First Divorce Rate, 2023

Family Profile No. 2, 2025
Author: Natalie Bankey

The refined divorce rate in the U.S. has been declining since 2008 (Buck et al., 2024). This divorce rate includes divorces from first marriages as well as remarriages. This profile aims to focus on only those who are divorcing from a first marriage, as remarriages tend to be less stable (Bumpass & Raley, 2007). This Family Profile examines sociodemographic variation in the first divorce rate among males and females aged 18 and older using 2023 U.S. Census data from the American Community Survey and is an update to previous profiles on the first divorce rate (FP-23-18, FP-21-10, FP-20-02, FP-18-15, FP-16-19, FP-14-09, FP-11-09, and FP-10-06).

Trends in the First Divorce Rate for Males and Females

  • The first divorce rate has declined since 2008, dropping from 16.9 divorces per 1,000 males in a first marriage to 11.5 per 1,000 in 2023. For females, the rate decreased from 18.7 divorces per 1,000 in 2008 to 13.4 in 2023.
  • An estimated 625,295 males and 718,716 females experienced a first divorce in 2023.

Figure 1. First Divorce Rate for Males and Females, 2008-2023

fig-1
Source: NCFMR analyses of U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 1-year estimates, 2008–2023 (IPUMS-USA)

First Divorce Rate by Age for Males and Females

Figure 2. First Divorce Rates for Males and Females 18 and Older by Age, 2023

FP-25-02, fig 2
Source: NCFMR analyses of U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 1-year estimates, 2023 (IPUMS-USA)
  • As age increased the rate of first divorce decreased.
  • The highest first divorce rates were among those aged 18 to 29 with 17.6 per 1,000 married males and 19.3 per 1,000 married females in 2023.
  • The lowest first divorce rates were among those aged 75 and older, with 2.8 males and 5.1 females per 1,000 married. An estimated 13,288 males and 18,486 females aged 75 and older in the United States experienced a first divorce in 2023.
  • As age increased the percentage difference in the remarriage rate between males and females increased (not shown).

First Divorce by Race, Ethnicity, and Nativity for Males and Females

  • In 2023, both Black males and females experienced the highest first divorce rates (21.3 and 25.7, respectively)
  • Asian males and females had the lowest first divorce rates (6.4 and 7.9, respectively)
  • Overall, females had higher first divorce rates compared to their same racial/ethnic male counterparts.
  • Native-born males and females had higher first divorce rates than their foreign-born counterparts, with females experiencing higher divorce rates regardless of nativity status.

Figure 3. First Divorce Rate for Males and Females 18 and Older by Race and Ethnicity, 2023

FP-25-02, fig 3

Figure 4. First Divorce Rate for Males and Females 18 and Older by Nativity, 2023

FP-25-02, fig 4

Source: NCFMR analyses of U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 1-year estimates, 2023 (IPUMS-USA).
Note: * Denotes non-Hispanic; The category “Asian” includes those who identified as Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHOPI) and the category “Other” includes those who identified as American Indian and Alaskan Native (AIAN) due to small sample sizes.

First Divorce Rate by Educational Attainment for Males and Females

  • The highest first divorce rates for males were among those with a high school level of education (15.0), whereas for females, the highest rate was among those with some college education, but with no degree (17.0).
  • The lowest first divorce rate for both males and females were among those who had achieved at least a master’s degree (8.2 and 10.3, respectively).

Figure 5. First Divorce Rate for Males and Females 18 and Older by Educational Attainment, 2023

FP-25-02, fig 5
Source: NCFMR analyses of U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 1-year estimates, 2023 (IPUMS-USA)

Data Source:
Flood, S., King, M., Rodgers, R., Ruggles, S., Warren, J. R., Warren, D., Chen, A., Cooper, G., Richards, S., Schouweiler, M., & Westberry, M. (2024). IPUMS USA: Version 15.0. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS. https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V15.0

References:
Allred, C., & Schweizer, V. J. (2020). First Divorce Rate in the U.S., 2018. Family Profiles, FP-20-02. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-20-02

Anderson, L. R. (2016). First Divorce Rate in the U.S., 2014. Family Profiles, FP-16-19. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://www.bgsu.edu/ncfmr/resources/data/family-profiles/anderson-first-divorce-rate-2014-fp-16-19.html

Buck, C., Hemez, P., & Anderson, L. (2024, October 8). How does your state compare with national marriage and divorce trends?. Census.gov. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2024/10/marriage-and-divorce.html

Bumpass, L., & Raley, R. K. (2007). Measuring separation and divorce. In S. Hofferth & L. Casper (Eds.), Handbook of Measurement Issues in Family Research (pp.125-143). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Gibbs, L., & Payne, K. K. (2011). First divorce rate, 2010. Family Profiles, FP-11-09. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. http://www.bgsu.edu/content/dam/BGSU/college-of-arts-and-sciences/NCFMR/documents/FP/FP-11-09.pdf

Payne, K. K. (2011). First divorces in the U.S., 2008. Family Profiles, FP-10-06. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. http://www.bgsu.edu/content/dam/BGSU/college-of-arts-and-sciences/NCFMR/documents/FP/FP-10-06.pdf

Payne, K. K. (2018). First divorce rate in the U.S., 2016. Family Profiles, FP-18-15. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-18-15

Reynolds, L. (2021). First divorce rate in the U.S., 2019. Family Profiles, FP-21-10. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-21-10

Stykes, B., Gibbs, L., & Payne, K. K. (2014). First divorce rate, 2012. Family Profiles, FP-14-09. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://www.bgsu.edu/content/dam/BGSU/college-of-arts-and-sciences/NCFMR/documents/FP/FP-14-09-divorce-rate-2012.pdf

Westrick-Payne, K. K. (2023). First divorce rate, 2021. Family Profiles, FP-23-18. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-23-18

Suggested Citation:
Bankey, N. (2025). First Divorce Rate, 2023. Family Profiles, FP-25-02. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-25-02

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: 01/27/2025 01:22PM