Data from Pew Research indicates divorce rate peaked in 1980

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The refined divorce rate is the number of divorces divided by the number of married women ages 15 and older, multiplied by 1,000. This rate differs from the overall divorce rate, which measures divorces per 1,000 women, regardless of marital status.

We use the refined divorce rate because it accounts for changes in the number of people who are married at any given time. This is especially important as marriage rates have declined in recent decades.

The refined divorce rate in the U.S. peaked around 1980, at 22.6 divorces per 1,000 married women, before falling slightly to 20.5 in 2008. It has fallen more sharply in the past 15 years, to 14.4 divorces per 1,000 married women in 2023.

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One exception to the divorce decline is “gray divorce,” which rose from 1990 to 2008 and has leveled off recently. Gray divorce refers to the divorce rate among adults ages 50 and older.

In 1990, the divorce rate was 3.9 divorces per 1,000 married women ages 50 and older. By 2008, the divorce rate for this group had risen to 11.0. This stayed relatively stable through 2023, when the divorce rate among older adults was 10.3.

In contrast, the divorce rate for those ages 15 to 49 remained stable from 1990 to 2008 and fell between 2008 and 2023.

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