(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 higest 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 |
Click here for a state-by-state ranking of divorce rates. |
|
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) |
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