Divorce rates vary widely from one state to the next, and which state comes out on top depends on how divorce is counted. Some rankings look only at married women, the people who can actually divorce, while others count every resident, children included. Both are useful, but they can point to different states as having the highest divorce rate in the US. WSM Law can explain what these numbers mean for your own divorce. Call (380) 203-2023 to schedule a free consultation.
By the measure that counts married women, Oklahoma has the highest divorce rate. In 2024, about 2.1% of married women in Oklahoma divorced, meaning roughly 2 out of every 100, or about 1 in 50. Nationally, the figure was about 1.4%, or roughly 1 in 70. Nevada, Mississippi, Wyoming, and Alabama round out the top five. On the CDC’s ranking, which counts every resident instead, Nevada comes first.
How Are State Divorce Rates Measured?
The two main rankings compare like this:
| Married-women rate | All-residents rate | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it counts | Only married women | Everyone in the state, including children and unmarried adults |
| Who publishes it | The National Center for Family & Marriage Research | The CDC |
| Highest state in 2024 | Oklahoma | Nevada |
| What it is best for | Showing how often marriages actually end | Showing how common divorce is across a whole population |
Because the all-residents rate counts people who cannot divorce, it runs lower in states with many children or unmarried adults. Idaho shows the difference: it tied for fourth-highest when every resident was counted in 2024, but ranked 48th of 51 among married women. Oklahoma and Nevada sit near the top either way.
Which States Have the Highest Divorce Rates?
The National Center for Family & Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University publishes a divorce rate for married women in every state, using Census Bureau survey data. It shows the share of married women who divorced during the year, so a rate of 1.0% means 1 in every 100 married women in that state divorced. Here are the five highest and five lowest states for 2024:
| Rank | Highest | Lowest |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma, 2.1% | Maine, 1.0% |
| 2 | Nevada, 2.0% | Wisconsin, 1.1% |
| 3 | Mississippi, 1.9% | New Jersey, 1.1% |
| 4 | Wyoming, 1.9% | Idaho, 1.1% |
| 5 | Alabama, 1.8% | Montana and South Carolina, 1.2% (tie) |
Nationally, nearly 1 million women divorced in 2024. A state in the top quarter of the rankings had at least 1.6% of married women divorce, while a state in the bottom quarter had 1.3% or less.
The CDC’s state divorce rate table ranks Nevada, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Idaho, and Wyoming highest, with Louisiana and Illinois lowest. Its percentages stay under half a percent even at the top.
Which Parts of the Country Have the Highest Divorce Rates?
Divorce rates follow a clear regional pattern. Grouping states into quarters by their rate for married women, the same Bowling Green research found:
- The South: About three-fourths of Southern states had high divorce rates, and nearly half were in the top quarter.
- The West: Western states had the second-largest share in the top quarter, and only Idaho and Montana landed in the bottom quarter.
- The Midwest: Midwestern states generally had low rates, and none were in the top quarter.
- The Northeast: Most Northeastern states had low rates, and Rhode Island was the only one in the top quarter.
Why Is Divorce Data Missing for Some States?
The CDC builds its rankings from divorce counts that states report, and five states do not report them: California, Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota, and New Mexico. That gap has two effects. Those states never appear in the CDC’s rankings, and the CDC’s national divorce total leaves them out, including California, the most populous state in the country.
The missing data does not mean divorce is rare there. The married-women rate comes from Census survey data rather than state records, so it covers all five:
| State | Married women who divorced in 2024 |
|---|---|
| Indiana | 1.5% |
| California | 1.3% |
| Hawaii | 1.3% |
| New Mexico | 1.3% |
| Minnesota | 1.2% |
None of the five would land in the top quarter of the rankings, and only Indiana sits above the national rate.
What Do State Rankings Actually Tell You?
Federal data shows where divorce rates are higher, but it does not explain why one state ranks above another. Research, including a 2019 study of US divorce trends by sociologist Philip Cohen and Bowling Green research on divorce by age, points to factors tied to divorce risk and to how the numbers are shifting:
| Factor | What research shows |
|---|---|
| Age at marriage | Women who marry later face a lower risk of divorce |
| Education | Women with more education face a lower risk of divorce |
| Generation | The national decline has been driven by younger women, and recent marriages are more stable |
| Later life | Divorce rates have risen for married women 45 and older since 1990 |
National divorce statistics tell the same story at every level: the numbers describe groups of people, not any one marriage. A state’s place on the list says nothing about your safety, your finances, or your children. If safety is the concern, every state offers protective orders for domestic violence, and seeking one does not depend on filing for divorce.
Looking Past the Highest Divorce Rate in the US
Whatever your state’s ranking, the questions that matter are personal: when you can file, how long it will take, and what happens to your home, your money, and your children. Every state sets its own rules on those questions, and they shape your timeline far more than any ranking.
WSM Law represents women exclusively in divorce and family law. We can tell you what your residency date and separation date mean where you live, and what to expect from the process there. Call (380) 203-2023 or contact us to schedule a free consultation about the divorce rules in your state.
Visit Our Columbus Family Law Firm
WSM Law
595 Copeland Mill Rd. Suite 1A
Westerville, OH 43081
Phone: (380) 210-4413
