23 Divorce Facts

A lot of people are unhappy in their marriages across the country.  What do we know about divorce in the modern era? Plenty of people are getting married, hoping the disillusionment others find is far, far away.  But divorce is still a reality with surprising frequency:

1. There were almost 700,000 divorces in America in 2021, compared to about 2 million marriages during the same time frame.
2. Three-fourths of women and two-thirds of men say their spouses should have tried harder in their marriages prior to the divorce.
3. About half of all first marriages end up in divorce, and the rates are higher for subsequent marriages.
4. Roughly 75 percent of third marriages wind up in divorce.
5. Over 55 percent of second marriages end unhappily.
6. A typical marriage in this country lasts about eight years.
7. Divorces can take as long as a year to finalize when they are contested, although uncontested divorces that don’t involve children can be over and done with within just three months on average.
8. Both the divorce rate and the marriage rate have dropped in the past two decades.
9. Four in ten marriages involve at least one person who has been married previously.
10. A divorce costs about $7,000 on average across the country.
11. Six in ten divorced men remarry, while the number of divorced women who decide who take the plunge again is just about five in ten.
12. Out of every 100 divorced couples , six will remarry each other—and the majority of them will stay married the second time.
13. Married people live longer than divorced people, with divorced men faring the worst.
14. More than half of couples who divorce own their homes and must figure out what to do with them in the split.
15. Living together prior to marriage increases the likelihood of divorce statistically.
16. Married couples whose friends divorce are about 75 percent more likely to divorce as well.
17. Six in ten divorced couples say cheating was the main reason for the split.
18. Domestic violence is cited as the cause of the divorce in about 25 percent of cases.
19. Seven in ten couples say they had no idea what marriage entails prior to tying the knot.
20. Women who hold a college degree are the least likely to divorce.
21. The higher the education level of couples, the lower the divorce rate.
22. Households earning $200,000 or more divorce at a rate of about 30 percent, compared to a rate of 50 percent for those below the poverty line.
23. The majority of divorces– about 70 percent – are initiated by women.

Advocating for You in Divorce

If divorce is in the cards for you, the experienced Boca Raton divorce attorneys at WiseLieberman can help. Schedule a confidential consultation in our office today.