(Note: This article has been updated from its original version)
If you drill down into statistics about divorce, you’ll find that the odds of success are not all created equal. Education, location, religion and other factors can dramatically affect your odds of staying married. Read on to find 7 surprising statistics about divorce in America and learn whether you’re at risk for getting a divorce.
1. Someone gets divorced every 10 to 13 seconds—In the time it took you to read to this point, someone got divorced.
2. Those who marry when between the ages of 20 to 24 have the highest rate of divorce—You’ve probably heard people say that 50% of all marriages end in divorce. And while this is kind of accurate, it’s also a bit misleading. As it turns out, age plays a big role in determining a marriage’s fate. Those who marry when between the ages of 20 to 24 have the highest rate of divorce. These couples are nearly twice as likely to get divorced as those who get married between the ages of 25 to 29 years old.
3. The divorce rate for a third marriage is 73%–When it comes to marriage, practice doesn’t make perfect. In fact, it only seems to make you worse. That’s why the divorce rate continues to get higher for each additional marriage. Nearly 3 out of every 4 adults who are on their third marriage end up divorced again.
4. Nevada boasts the highest divorce rate—Maybe it’s because of all the casinos, or maybe it’s because the desert is depressing. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that Nevada holds the dubious distinction of the state with the highest divorce rate. 9.1 per 1000 population get divorced. The state with the lowest divorce rate? Massachusetts at 2.1 per 1000 population.
5. Adults who didn’t attend college and have a low household income are more likely to be divorced—Non-college educated couples are nearly 20% more likely to get divorced within the first 10 years of marriage than college-educated couples. Lower-income marriages just tend to be more unstable.
6. Christian couples have the same divorce rate as the national average—It seems there’s little truth to the saying “The family that prays together stays together.” Protestant Christian couples are just as likely to get divorced as their secular counterparts. In fact, Atheists have a much lower divorce rate than Christians.
7. Arkansas has the highest rate of individuals married 3 or more times—Men and women in Arkansas are twice as likely to be married three or more times than the national average. The best guess as to why this is the case is because people tend to get married at a younger age in Arkansas.
See more divorce stats from Avvo
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17 comments
Cori Valbitt
This is such a bias article if I dare call it that. Divorce rates high among Christians than Atheists? Really? Let's try that one again.
And divorce rates are higher among low income?? Ha! Guess you haven't been following the lives of the rich and famous.
College education doesn't have anything over the "low income" you so openly down. Rude much? That's like saying drug dealers are only found in slums or only the poor are the ones found in possession of child pornography, not doctors and lawyers, and Wall Street brokers etc . Maybe you should rethink some of these stats, and learn how to report on the truth.
Bryan Root
I want to clarify the statistics on marriage someone could look at this and think over 50% of first marriages end in divorce but only slightly over 30% of first marriages (for both partners) end in divorce. 30% of the population are not stable and are the grass are greener minority and have multiple divorces that spike the overall divorce rate to over 50% for all marriages. I just don't want young couples getting married to look at these loosely used statistics and think they have less than a 50/50 chance when it is close to 70% will be successful.
Peachinski
One of my favorite quotes is from Dr. Samuel Johnson who in the 1700's said;
"Second marriages are a triumph of hope over reason"
Jerod
Arkansas also has the highest audience count for seeing Fifty Shades of Grey.... hmmm.
Are the Stats for atheists adjusted for what I assume is a lower marriage rate vs. Christians?
A J Sharp
Hmmm . . . one divorce every 10-13 seconds? That would mean more than 2 million divorces pr year, rather than the 877,000 your own link states. Again, this so-called "fact" is simply not true.
Jerod
maybe it only counts during business hours or normal waking hours, or only in the Pacific Time Zone.
A J Sharp
This should be fact #8:
In more than 20 percent of cases, a party contemplating divorce instead hires a hit man to kill the other party.
I mean, if you're making up "facts" out of thin air in contradiction of all evidence, as this site is, you might as well make up some fun ones!
A J Sharp
And Nevada has to highest divorce rate because tons of people come here from other states solely to get divorced. DUH. Ever hear the threat "I'll see you in Reno"? Most of the people getting divorced in Nevada are not from Nevada. They come here because we have liberal divorce laws, just as we have liberal marriage laws. (Lots of people come here to get married, too, but you never hear people talk about Nevada's "high marriage rate.")
A J Sharp
The "50 percent divorce rate" is not just misleading. It is flat-out WRONG. The divorce rate is about 30 percent, and has never, ever been above 40 percent. The "50 percent" canard is based on the fact that each year, about ha;f as many divorces as marriages occur . . . but that isn't a divorce rate, as it ignores the 60 million to 70 million marriages that neither began nor ended int hat particular year. There is one divorce for about every three marriage, not one for every two. That makes for a divorce rate of about 30 percent, not 50 percent. PERIOD.
Pastor Simon
Hey Krystal,
As a pastor I do support christian news literature studies but have found it to be biased in most cases serving the purposes of the church and providing a more positive image for the church and its idea of the sanctity of marriage. If there's one thing the church will do is protect its ideals at all costs, including misleading impressionable minds. And that has worked all through history. That's not to say all the articles and info are incorrect but how can the christian divorce rate differ from the national average when the majority of our wonderful country are still christian for now?
big poppa
The divorce rate in Vegas isn't from casinos...lol. brothels and escorts is more likely.
Deborah
And just for the record....number of divorces/marriages has no bearing on chances of another happening. In marriage/divorce cases sometimes one of the pair learn from their mistakes and take that/those lessons to their next marriage. Sometimes their previous partner only takes bitterness and anger from that marriage and do not see their own mistakes and place the entire blame on the partner seeking the divorce. There are so many variables in any relationship that you cannot possibly determine why, where, when and if....
Stu
Above comment cites agenda based pseudo news articles. Here is a quote from one
"No-one knows what the average first-marriage divorce rate actually is, but based on the rate of widowhood and other factors, we can estimate it is probably closer to 20-25%. "
--uh, hello, we know pretty accurately the divorce to marriage ratio. It's pretty easy to figure out. Both are public record. Read whatever you want, believe whatever you want.... just don't be fooled by pseudo facts and fake news even if it says what you want it to. Then you can be a pawn of others to operate against your interests.
Andrew randhawa
Vegas has strippers that's why there is so many divorces. I'm not that type of guy
Andrew randhawa
They have quick lawyers.
John
Marriage is one of the worst decisions a man can make in his life. Divorce and Child law heavily favors women. The only way a man can have a successful marriage is to find a woman who isn't a liberal feminist in any degree. If she has even a sliver of it, the marriage will fail. One test is if the potential wife refuses to take the man's last name(or hyphen it). That is a sure sign it will fail since she is more about making a political statement than going with tradition
Krystle
Hey Eric! Just read you article and while I did find it interesting I felt that I must point out your number six fact is completely wrong. The Christian divorce rate is not the same as the national average and unfortunately is a lie that has been spread for purposes of demoralizing the sanctity of marriage and sending the message that divorce is just a common thing, among everyone.
I have posted three articles below that debunk your number six myth.
Happy reading!!!!
http://catalystconference.com/read/everything-we-think-we-know-about-marriage-and-divorce-is-wrong/
http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2014/february/marriage-divorce-and-body-of-christ-what-do-stats-say-and-c.html?paging=off
http://m.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2014/June/Church-Divorce-Rate-Way-Lower-than-Anyone-Thought/