In the U.S., although divorce rates are at their lowest rate since 1970, adults aged 50 and older now account for 36% of divorces filed in America (a rate that’s quadrupled since the 1990s), with adults aged 65 and older the only age group subject to a rising divorce rate.
This study from Washington State divorce lawyers, Envision Family Law, considers the ‘gray divorce’ phenomenon, with people living long, healthy lives increasingly choosing to live more independently. And it’s a growing trend that features significant emotional, health, and financial consequences.
For a closer perspective, let’s take a look at some key U.S. divorce rate data.
The Gray Divorce Boom
The term ‘gray divorce’ (divorce among adults aged 50 and older) became common in the early 2010s and is now a standard family law and financial planning reference. It represents much more than older couples deciding to go their separate ways: with overall U.S. divorce rates in decline, rising divorce rates among older adults signal a nascent national shift.
According to 2024 data, the national refined divorce rate was 14.2 divorces per 1,000 married women. The crude divorce rate (2.4 per 1,000) was the lowest it’s been in over five decades. Despite this, and as mentioned earlier, adults over the age of 50 represent 36% of all U.S. divorces, with the 65+ group the only demographic subject to a continuing divorce rate rise.
Data from 2023 (the latest age-specific data period) tells us that the 50+ rate was 10.3 divorces per 1,000 married women: that’s slightly down from 2008 peak numbers (11) but almost triple the 1990 rate (3.9). And when it comes to initiating divorce, women do so in 69% of cases (compared with 31% initiated by men); this pattern also applies to gray divorce statistics.
This is in sharp contrast to younger adult divorce data. Overall, the U.S. divorce rate is down around 30% (the number of divorces has dropped from 955,000 in 2002 to 673,989 in 2022). Between 1990 and 2015, the divorce rate for 25-39 year-olds fell from 3 to 2.4 per 1,000, while rates for 40-49 year-olds rose very marginally.
However, divorce rates for the 50+ group sharply rose (before later dropping slightly overall, with the 65+ group continuing to rise). Compared to male divorce rates, female divorce rates nearly quadrupled between 1990 and 2021.
Looking further back emphasizes the shift. Between 1970 and 1990, the 50+ divorce rate rose from 0.37% (3.69 per 1,000) to 0.49% (4.87). By 2010, the rate had more than doubled to 1.01% (10.05); the level was still high by 2019: 0.96% (9.64). For 50-64 year-olds, the rate rose from 0.69% in 1990 to 1.31% by 2010, falling to 1.27% by 2019.
Yet for the 65+ group, the rate continued to climb and more than tripled: from 0.18% (1990) to 0.48% (2010) and 0.56% (2019), or 5.6 per 1,000.
Ultimately, the proportion of U.S. divorces that involved someone aged 50+ soared, from under 9% in 1990 to 36% by 2019.
The trend also features a strong generational through-line. As young adults in the 1970s, Baby Boomers saw firsthand the expansion of no-fault divorce laws (and have also been subject to persistently high divorce rates). Those same Baby Boomers now make up a large proportion of the 65+ population, meaning gray divorce can be seen as the culmination of a trend over half a century in the making.
Remarriage adds another wrinkle. Among the 50+ bracket, 8.5% of divorced men and 6.5% of divorced women remarry, and those who do divorce again at double the rate of their first marriages.
Despite these overall age group rates, the issue varies from one state to the next.
The Top 10 States For Gray Divorce
Gray divorce levels across U.S. states reveal a clear pattern, with rates in the Mountain West and parts of the South and Northeast higher than the national average (16.44%). New Mexico (20.80%) and Nevada (20.67%) are the only states that feature divorce rates for the 50+ group that exceed 20%. The remainder of the top ten includes Maine (18.95%), Oregon (18.89%), and Vermont (18.86%).
New Mexico and Nevada’s placement at the top of the list could reflect both states sharing some key characteristics like lower costs, rapid growth, and large retirement populations. Florida (in ninth position) is a notable anomaly as it combines an above-average divorce rate with the second-highest raw number of divorced adults from the 50+ group (1,746,285).
The inclusion of Northeast states disrupts a largely consistent regional pattern. Maine (18.95%) and Vermont (18.86%) are both in the top ten, while nearby New York (14.62%) and New Jersey (13.51%) rank in the bottom ten. Population density, cost of living issues, and rural and urban/suburban family differences may help to explain the difference between the high- and low-ranking Northeast states, but this is speculative.
The states that feature the lowest 50+ divorce rates are New Jersey (13.51%), Utah (14.28%), New York (14.62%), South Dakota (14.68%), and California (14.77%). California data may at first glance appear contradictory.
The state features the country’s largest raw number of 50+ divorced adults (2,013,514) yet also features one of its lowest overall rates due to its high population. Simply put, significant raw numbers may not equate to a high proportionate rate.
If we focus solely on adults in the 65+ bracket, the rankings change. Nevada leads (20.71%), followed by New Mexico (19.12%) and Oregon (18.32%), with both Alaska and Washington entering the top five. The difference suggests that it’s useful to consider both the 65+ and broader 50+ patterns for a full combined measure, as opposed to relying on one overarching ranking.
One other key divorce-related factor is the financial consequences involved. And for those in the 50+ bracket getting divorced, the financial consequences are considerable.
The Hidden Financial Costs of Gray Divorce
Women from the 50+ group who divorce suffer a 45% drop in their standard of living, more than twice the decline suffered by men (21%). Both men and women lose over half their net worth: for women, their household wealth falls from an average $140,327 to $65,991 (about 53%), while for men the drop is from an average $138,168 to $58,826 (about 57%).
The financial recovery of someone who’s divorced can heavily depend on whether or not they enter another relationship, yet relatively few do so: within 10 years of divorce, only 20% of women and 31% of men repartner. Repartnering restores most of a woman’s lost finances; for men, repartnering does significantly less to restore their lost standard of living, leaving many worse off over the long term.
Retirement systems may add another layer of complexity. Social Security spousal benefits can provide up to 50% of an ex-spouse’s full-retirement-age benefit, but only after 10 consecutive years of marriage. Claimants become eligible at the age of 62, while survivor benefits begin at 60 or 50 if the person is disabled. Additionally, spousal benefits don’t rise if a claim is delayed beyond full retirement age.
And dividing 401(k)s and pensions usually requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO), with errors potentially leading to extra taxes or penalties.
The overall impact is emphatic, with 40% of divorced respondents saying that divorce badly affected their retirement strategy (an additional 34% also said it affected their plans). The majority, or 54% of respondents, said that divorce had meant substantially greater financial responsibility, with 41% citing ongoing divorce-related financial worries.
Even a high number of still-married couples (56%) believe divorce would derail their retirement plans (63% of Millennials, 52% of Gen Xers, and 35% of Boomers).
As rates of gray divorce rise, the financial consequences of late-life divorce represent an increasingly significant retirement issue. And for women covered through their husband’s employer health insurance plan, the stakes are even higher.
Why Women Face Greater Financial Risks
Once a divorce is completed, women covered via their husband lose their health insurance. If the woman in question is under 65, that means no access to Medicare, meaning COBRA or the ACA marketplace are the main options. Individual COBRA coverage costs an average of $560 per month (though costs range from $373 to $1,157 depending on the state in question), potentially creating many years of high health coverage premiums for divorcees.
A person’s financial vulnerability can also influence how likely they are to experience a gray divorce. Research suggests that the odds of gray divorce are 38% lower among couples with more than $250,000 in household assets than among those with $50,000 or less.
This tells us that gray divorce disproportionately affects households with less of a financial cushion. Divorcing couples with comparatively few assets to divide and new expenses such as health insurance premiums can experience a relatively sharp decline in their post-divorce living standards.
The Emotional Impact of Divorce after 50
For most people in the 50+ group who divorce, the effects often extend beyond their separation from their partner. Among nearly 1,000 adults aged 50+ (drawn from a panel of 29,700 Americans) who divorced, 86% continued weekly contact with at least one adult child. Most had two adult children, while fewer than one in four still had a minor living with them at home, making those relationships a key source of support. However, around 1 in 14 parents divorced after the age of 50 lost all contact with a child, potentially causing emotional harm.
72% of the divorced 50+ group report frequent social contact, while 28% suggest they enjoy only limited contact. Over a quarter feel socially isolated, with nearly one in three saying they lack companionship (women report this 5% more than men). Loneliness is most prevalent among people in their 50s and early 60s (the period during which instances of gray divorce are increasing most rapidly). It is especially common among those who earn under $60,000 a year.
Socially isolated older adults are around eight times more likely to suffer fair or poor mental health and over twice as likely to suffer poor physical health.
Living alone (one of the main predictors of such issues) is also a common consequence of gray divorce, further underscoring the link between its emotional, social, and financial costs.
The Physical Effects of Gray Divorce
Late-life divorce can affect a person’s physical health in measurable ways. A 2024 study that used nearly two decades of Health and Retirement Study data followed 736 divorced or separated adults aged 50+ against 15,839 people in stable partnerships, and compared 689 matched pairs to examine the effects of divorce.
Divorced older adults suffered an average 4.4% increase in food-insecurity risk. This rose to 7.3% during the year of the divorce, 9.5% after two years, 10.3% after four years, and 11.1% after six or more years, confirming that financial strain can last long after a divorce is confirmed. Women faced a higher burden: their food-insecurity risk was 7.7% higher than men’s during the year of divorce, 9.9% higher after four years, and 10.4% higher after six years.
Disability levels also increased. There was a 5.7% average rise in daily activity limitations; this reached 7.9% after four years and 8.7% after six years. Depression symptoms rose an average of 3.5%, generally returning to baseline levels within two years, suggesting that divorce may represent a jolting crisis as opposed to a chronic psychological wound.
An additional 2024 meta-analysis of 94 studies involving over 1.38 million participants found that divorced adults were more likely to suffer from diabetes (18%), joint conditions (24%), cardiovascular disease (24%), and cerebrovascular disease (31%) compared with their married peers.
Divorced people were also 20% more likely to suffer comparatively poor overall health, with 34% more likely to report physical problems.
Risk was highest among people with comparatively poor education, the unemployed, those without children, those who drank heavily, the physically inactive, and those with a comparatively high body weight. Once again, women were subject to greater overall health risk than men.
There’s further confirmation that the physical effects of gray divorce intersect with psychological stress and isolation. Divorce is ranked number two on the Holmes-Rahe Stress Inventory; depression is associated with higher rates of heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Type 2 diabetes; and chronic stress can lead to hypertension, insomnia, heart disease, obesity, and weaker immunity levels.
Gray Divorce: A Rising Phenomenon
In the U.S., gray divorce is an increasingly notable problem. Despite the fact that overall divorce rates have fallen, adults aged 50+ now account for over a third of all divorces, with the rate among adults aged 65+ still rising. The issue is most prevalent in states such as New Mexico (20.80%) and Nevada (20.67%).
And the consequences reach far beyond the divorce: women experience a 45% drop in their standard of living, while both sexes suffer substantial wealth losses and major retirement and health-insurance challenges. Women repartner less often than men, with social isolation and family disruption adding further significant levels of emotional strain. A divorced person’s physical health is also affected, with research linking gray divorce to food insecurity and higher levels of disability, as well as a higher risk of diabetes, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, joint conditions, and other health problems.
Ultimately, gray divorce is much more than a later-life relationship readjustment. It’s a growing national demographic shift featuring interconnected financial, social, and physical-health consequences that can last for many years.
“Gray divorce is now a norm, not a fringe trend,” says an Envision Family Law spokesperson. “It’s reshaped what U.S. divorce looks like, and confirms what we see every day. More long-term marriages are ending, and the people involved face a very specific set of challenges, with women consistently suffering the greatest financial consequences.”
If you’re considering divorce, you’ll need the right divorce lawyer, even if you’re not yet ready to file or even discuss the idea with your spouse.
The Washington State divorce lawyers at Envision Family Law efficiently handle contested and uncontested divorces, custody issues, property division, and more. We’re here to answer your questions and keep your case moving forward.
