Males: 35%
Females: 42%
Percentage of households which are family households:
68.8%
Percentage of households with their own children under 18:
33%
Percentage of married householders with kids:
24%
Percentage of family households with children with only one parent in 1998:
27%
Percentage of all households run by single moms:
9.2%
Percentage of all households run by single dads:
1.9%
Number of adults living in a home maintained by one or both parents in 1998:
22 million
Number of single parents:
Males: 2.04 million
Females: 9.68 million
Estimated number of children involved in divorce in 1997:
1,075,000
Rate per 1,000 population children under 18 involved in divorce in 1997:
16.8
Children under 18 years of age living with just one parent in 1998:
20 million (28%)
Percentage of children under 18 years of age living with both parents (2002):
69%
Percentage of children under 18 years of age living with mother only (2002):
23%
Percentage of children under 18 years of age living with father only (2002):
5%
Percentage of children under 18 years of age living with neither parent (2002):
4%
Percentage of children in single-parent homes living with their mother in 1998:
84%
Percentage of children living with single parents for whom no other adults were present in the household in 1998:
56%
Children under 18 living in the household of their grandparents in 1998:
4 million (6%)
Total families in which the child lived with two parents in 1997:
25.6 million
Total single fathers maintaining their own household:
1.786 million
Total single fathers living in the home of a relative:
240,000
Total single fathers who are divorced:
913,000
Total single fathers never married:
693,000
Total single fathers who were separated in 1997:
260,000
Total single fathers raising one child:
1,300,000
Total single fathers raising four or more children:
55,000
Total single mothers maintaining their own household:
7.571 million
Total single mothers living in the home of a relative:
1.633 million
Total single mothers who are divorced:
3.392 million
Total single mothers never married:
4.181 million
Total single mothers raising one child:
5.239 million
Total single mothers raising four or more children:
475,000
Percentage of children (by race) living in two-parent households in 1998:
White: 74%
Black: 36%
Hispanic: 64%
Percentage of children living with one parent who lived with a divorced parent in 1997:
38%
Percentage of children living with one parent who lived with a never-married parent in 1997:
35%
Percentage of children living with one parent who lived with a separated parent in 1997:
19%
Percentage of children living with one parent who lived with a widowed parent in 1997:
4%
Percentage of children living with one parent whose spouse lived elsewhere because of business or some other reason in 1997:
4%
Percentage of children in two-parent households whose parents were college graduates in 1998:
29%
Percentage of children in single-parent households whose parents were college graduates in 1998:
9%
Percentage of children with single parents (by gender) earning under $12,500 in 1998:
Living with fathers: 17%
Living with mothers: 41%
Single-parent children living in metropolitan areas in 1997:
14.5 million
Single-parent children living in cities with populations of 1 million or more in 1997:
9.2 million
Percentage of births which were to unmarried women in 1997:
32%
Percentage of same-sex female householders with kids in 1998:
17%
Percentage of women with kids before marriage who were divorced within 10 years as of 1995:
50%
For US Census Bureau data on child support for custodial parents, please click here
In 1996, children of divorce were 50% more likely than their counterparts from intact families to divorce.
In 19 states reporting custody in 1997:
72% of custody were awarded to the wife, 9% were awarded to the husband. In 16% joint custody was awarded. Parents who are awarded and receive child support have higher incomes.
Fatherless homes account for 63% of youth suicides, 90% of homeless/runaway children, 85% of children with behavior problems, 71% of high school dropouts, 85% of youths in prison, well over 50% of teen mothers.
Miscellaneous:
Married women earning at least $5,000 a year more than their husbands:
8.408 million (14.9% of all married women)
Unmarried women earning at least $5,000 a year more than their partners:
821,000 (21.5% of unmarried couples)
Married men earning at least $5,000 a year more than their wives:
33.228 million (58.8% of all married men)
Unmarried men earning at least $5,000 a year more than their partners:
2.099 million (54.9% of unmarried couples)
Married couples in which only the husband is employed:
12.642 million (22.4%)
Married couples in which only the wife is employed:
3.855 million (6.8%)
Married couples in which both partners are employed:
30.212 million (53.5%)
Unmarried couples in which only the male is employed:
695,000 (18.2%)
Unmarried couples in which only the female is employed:
410,000 (10.7%)
Unmarried couples in which both partners are employed:
2.484 million (65%)
Percentage of smokers who had been divorced in 1997:
49%
Percentage of nonsmokers who had been divorced in 1997:
32%
Percentage of divorces due to economic problems in 1997:
4.2%
Percentage of divorces due to irreconcilable differences in 1997:
80%
(Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Health Statistics, Americans for Divorce Reform, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Institute for Equality in Marriage, American Association for Single People, Ameristat, Public Agenda)