| Total divorces granted in 1997: |
1,163,000 |
| Rate per 1,000 population (1999): (excluding
CA, CO, IN and LA) |
4.1 |
| State with the lowest divorce rate: (1997)
Massachusetts. Rate per 1,000 population: |
2.4 |
| State with the higest 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 ofmen 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% |