Median Age at First Divorce, 2023

Family Profile No. 23, 2025
Author: Krista K. Westrick-Payne

The median age at first divorce in the United States has increased steadily since 1970, while the refined divorce rate has followed a downward trend (Westrick-Payne, 2024a). Similarly, the median age at first marriage has also risen over the same period, reaching 30.2 for men and 28.4 for women in 2023 (Westrick-Payne, 2024b). Using data from the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) from IPUMS, this profile examines estimates of the median age at first divorce by race/ethnicity and educational attainment, separately for men and women. This analysis updates prior profiles that focused on the years 2015 (Anderson, 2017), 2018 (Schweizer, 2018), and 2020 (Julian, 2022).

Trends in The Median Age at First Divorce, 1970 - 2023

  • In 1970, the median age at first divorce was 30.5 for men and 27.7 for women.
  • Upward trends continued, with the median age reaching historic highs of 43.3 for men and 41.9 for women in 2023.

Figure 1. Median Age at First Divorce for Women & Men, 1970–2023

fig-1

Source: NCFMR analyses of National Center for Health Statistics, 1970-1990; American Community Survey, 2008-2023, 1-yr. est. (IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org)

Median Age at First Divorce by Race and Ethnicity

  • Among women who divorced in the 12 months preceding the 2023 ACS, the median age at first divorce varied by 7.6 years across racial and ethnic groups.
    • Foreign-born Hispanic women had the oldest median age at first divorce (45.2) and native-born Hispanic women had the youngest (37.6).
  • The median age at first divorce among men also varied by 7.6 years across racial and ethnic groups, mirroring the variation observed among women.
    • The highest median age at first divorce among men was observed for Asian men at 47.3 years. As with women, native-born Hispanic men had the lowest median age at first divorce at 39.7 years.

Figure 2. Median Age at First Divorce by Race & Ethnicity for Women & Men, 2023

fig-2

Source: NCFMR analyses of American Community Survey, 2023 1-yr. est. (IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org)
Note: FB = foreign-born, NB = native-born

Median Age at First Divorce by Educational Attainment

Figure 3. Median Age at First Divorce by Educational Attainment for Women & Men, 2023

fig-3

Source: NCFMR analyses of American Community Survey, 2023 1-yr. est. (IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org)

  • Among women who divorced in the year preceding the 2023 ACS, the median age at first divorce varied by 2.9 years across educational attainment.
    • Women with a master’s, professional degree, or higher had the oldest median age at first divorce (42.5), while those with some college education had the youngest (40.2 years).
  • Among men, the difference by educational attainment was even greater, at 4.6 years.
    • Men with a master’s, professional degree, or higher had the oldest median age at first divorce (46.2 years), whereas those with some college education had the youngest (41.6 years).

Data Source
Ruggles, S., Flood, S., Sobek, M., Backman, D., Cooper, G., Rivera Drew, J. A., Richards, S., Rodgers, R., Schroeder, J., & Williams, K. C. W. (2025). IPUMS USA: Version 16.0 [Data set]. IPUMS. https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V16.0

References
Anderson, L. R. (2017). Median age at first divorce, 2015. Family Profiles, FP-17-03. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://www.bgsu.edu/content/dam/BGSU/college-of-arts-and-sciences/NCFMR/documents/FP/anderson-median-age-first-divorce-fp-17-03.pdf

Julian, C. A. (2022). Median age at first divorce, 2020. Family Profiles, FP-22-23. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-22-23

Schweizer, V. J. (2020). Median age at first divorce, 2018. Family Profiles, FP-20-18. National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-20-18

Westrick-Payne, K. K. (2024a). Refined divorce rate in the U.S.: Geographic variation, 2023. Family Profiles, FP-24-26. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-24-26

Westrick-Payne, K. K. (2024b). A decade of change in the median age of first marriage: 2012 & 2022. Family Profiles, FP-24-07. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-24-07

Suggested Citation
Westrick-Payne, K. K. (2025). Median age at first divorce, 2023. Family Profiles, FP-25-23. National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-25-23  

This project is supported with assistance from Bowling Green State University. From 2007 to 2013, support was also provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s) and should not be construed as representing the opinions or policy of any agency of the state or federal government.

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Updated: 07/11/2025 11:02AM