The U.S. divorce rate is at its lowest level since 1970, but one age group is moving the other way. A new study from Envision Family Law finds that adults 50 and older now account for 36% of all divorces, up from under 9% in 1990. Adults 65 and older are the only age group whose divorce rate is still rising. The study looks at this “gray divorce” trend and its financial, social, and health effects, which can last for years.
The overall numbers point downward. In 2024, the crude divorce rate fell to 2.4 per 1,000 people, the lowest in more than 50 years. The refined rate was 14.2 divorces per 1,000 married women. The number of divorces fell about 30%, from 955,000 in 2002 to 673,989 in 2022. From 1990 to 2015, the divorce rate for adults aged 25 to 39 fell from 3 to 2.4 per 1,000. Older adults followed a different path. Among adults 50 and older, the divorce rate reached 10.3 per 1,000 married women in 2023. That is slightly below the 2008 peak of 11 but almost triple the 1990 rate of 3.9. The rate for adults 65 and older more than tripled, from 0.18% in 1990 to 0.56% in 2019 (5.6 per 1,000), and it is still rising. Women start 69% of all divorces, and the same holds for gray divorce. The study links the trend to Baby Boomers, who came of age as no-fault divorce laws spread in the 1970s and now make up much of the 65 and older population. Remarriage adds to it. Among divorced adults 50 and older, 8.5% of men and 6.5% of women remarry, and those second marriages end in divorce at twice the rate of first marriages.
Where people live makes a difference. Nationally, 16.44% of adults 50 and older are divorced. New Mexico (20.80%) and Nevada (20.67%) are the only states above 20%, followed by Maine (18.95%), Oregon (18.89%), and Vermont (18.86%). Florida ranks ninth. It combines an above-average rate with the second-largest number of divorced adults 50 and older in the country (1,746,285). The lowest rates are in New Jersey (13.51%), Utah (14.28%), New York (14.62%), South Dakota (14.68%), and California (14.77%). California has the largest raw number, 2,013,514, but its large population keeps its rate low. Among adults 65 and older, Nevada leads (20.71%), followed by New Mexico (19.12%) and Oregon (18.32%), with Alaska and Washington also in the top five.
The financial effects are severe, especially for women. Women who divorce after 50 see their standard of living fall by 45%, compared with 21% for men. Both lose more than half their household wealth. Women’s average wealth drops from $140,327 to $65,991 (about 53%), and men’s from $138,168 to $58,826 (about 57%). Few repartner: within ten years, only 20% of women and 31% of men do. Repartnering restores most of what women lost financially but does much less for men. Retirement adds more complications. Social Security spousal benefits of up to 50% of an ex-spouse’s benefit require at least ten consecutive years of marriage. Dividing 401(k)s and pensions usually requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, and mistakes can bring extra taxes or penalties. Forty percent of divorced survey respondents said divorce badly damaged their retirement plans, and 54% said it brought substantially greater financial responsibility. Women who had health insurance through a husband’s employer and are under 65 lose that coverage. Individual COBRA coverage averages $560 a month and ranges from $373 to $1,157 depending on the state. Couples with the least cushion face the most risk: the odds of gray divorce are 38% lower for couples with more than $250,000 in assets than for those with $50,000 or less.
Health effects appear over time. A 2024 study using nearly two decades of Health and Retirement Study data found that divorced adults over 50 had higher food insecurity risk, rising from 7.3% in the year of the divorce to 11.1% after six or more years. Women’s risk was consistently higher than men’s. Limits on daily activities rose 8.7% after six years. Depression symptoms rose about 3.5% but usually returned to earlier levels within two years. A separate 2024 meta-analysis of 94 studies covering more than 1.38 million people found that divorced adults were more likely than married peers to have diabetes (18%), joint conditions (24%), cardiovascular disease (24%), and cerebrovascular disease (31%). Divorce ranks second on the Holmes-Rahe Stress Inventory.
Loneliness adds to the strain. Among divorced adults 50 and older, 86% stay in weekly contact with at least one adult child, but about 1 in 14 loses contact with a child entirely. More than a quarter feel socially isolated, and nearly one in three say they lack companionship. Loneliness is most common among people in their 50s and early 60s and those earning under $60,000. Socially isolated older adults are about eight times as likely to report fair or poor mental health and more than twice as likely to report poor physical health.
“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.”