Marriage-Divorce Ratio in the U.S.: Geographic Variation, 2023
Family Profile No. 27, 2024
Author: Krista K. Westrick-Payne
This family profile updates previous profiles on the marriage-divorce ratio (Eickmeyer, 2015; Loo, 2023; Marino & Juteau, 2022; Reynolds, 2020; Schweizer, 2019a & 2019b; Westrick-Payne, 2022; Wu, 2017) and examines national, regional, and state variation in the ratio of marriages to divorces. Using recent American Community Survey (ACS) data, we calculate national and state level marriage-divorce ratios by dividing the number of women’s marriages by the number of women’s divorces for a given population in a given year. Data for these estimates come from the most recent release of the American Community Survey and represent the year 2023. The margins of error (at a 90% confidence interval) were also calculated and presented alongside the ratios.
U.S. Marriage-Divorce Ratio, 2023
- In 2023 there were 2,361,030 marriages and 992,677 divorces in the last year. This represents a marriage-divorce ratio of 2.38. which is slightly higher than the ratio of 2.34 observed in 2022.
- The ratio remained stable from 2015 through 2021 ranging from 2.10 to 2.16, meaning approximately two marriages for every one divorce (FP-22-27). The most recent data from 2023 indicates another uptick and represents the largest marriage to divorce ratio since the ACS began collecting information on recent marriage and divorce experience in 2008.
Figure 1. Women’s Marriage-Divorce Ratio, 1970-2023
Source: NCFMR analyses of 1970-2000, National Center for Health Statistics; 2008-2019 and 2021-2023, U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 1-yr est., and 2020 American Community Survey, 1-year Experimental PUMS, tables B12001, B12501 & B12503
Five Highest and Lowest Marriage-Divorce Ratios, 2023
Table 1. Women's Highest and Marriage-Divorce Ratios, 2023
| Rank | State | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Vermont | 4.16 |
| 2. | Washington D.C. | 3.62 |
| 3. | Hawaii | 3.23 |
| 4. | Utah | 3.01 |
| 4. | Wisconsin | 3.01 |
| 4. | North Carolina |
3.01 |
| USA | 2.38 | |
| 48. | Arkansas | 1.80 |
| 48. | North Dakota |
1.80 |
| 49. | Nevada | 1.68 |
| 50. | Wyoming | 1.55 |
| 51. | Delaware | 1.17 |
Source: NCFMR analyses of American Community Survey 1-year estimates, Tables B12001, B12501, & B12503, 2023
- In 2023 all states had a greater number of marriages than divorces. Vermont (4.16), Washington D.C. (3.62), Hawaii (3.23), Utah (3.01), Wisconsin (3.01), and North Carolina (3.01) had the highest marriage-divorce ratios in 2023.
- Vermont had the highest ratio in 2022 as well with 3.66 marriages per one divorce.
- The states with the lowest marriage-divorce ratios were Arkansas (1.80), North Dakota (1.80), Nevada (1.68), Wyoming (1.55), and Delaware (1.17).
- Arkansas and Delaware were also one of the bottom 5 ratios in 2022.
State Rankings in Marriage-Divorce Ratios, 2023
- The states with the highest marriage-divorce ratios and representing the top quartile in 2023 had ratios of at least 2.65 marriages per 1.0 divorces.
- The states with the lowest marriage-divorce ratios and representing the bottom quartile in 2023 had 2.08 marriages per 1.0.
Figure 2. State-Level Women’s Marriage-Divorce Ratios by Quartile, 2023
Source: NCFMR analyses of American Community Survey 1-year estimates, Tables B12001, B12501 & B12503, 2023
Regional Variation in Marriage-Divorce Ratios, 2023
- Generally, states in the Northeast and Midwest exhibited high marriage-divorce ratios with one-third (33%) of their states falling in the top/fourth quartile and an additional one-third (33%) of their states falling in the third quartile.
- Although about three-in-ten (31%) of Western states were found in the top/fourth quartile they also had three-in-ten (31%) in the lowest/first quartile.
- Generally, Southern states had low marriage-divorce ratios. They clustered in the bottom/first quartile with 44%, followed by an additional 38% in the second quartile.
Figure 3. Regional Variation of Women’s Marriage-Divorce Ratios, 2023
Source: NCFMR analyses of American Community Survey 1-year estimates, Tables B12001, B12501 & B12503, 2023
Figure 4. State-level Map of Women’s Marriage-Divorce Ratios in the U.S., 2023
Source: NCFMR analyses of American Community Survey 1-year estimates, Tables B12001, B12501 & B12503, 2023
Data Sources:
Clarke. S. C. (1995). Advanced report of final marriage statistics, 1989 and 1990. Monthly Vital Statistics Report, 42(12). National Center for Health Statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/mvsr/supp/mv43_12s.pdf
National Center for Health Statistics (1974). Summary report final marriage statistics, 1970. Monthly Vital Statistics Report, 23(2), Supp. 1. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/mvsr/supp/mv23_02s1acc.pdf
National Center for Health Statistics (1977). Advance report of final divorce statistics, 1975. Monthly Vital Statistics Report, 26(2), Supp. 2. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/mvsr/supp/mv26_02s2acc.pdf
National Center for Health Statistics (1983). Advance report of final marriage statistics, 1980. Monthly Vital Statistics Report, 32(5), Supp. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/mvsr/supp/mv32_05s.pdf
National Center for Health Statistics (2001). Births, marriages, divorces, and deaths: Provisional data for January-December 2000. National Vital Statistics Report, 49(6), Associated Table 3. Department of Health & Human Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr49/nvsr49_06.pdf
U.S. Census Bureau (2024). American Community Survey, 2021 - 2023 1-Year Estimates [Table B12001]. Retrieved from: https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=B12001&tid=ACSDT1Y2021.B12001
U.S. Census Bureau (2024). American Community Survey, 2021 - 2023 1-Year Estimates [Table B12501]. Retrieved from: https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=B12501&tid=ACSDT1Y2021.B12501
U.S. Census Bureau (2024). American Community Survey, 2021 - 2023 1-Year Estimates [Table B12503]. Retrieved from: https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=B12503&tid=ACSDT1Y2021.B12503
U.S. Census Bureau (2021). American Community Survey, 2020 1-year Experimental PUMS
References:
Eickmeyer, K.J. (2015). Marriage to Divorce Ratio in the U.S.: Geographic Variation, 2014. Family Profiles, FP-15-19. National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://www.bgsu.edu/content/dam/BGSU/college-of-arts-and-sciences/NCFMR/documents/FP/eickmeyer-mar-div-ratio-us-geo-2014-fp-15-19.pdf
Loo, J. (2023). Divorce rate in the U.S.: Geographic variation, 2022. Family Profiles, FP-23-25. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-23-25
Marino, F. A. & Juteau, G. (2022). Marriage-to-divorce ratio in the U.S.: Geographic variation, 2021. Family Profiles, FP-22-27. National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-22-27
Reynolds, L. R. (2020). Marriage to Divorce Ratio in the U.S.: Geographic Variation, 2019. Family Profiles, FP-20-26. National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-20-26
Schweizer, V. (2019a). Marriage to Divorce Ratio in the U.S.: Geographic Variation, 2017. Family Profiles, FP-19-03. National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-19-03
Schweizer, V. (2019b). Marriage to Divorce Ratio in the U.S.: Geographic Variation, 2018. Family Profiles, FP-19-24. National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-19-24
Westrick-Payne, K. K. (2022). Marriage-to-divorce ratio in the U.S.: Geographic variation, 2020. Family Profiles, FP-22-09. National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-22-09
Wu, H. (2017). Marriage to Divorce Ratio in the U.S.: Geographic Variation, 2015. Family Profiles, FP-17-01. National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://www.bgsu.edu/content/dam/BGSU/college-of-arts-and-sciences/NCFMR/documents/FP/wu-mar-to-div-ratio-2015-fp-17-01.pdf
Suggested Citation:
Westrick-Payne, K. K. (2024). Marriage-Divorce Ratio in the U.S.: Geographic variation, 2023. Family Profiles, FP-24-27. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-24-27
This project is supported with assistance from Bowling Green State University. From 2007 to 2013, support was also provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s) and should not be construed as representing the opinions or policy of any agency of the state or federal government.
Updated: 12/13/2024 09:56AM