National Center for Family & Marriage Research (NCFMR)

Our latest Family Profile offers recent estimates of children living in households headed by same-sex and different-sex couples.

📈 Roughly 380,000 children (0.69% of all U.S. children) lived with a same-sex couple in 2023.

Read FP-25-33: Number of Children Living in Households Headed by Same-Sex & Different-Sex Couples, 2023.

https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-25-33

New Family Profile FP-25-32: Marriage–Divorce Ratio in the U.S., 2024

In 2024, the U.S. marriage–divorce ratio rose slightly to 2.42, meaning about 2.4 marriages occurred for every one divorce.

That’s the highest ratio since the ACS began collecting these data in 2008.

🗺️ Where you live matters:
• Highest ratios — D.C., Idaho, Utah, Kansas, New Jersey
• Lowest ratios — Delaware, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Mississippi

Explore national and regional variation in the full Family Profile.
🔗 https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-25-32
📊 Source: NCFMR Analyses of ACS 2024

💔 New Family Profile FP-25-31: Refined Divorce Rate in the U.S., 2024

In 2024, the U.S. refined divorce rate fell slightly to 14.2 per 1,000 married women aged 15 and older — with nearly 1 million women divorcing last year.

Divorce rates vary widely across states: Oklahoma tops the list (20.7) while Maine has the lowest (10.0).

Explore regional trends and the full state-level map in our latest NCFMR Family Profile.
🔗 Read more: https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-25-31

⚭ New Family Profile Released!
Marriage rates look very different across U.S. states. Using 2024 ACS data, we find:
• U.S. refined marriage rate held steady at 31.2 per 1,000 unmarried women.
• Utah had the highest rate (51.7).
• Delaware had the lowest (20.1).
• Regional patterns show higher rates in the West & Midwest, lower in the Northeast.
📖 Read the full Profile here: https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-25-30

It’s the first Monday after the U.S. Census Bureau’s () release of the ACS 2022 1-year estimates! Adjusted divorce rates among females ticked up in 2022 – nearly 15 divorced per 1,000 who were currently married. Despite this slight uptick, the rate remains below pre-pandemic levels. For a deeper dive, see Marriage and Divorce Rates at the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at BGSU.

It’s the first Monday after the U.S. Census Bureau’s () release of the ACS 2022 1-year estimates! Adjusted marriage rates among females jumped in 2022 – 31 females married per 1,000 who were currently unmarried. Although this is the highest marriage rate since 2018, the U.S. is yet to make up for the pandemic shortfall in marriages. To see even more, check out Marriage and Divorce Rates at the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at BGSU.

Research by Susan Brown on gray divorce featured in a The Hill article "A record share of Americans is living alone". Find it here:

A record share of Americans is living alone Nearly 30 percent of American households comprise a single person, a record high.  Scholars say living alone is not a trend so much as a transformation: Across much of the world, large numbers…

The divorce rate declined for individuals under age 45 and increased for those over age 45. Learn more about the age variation in the divorce rate by gender in our new Family Profile: https://bit.ly/3D9bGJD

It’s Pride Month! Check out our Fast Facts on American same-sex couples:

www.bgsu.edu

Happy Father’s Day! Check out our Fast Facts on American fathers here:

www.bgsu.edu

Our newest Family Profile explores the geographic variation in homeownership among never married adults across the 50 states and D.C. Find it here: https://bit.ly/3MOy53D

Never married adults had the lowest share (48%) of homeownership across all marital statuses. Explore the differentials in homeownership among never married adults across various sociodemographic characteristics: bit.ly/3OVdf56