Marriage and Divorce

American Community Survey Data on Marriage and Divorce

Beginning in 2008, the ACS tables include survey-based estimates of marriage and divorce rates (per 1,000 adults). Estimates of marriage and divorce rates based on administrative data are available from the National Center for Health Statistics.

DATA, TABLES, PRODUCTS, AND REPORTS

Marital Events of Americans: 2009 (ACS-13)

• Report [PDF - 2.0M]
• Supplemental Table [XLS - 29k]

AVAILABLE TABULATIONS

You may access data from The American Community Survey with American FactFinder. There are over 40 tables containing information about marriage and divorce. Choose an ACS data set in American Fact Finder and select the subject "Marital Status" to access these tables.

Technical documentations on how to use the data, quality measures, accuracy of the data, geography explanation, and training guides can be found through the main ACS website.

OTHER TECHNICAL AND ANALYTICAL REPORTS

Evaluation of the Marital Events Items on the ACS. Diana B. Elliott, Tavia Simmons, and Jamie M. Lewis. Issued May 2010.

• Paper [PDF - 84k]
• Figures [PDF - 1.3M]
• Tables [PDF - 112k]

RELATED PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS

Historical Marriage Trends from 1890-2010: A Focus on Race Differences. by Diana B. Elliott, Kristy Krivickas, Matthew W. Brault, and Rose M. Kreider. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, San Francisco, CA, May 3-5, 2012.

• Paper [PDF-490KB]
• Figures [PDF-219KB]
• Presentation [PDF-409KB]

Embracing the Institution of Marriage: The Characteristics of Remarried Americans. Diana B. Elliott and Jamie M. Lewis. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Dallas, Texas, April 15-17, 2010.

• Paper [PDF - 207k]

What Has Happened to Median Age at First Marriage Data? Tavia Simmons and Jane Lawler Dye. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco, California, August 14-17, 2004.

• Presentation [PDF - 251k]