Divorce statistic #1: Anywhere from 52% to 62% of all first marriages will end in divorce, according to data from the National Stepfamily Resource Center. Roughly three-quarters of these people will remarry, and 65% of these remarriages will involve kids from the previous marriage. Of these remarriages, about 60% will end in divorce. (Krantz, 2011; Martin & Bumpass, 1989)

Divorce statistic #2: According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau issued in a March 2012 press release, first marriages that end in divorce last about 8 years. Of the first marriages among women from 1955 to 1959, about 79% marked their 15th anniversary, compared with only 57% for women who had married for the first time between 1985 and 1989. The median time between divorce and a second marriage, meanwhile, was around 3 1/2 years.

Divorce statistic #3: Marriages between people of different faiths are 3-times more likely to end up in divorce than those of the same faith. (Riley, 2010)

Divorce statistic #4: A study in 2011 found a 1% decrease in divorce rates for every 1% increase in the unemployment rate, presumably because financially strapped people were less able to handle the financial costs of divorce and/or its after effects. (Vedantum, 2011)

Divorce statistic #5: Within 5 years of divorce, 77% of women and 84% of men remarry. (Brubaker & Kimberly, 2993)

Divorce statistic #6: The average length of the waiting period between divorce and remarriage seems to be shrinking from 5 years to 3 years. (Mackey & O’Brien, 1995)

Divorce Statistic #7: According to one recent study, divorce costs the United States as much as $112 billion a year. (Gill, 2012)

Children & Divorce Statistics

Divorce statistic #1: Around 80% of divorces occur by the ninth year of marriage, which means they often involve young children. (Wallerstein, Lewis & Blakeslee, 2000, p. 91)

Divorce statistic #2: Couples of children with ADHD are especially likely to divorce. A study published in the Oct. 2008 issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology found that 23% of parents divorced by age eight if they had a child with ADHD, compared to 13% of couples who were similar in other factors. (Elias, 10-30-2008)

Divorce statistic #3: On any given week in the United States, there are thousands of unaccompanied children flying to see their parents for visitation. Airlines generally allow kids as young as 5 to fly alone when shuttling between parents. (Wallerstein, Lewis & Blakeslee, 2000, p. 184)

Divorce statistic #4: 74% of matrimonial lawyers surveyed say kids are frequently put in the middle of a divorce because of custody issues. (Jayson, 9/20/2012)