Divorce rate

The divorce rate in the United States is estimated at 2.55 divorces per 1,000 people in 2025, marking a 1.2% increase from the previous year; regrets about marriage and financial issues remain contributing factors, but an important trend is the rise of gray divorces, in which older couples, often with accumulated wealth, decide to separate after many years of marriage—these resources allow them to afford the costs of divorce and avoid staying in unhappy marriages solely for financial reasons, making gray divorce a growing force behind the overall increase in divorce rates during this period.

From 2020 to 2025, the divorce rate was influenced by pandemic-related disruptions and broader demographic changes. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a 14.8% drop in the divorce rate, as health and economic uncertainties caused many to postpone marriage and divorce. The rate rebounded by 8.7% in 2021 as the economy recovered and social activity increased. Subsequent years saw volatility: a 4.0% decline in 2022, a 4.0% rebound in 2023 and a 1.7% increase in 2024.

Structural factors, like the rise in cohabitation over marriage, have constrained marriage and divorce rates. Recent data shows that 28.0% of adults aged 25 to 54 who have never been married now live with a partner, reflecting a broader acceptance of cohabitation. Increased economic security and educational attainment among women, coupled with delayed marriage, have reduced exposure to early divorces. Macroeconomic trends outside sharp recessionary effects had an unclear but generally stabilizing impact on the divorce rate, with income disruptions dampening expensive divorce proceedings but heightened household stress still influencing marital discord. Because of said stresses, mixed with growing percentage of dual-income households allowing for couples to afford these decisions, these factors eased divorces to happen. From 2020 to 2025, these trends fostered a consistent growth in the divorce rate, rising at CAGR of 2.1% over the period.