4.1 State with the lowest divorce rate: (1997) Massachusetts. Rate per 1,000 population: 2.4 State with the highest divorce rate: Nevada. Rate per 1,000 population: (1997) 9.0

Percentage of population that is married: 59% (down from 62% in 1990, 72% in 1970)

Percentage of population that has never married: 24%

Percentage of population that is divorced: 10% (up from 8% in 1990, 6% in 1980)

Percentage of population that is widowed: 7%

Median age at first marriage: Males: 26.9
Females: 25.3 Median age at first divorce: Males: 30.5
Females: 29 Median age at second marriage: Males: 34
Females: 32 Median age at second divorce: Males: 39.3
Females: 37 Median duration of first marriages that end in divorce: Males: 7.8 years
Females: 7.9 years Median duration of second marriages that end in divorce: Males: 7.3 years
Females: 6.8 years Median number of years people wait to remarry after their first divorce: Males: 3.3 years
Females: 3.1 years Percentage of married people who reach their 5th, 10th, and 15th anniversaries: 5th: 82%
10th: 65%
15th: 52% Percentage of married people who reach their 25th, 35th, and 50th anniversaries: 25th: 33%
35th: 20%
50th: 5%

Percentage of people who have ever been married by the age of 25: Males: 32% Females: 50%

Percentage of people who have ever been married by the age of 35: Males: 77% Females: 84% Percentage of people who have ever been married by the age of 45: Males: 87% Females: 90% Percentage of people who have ever been married by the age of 55: Both males and females: 95%

Likelihood of new marriages ending in divorce in 1997: 43%

Percentage of all householders who are unmarried in 2000: 48%

Percentage of weddings which are remarriages for at least one partner in 1997: 43%

Percentage of first marriages that end in divorce in 1997: 50%

Percentage of remarriages that end in divorce in 1997: 60%

Percentage of divorced women who remarry within five years as of 1995: 54%

Estimated average length of divorce proceedings in 1997: 1 year

Percentage of African American adults in this age group never married in 1998: 53%

Percentage of households occupied by one person in 2000: 25.5%

Percentage of population (by area of US) who had never married in 1999:

Midwest: 28%
Northeast: 28%
South: 26%
West: 29%

Number of married couples (2000): 56,497,000

Number of married people whose spouses are absent (2000): Males: 1,365,000 (1.3%) Females: 1,365,000 (1.2%)

People who have been widowed (2000): Males: 2,604,000 (2.5%) Females:11,061,000 (10%)

People who are divorced (2000): Males: 8,572,000 (8.3%) Females: 11,309,000 (10.2%)

People who are separated (2000): Males: 1,818,000 (1.8%) Females: 2,661,000 (2.4%)

Percentage of people that married under the age of 20 who eventually get divorced as of 1995: 40%

Percentage of people that married over the age of 25 who eventually get divorced as of 1995: 24%

Percentage of couples not affiliated with any religious group who eventually get divorced as of 1995: 46

Percentage of women whose parents were divorced who get divorced within 10 years as of 1995: 43%

Percentage of women whose parents stayed together who get divorced within 10 years as of 1995: 29%

Interracial married couples in 2000: 1,047,000 Number of unmarried couples living together: 5.5 million

Percentage of unmarried couples living together that are male-female unions: 89%

Percentage of women who cohabited before they turned 30 in 1995: 50%

Percentage of couples living together for more than five years who eventually marry as of 1995: 70%

Number of people divorcing each year as of 1997: 2.5 million

Drop in standard of living of females after divorce as of 2000: 45%

Number of women who are stalked by a husband or ex-husband every year as of 1997: 380,000

Number of men who are stalked by a wife or ex-wife every year as of 1997: 52,000

Children/Single parents: (2000 except where noted) Number of children in new divorces each year as of 1997: 1 million

Percentage of parents who had never married in 1998: Males: 35%  Females: 42%

Percentage of households which are family households: 68.8%

Percentage of households with their own children under 18: 33%

Percentage of married householders with kids: 24%

Percentage of family households with children with only one parent in 1998: 27%

Percentage of all households run by single moms: 9.2%

Percentage of all households run by single dads: 1.9%

Number of adults living in a home maintained by one or both parents in 1998: 22 million

Number of single parents: Males: 2.04 million  Females: 9.68 million

Estimated number of children involved in divorce in 1997: 1,075,000

Rate per 1,000 population children under 18 involved in divorce in 1997: 16.8

Children under 18 years of age living with just one parent in 1998: 20 million (28%)

Percentage of children under 18 years of age living with both parents (2002): 69%

Percentage of children under 18 years of age living with mother only (2002): 23%

Percentage of children under 18 years of age living with father only (2002): 5%

Percentage of children under 18 years of age living with neither parent (2002): 4%

Percentage of children in single-parent homes living with their mother in 1998: 84%

Percentage of children living with single parents for whom no other adults were present in the household in 1998: 56%

Children under 18 living in the household of their grandparents in 1998: 4 million (6%)

Total families in which the child lived with two parents in 1997: 25.6 million

Total single fathers maintaining their own household: 1.786 million

Total single fathers living in the home of a relative: 240,000

Total single fathers who are divorced: 913,000

Total single fathers never married: 693,000

Total single fathers who were separated in 1997: 260,000

Total single fathers raising one child: 1,300,000

Total single fathers raising four or more children: 55,000

Total single mothers maintaining their own household: 7.571 million

Total single mothers living in the home of a relative: 1.633 million

Total single mothers who are divorced: 3.392 million

Total single mothers never married: 4.181 million

Total single mothers raising one child: 5.239 million

Total single mothers raising four or more children: 475,000

Percentage of children (by race) living in two-parent households in 1998: White: 74%  Black: 36%
Hispanic: 64%

Percentage of children living with one parent who lived with a divorced parent in 1997: 38% Percentage of children living with one parent who lived with a never-married parent in 1997: 35% Percentage of children living with one parent who lived with a separated parent in 1997: 19% Percentage of children living with one parent who lived with a widowed parent in 1997: 4% Percentage of children living with one parent whose spouse lived elsewhere because of business or some other reason in 1997: 4%

Percentage of children in two-parent households whose parents were college graduates in 1998: 29%

Percentage of children in single-parent households whose parents were college graduates in 1998: 9%

Percentage of children with single parents (by gender) earning under $12,500 in 1998: Living with fathers: 17%
Living with mothers: 41%

Single-parent children living in metropolitan areas in 1997: 14.5 million

Single-parent children living in cities with populations of 1 million or more in 1997: 9.2 million Percentage of births which were to unmarried women in 1997: 32%

Percentage of same-sex female householders with kids in 1998: 17%

Percentage of women with kids before marriage who were divorced within 10 years as of 1995: 50%

In 1996, children of divorce were 50% more likely than their counterparts from intact families to divorce.

In 19 states reporting custody in 1997: 72% of custody were awarded to the wife, 9% were awarded to the husband. In 16% joint custody was awarded. Parents who are awarded and receive child support have higher incomes. Fatherless homes account for 63% of youth suicides, 90% of homeless/runaway children, 85% of children with behavior problems, 71% of high school dropouts, 85% of youths in prison, well over 50% of teen mothers.

Miscellaneous: Married women earning at least $5,000 a year more than their husbands: 8.408 million (14.9% of all married women)

Unmarried women earning at least $5,000 a year more than their partners: 821,000 (21.5% of unmarried couples)

Married men earning at least $5,000 a year more than their wives: 33.228 million (58.8% of all married men)

Unmarried men earning at least $5,000 a year more than their partners: 2.099 million (54.9% of unmarried couples)

Married couples in which only the husband is employed: 12.642 million (22.4%)

Married couples in which only the wife is employed: 3.855 million (6.8%)

Married couples in which both partners are employed: 30.212 million (53.5%)

Unmarried couples in which only the male is employed: 695,000 (18.2%)

Unmarried couples in which only the female is employed: 410,000 (10.7%)

Unmarried couples in which both partners are employed: 2.484 million (65%)

Percentage of smokers who had been divorced in 1997: 49%

Percentage of nonsmokers who had been divorced in 1997: 32%

Percentage of divorces due to economic problems in 1997: 4.2%

Percentage of divorces due to irreconcilable differences in 1997: 80% (Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Health Statistics, Americans for Divorce Reform, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Institute for Equality in Marriage, American Association for Single People, Ameristat, Public Agenda)