Welcome to the Warren & Migliaccio, L.L.P. blog, your trusted resource for family law matters in the state of Texas. I’m Christopher Migliaccio, one of the founding partners at the firm, and throughout my legal career, I’ve guided numerous clients through the complexities of divorce and child custody.
In this blog, “Divorce and Custody Statistics 2024,” we’ll delve into the latest data surrounding family law trends in Texas and across the nation the latest data surrounding family law trends in Texas and across the nation. This information can empower you to make informed decisions as you navigate the legal landscape of family transitions.
Whether you’re contemplating divorce or facing child custody concerns, understanding current statistics can provide valuable context. Remember, Warren & Migliaccio, L.L.P. is dedicated to assisting you throughout this process. If you have questions or require legal guidance, we offer a free consultation. Please don’t hesitate to contact us by phone at (888) 699-2598 to schedule an appointment.
Throughout this blog, we’ll explore key statistics on divorce rates, child custody arrangements, and other relevant factors. Stay tuned for insights that can help you navigate your unique family law situation.
Key Divorce Statistics
According to the Centers for Disease Control (source), In the year 2022 (the most recent year where data is available):
- There were 333,287,557 Americans
- There were 2,065,905 marriages (which equates to 6.2 people out of 1,000 getting married)
- There were at least 673,989 divorces (the states of California, Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota, and New Mexico did not provide data for that year, which means the true number is probably closer to 900,000).
Other Divorce & Cohabitation Statistics
The following data regarding divorce and cohabitation is sourced from a 2012 NHS study found at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr049.pdf. The information from the study has been shared below.
- By age 30, 75% of women in the U.S. have been married
- By age 30 about 50% of women have cohabited outside of marriage.
- Unmarried cohabitations overall are less stable than marriages.
- The probability of a first marriage ending in separation or divorce within 5 years is 20%, but the probability of a premarital cohabitation breaking up within 5 years is 49%.
- After 10 years, the probability of a first marriage ending is 33%, compared with 62% for cohabitations.
- Marriages that end do not always end in divorce; many end in separation and do not go through the divorce process.
- There are racial differences amongst separated women. White women are much more likely (91%) to divorce after 3 years of separation, compared with separated Hispanic women (77%) and separated black women (67%).
- The probability of remarriage among divorced women was 54% in 5 years
- The probability that a woman is remarried within 5 years is 58% for white women, 44% for Hispanic women, and 32% for black women.
- There is also a strong probability that 2nd marriages will end in separation or divorce (23% after 5 years and 39% after 10 years).
- The likelihood that divorced women will remarry has been declining since the 1950’s, when women who divorced had a 65% chance of remarrying. Data for 1995 show that women who divorced in the 1980’s only had a 50% chance of remarrying.
- Partners who cohabit before their first marriage are more likely to divorce than those who do not.
- The %age of women who were currently in a first marriage decreased over the past several decades, from 44% in 1982 to 36% in 2006 – 2010.
- The %age of women who were currently cohabiting with an unmarried partner increased steadily from 3% in 1982 to 11% in 2006 – 2010.
- The %age of women aged 15 – 44 who were never married increased from 34% in 1982 to 38% in 2006–2010.
- From 2006 – 2010, black women were the most likely to be never married (55%) followed by U.S.-born Hispanic (49%), Asian (39%), and white women (34%).
- Asian (49%) and foreign-born Hispanic women (46%) had the highest proportions who were currently married for the first time from 2006 – 2010.
- The %age of women who were currently married for the first time increased with greater educational attainment from 37% among those without a high school diploma or General Educational Development high school equivalency diploma (GED) to 58% among those with a bachelor’s degree and 63% of those with a master’s degree or higher.
- The proportion of women who are currently cohabiting decreases as educational attainment increases. One in five (20%) women without a high school diploma or GED were currently cohabiting, while roughly 1 in 14 women (6.8%) with a bachelor’s degree were currently cohabiting from 2006 – 2010.
- The average age at first marriage was 25.8 for women and 28.3 for men from 2006 – 2010.
- Very few men and women were married under the age of 18 from 2006 – 2010 (4% of women and 1% of men).
- From 2006 – 2010, the probability of a first marriage lasting at least 10 years was 68% for women and 70% for men.
- Looking at 20 years, the probability that the first marriages of women and men will survive was 52% for women and 56% for men in 2006–2010.
- Asian women (69%) and foreign born Hispanic men (70%) had the highest probability of first marriages lasting 20 years.
- Black women (37%) had the lowest chances of first marriages lasting 20 years, significantly lower than for white women (54%).
- There was no significant difference in the probability of first marriage lasting 20 years between white (54%) and black (53%) men.
- Women and men who married in the teen years (i.e., before age 20) had a lower probability of a first marriage reaching the 20th anniversary than those who married at age 20 or over.
- Women and men who lived with both biological parents at age 14 had a higher probability of a first marriage lasting 20 years compared with those who lived in other family living arrangements.
- The probability of their first marriage lasting at least 20 years was highest among women who reported they were raised in ‘‘Other religions’’ (65%), followed by women who reported being raised Catholic (53%), Protestant (50%), and ‘‘None’’ (43%).
- Women who had no births when they married for the first time had a higher probability of their marriage surviving 20 years (56%) compared with women who had one or more births at the time of first marriage (33%).
- Women who gave birth to their first child 8 months or more after they began their first marriage had a higher probability (77%) of their marriages reaching 15 years, compared with 50% for women who had no first birth during their first marriage, 48% for women who had a premarital conception (i.e., first birth 0–7 months after marriage) and 44% for women who had a premarital first birth.
- Women whose first husbands had been previously married (38%) had a lower probability of their first marriage lasting 20 years compared with women whose first husband had never been married before (54%).
- Women whose first husband had children from previous relationships had a lower probability that their first marriage would last 20 years (37%) compared with first husbands who had no other children (54%).
- Among women, about 50% were divorced from a first marriage within 1 year of separation, 79% within 3 years, and 86% of women within 5 years. Among men, 65% were divorced within 1 year, 81% within 3 years, and 87% within 5 years.
- Women with no births at the time of separation were more likely to divorce from their first marriage within 1 year (68%) compared with women who had one or more births at the time of separation (45%).
Key Child Custody Statistics
- According to UNICEF, there were 73,602,753 children under the age of 18 in the United States in 2023.
- According to a 2021 Bloomberg article, the share of the U.S.’s 130 million households headed by married parents with children under age 18 fell to 17.8% in 2021 from 18.6% the prior year, according to the Census Bureau. That’s down from more than 40% since 1970.
- There are approximately 12.9 million custodial parents in the U.S., which represents around 4% of the total population.
- On average, the mother is granted around 65% of custody time, whereas a Father usually receives around 35%.
- In only 18% of cases do the parents agree that the father should have custody.
Other Child Custody Statistics
- In April of 2018, 12.9 million custodial parents lived with 21.9 million children under 21.
- About 21.9 million children had a parent who lived outside their household in 2018, representing more than one-fourth (26.5%) of all children under 21 years of age.
- In 2018, about 4 of every 5 (79.9%) of the 12.9 million custodial parents were mothers. One of every five custodial parents were fathers (20.1%)
- Custodial parents have become more likely to be fathers over the past 24 years, increasing from 16% in 1994 to 20.1% in 2018.
- Approximately 30.1% of these children were in poverty, about three times the rate of children in households with both parents present (11.1 %).
- Approximately half (48.8%) of all Black children have a parent who lives outside their household.
- One-half of all custodial parents (49.4%) had either legal or informal child support agreements.
- About 7 in 10 custodial parents (69.8%) who were supposed to receive child support in 2017 received at least some payments.
- Less than half (45.9%) of custodial parents who were supposed to receive child support received full child support payments.
- The aggregate amount of child support that was supposed to have been received in 2017 was $30 billion; 62.2% of that amount was received, averaging $3,431 per custodial parent for the year.
- Over half (58%) of custodial parents received some type of non-cash support on behalf of their children from noncustodial parents.
- The proportion of custodial parents who were supposed to receive support, but received none, increased from 24.2% in 1993 to 30.2% in 2017.
- The number of custodial parents who were supposed to receive child support has decreased from 7.3 million in 2003 to 5.4 million in 2017.
- In 51% of custody cases, both parents agreed — on their own — that mom will become the custodial parent.
- In 29% of custody cases, the decision was made without any third party involvement.
- In 11% of custody cases, the decision for mom to have custody was made during mediation.
- In 5% of custody cases, the issue was resolved after a custody evaluation.
- Only 4 % of custody cases went to trial and of that 4%, only 1.5% completed custody litigation.
- Custodial fathers tended to be older than custodial mothers. Over half (54.6%) of custodial fathers were 40 years or older, while the proportion for custodial mothers was 41.6%.
- Custodial mothers were more likely to have never married (40.4%) than to have been divorced (30.1%) or be currently married (16.3%), separated (11.9%), or widowed (1.3%).
- Custodial fathers were more likely than mothers to be divorced (39.1%) and less likely to be never married (29.3%).
- Less than half (44.2%) of custodial mothers were non-Hispanic White, 28.1% were Black, and 24.1% were of Hispanic origin.
- Custodial fathers were more likely than custodial mothers to be non-Hispanic White (62.9%) and less likely to be Black (15.1%).
- While the majority of custodial parents had one child whose parent lived outside the household (55.1%), custodial mothers were more likely than custodial fathers to have two or more of their children living with them in 2018 (46.7% and 37.5%, respectively).
- Custodial parents with one child had a family poverty rate of 16.7%.
- The poverty rate for custodial parents with two or more children was about twice as high at 33.1%.
- Among custodial parents who had one child, 11.3% of parents had less than a high school education and 23.5% had obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher.
- For custodial parents with two or more children, 14.8% had less than a high school education and 18.3% had a bachelor’s degree or more.
- One-half (51.4%) of custodial mothers were employed full-time, year-round in 2017, while 21.6% did not have a job.
- Full-time, year-round employment for custodial fathers in 2017 was higher, 74.3%, and 9.2% did not work at any point in the year.
- One-half (49.4%) of all 12.9 million custodial parents had a court order, child support award, or some other type of agreement to receive financial support from the noncustodial parent(s) in 2018.
- Of the 6.4 million custodial parents with child support agreements, 88.2% reported that these agreements were formal legal orders—established by a court or other government entity—while 11.8% reported informal agreements or understandings.
Call An Experienced Texas Family Law Firm Today
We understand that navigating divorce and child custody matters can be overwhelming. At Warren & Migliaccio, L.L.P., our experienced Texas family law attorneys are dedicated to guiding you through this process with compassion and skill. If you have questions or require legal guidance specific to your situation, please don’t hesitate to contact us for a free consultation. Call us at (888) 584-9614 to schedule an appointment.
Let us fight for you to ensure your future is as bright as possible.