Over the years, you’ve probably heard someone use the phrase “50% of marriages end in divorce.” And while that sounds plausible, have you ever taken the time to actually look into that figure? Like so many other things, divorce rates fluctuate over time. While the divorce rate in the US has remained relatively stable in recent years, if you look at the big picture you will see that it has actually declined in the long term. We wanted to discuss this phenomenon in hopes of educating our readers.

According to statistics collected by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the divorce rate in the US last year was 2.3 divorces for every 1,000 people. That figure has steadily declined since 2000, where the divorce rate was 4.0 for every 1,000 people. Obviously this is good news. Additionally, despite how difficult and turbulent the last few years have been for so many people due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the statistics show that the number of divorces fell by nearly 12% during the peak of the pandemic. Divorce rates by state can fluctuate wildly. The divorce rate in Georgia indicates that we have one of the lowest rates in the country (1.9), half of the rate as Wyoming, which has the highest rate of divorce in the US (3.8).

In the following clip, Oxendine Law managing partner and family law expert Jarrod Oxendine discusses whether or not divorce rates are currently increasing and other topics relating to divorce: