Household income
~50% drop
For mothers in the recorded year of divorce, with only partial recovery in later years.
NBER · Working Paper 33776
Marriage · Separation · Consequence
Divorce Is Hell.
The measured costs of exit.
The cost goes beyond the courtroom.
Explore the ledgerOne bond. Lasting consequences.
The ledger
The figures, with their context.
Showing all 3 headline measuresOverview · No filters applied
Children’s adult income
−9%to−13%
Adult household income following parental divorce at ages 0–5, in the cited study.
NBER · Working Paper 33776
Contested legal process
$15k–$40k+
A sample cost range per side, included to explore how the legal process might be presented.
Illustrative range · not a verified estimate
This view is not available yet.
This selection is not available in the design preview. The headline findings have not been recalculated for these groups.
Beyond the numbers · Editorial question
Protective orders & the family home
Residence, parenting time, and the time it takes to be heard.
Protective orders & the family home
Residence, parenting time, and the time it takes to be heard.
How should a protective response account for safety, the use of a shared home, parenting time, and the opportunity to be heard? These questions need their own examination, with attention to the rules in the relevant jurisdiction.
The residence
What changes for each person’s access to the family home?
Parenting time
How are children’s safety, routines, and relationships considered?
The timeline
When are temporary arrangements reviewed, and on what evidence?
Across the states
Different courts.
Different costs.
Explore divorce rates and the initial price of filing in all 50 states and D.C.
Loading the state figures…
United States
Refined divorce rate
2024—
Women divorcing per 1,000 married women age 15+
Alongside the U.S. estimate
Point estimates. Differences may fall within sampling error.
The national estimate is the reference point for each state comparison.
Initial court filing fee
Varies by court
Published initial filing fees
A second measure
Population-based
divorce rate
—
per 1,000 residents · 2024
How to read these figures
Two rates. Two denominators.
The refined rate uses married women age 15+ as its denominator. The CDC rate uses the total population and has different reporting coverage. These rates cannot be compared directly or used to count children harmed.
The state comparison is descriptive. It does not establish what caused a divorce, whether a law worked, or the outcome for any individual family.
The first court charge.
Fees come from official court or government sources. A named county is an example for that county; a range reflects the conditions in its source. Fee waivers may be available.
Attorney fees, service, later filings, and other expenses can add to the cost. The review date records when the source was checked; it is not a guarantee that the charge will stay the same.
State selection changes this section only. The national research above retains its original study population.
The bond
What the bond does.
Marriage is a relationship in which each person reorganizes central parts of life around the other’s continued fidelity and presence.
Children and long-term economic dependence make the costs of rupture asymmetric: one party’s exit changes the resources and daily life of people who did not choose it.
What obligations should institutions recognize when one person’s decision reshapes the lives of others?
Methodology
A note on the numbers.
A growing research project. The state explorer uses published 2024 NCFMR and CDC rates alongside separately dated official filing fees. Every fee names its jurisdiction; missing figures stay visibly unavailable. Open a source panel for definitions, dates, and limits.
The first two national headlines reference NBER Working Paper 33776; the national legal-cost range remains illustrative. The context filters above are a preview and do not recalculate the study’s findings. Each result needs to be read with its population and methods.
Read NBER Working Paper 33776 (opens in a new tab)