Risk of Divorce

While the divorce rate is higher now than it was a century ago, the rate has been declining for the past two decades. For example, in 2000, there were 4 divorces per 1,000 people. In 2008, according to provisional data for most states from the Centers for Disease Control, there were 3.5 divorces per 1,000 people. Marriage rates are also down, but the divorce rate has also declined if expressed as the number of divorces per 1,000 married couples. Among first marriages that split up, men divorce at a median age of 31.8 and women at a median age of 29.4, according to SIPP statistics. But the risk of divorce is not the same for all groups. People who marry young are more likely to divorce than those who marry at older ages. Adults with less than a high-school education are more likely to divorce than those with a college degree. Read More