How common is divorce in New Jersey? Is the divorce rate rising or falling? And how does New Jersey compare with the rest of the country?
Those questions sound simple, but divorce statistics are often misunderstood. Annual divorce rates, court filings, Census estimates, and the often-repeated claim that “half of all marriages end in divorce” measure different things and should not be treated as interchangeable.
This 2026 guide brings together the latest available government data on marriage and divorce in New Jersey, explains the long-term trends, and shows how to interpret the numbers correctly.
Data note: As of August 2026, the CDC’s latest comparable state marriage and divorce rate series runs through 2023. The CDC has scheduled publication of state-level 2024 marriage and divorce rates for September 2026. New Jersey has already released more recent marriage-count data, but comparable CDC divorce-rate data lag behind.
New Jersey Marriage and Divorce Statistics at a Glance
According to the CDC’s New Jersey statistics, the latest comparable figures show:
- New Jersey marriage rate, 2023: 5.4 marriages per 1,000 residents
- New Jersey divorce rate, 2023: 2.2 divorces per 1,000 residents
- U.S. marriage rate, 2023: 6.1 marriages per 1,000 residents
- U.S. divorce rate, 2023: 2.4 divorces per 1,000 residents
Nationally, the CDC recorded 2,041,926 marriages in 2023. It reported 672,502 divorces from the 45 states and District of Columbia that supplied divorce data used for the national figure.
That means New Jersey’s 2023 crude marriage and divorce rates were both somewhat below the corresponding national rates.
New Jersey Marriage and Divorce Rate by Year
The long-term data provide more context than any single year’s figure.
| Year | Marriage Rate per 1,000 | Divorce Rate per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 7.6 | 3.0 |
| 2000 | 6.0 | 3.0 |
| 2010 | 5.1 | 3.0 |
| 2019 | 5.2 | 2.5 |
| 2020 | 4.1 | 1.7 |
| 2021 | 5.1 | 2.2 |
| 2022 | 5.1 | 2.3 |
| 2023 | 5.4 | 2.2 |
These figures come from the CDC’s National Vital Statistics System state trend tables, which currently provide comparable marriage and divorce rates for 1990, 1995, and 2000 through 2023.
The table shows two broad patterns: New Jersey residents marry at a lower rate than they did several decades ago, and the state’s annual crude divorce rate has also declined from its levels in the 2000s and early 2010s.
What Is the Divorce Rate in New Jersey?
The latest CDC figure is 2.2 divorces per 1,000 New Jersey residents in 2023.
That was below the national 2023 rate of 2.4 per 1,000 among reporting jurisdictions.
The New Jersey rate was also lower than it was in 2010, when the state recorded 3.0 divorces per 1,000 residents.
From 2010 to 2023, the crude rate declined by approximately 27%.
That does not mean New Jersey divorces have fallen 27% in raw numbers or that an individual’s probability of divorce has fallen by exactly that amount. Population size and demographics change, and crude rates do not control for factors such as age or duration of marriage.
It does show, however, that divorce is occurring at a lower annual population rate than it did in New Jersey at the beginning of the 2010s.
For individuals contemplating divorce, statewide trends do not change the legal issues that must be resolved. A New Jersey divorce may still involve property division, support, custody, and other decisions with long-term consequences.
What Does “2.2 Divorces per 1,000 Residents” Actually Mean?
This statistic is frequently misunderstood.
A divorce rate of 2.2 per 1,000 does not mean that 2.2% of New Jersey marriages end in divorce.
It also does not mean that 22% of marriages ultimately end in divorce.
The CDC’s crude divorce rate compares the number of divorces recorded during the year with the state’s total population, not with the number of married couples. The CDC defines the state divorce rate as the provisional number of divorces per 1,000 people living in the state.
That makes the statistic useful for comparing annual trends, but it does not directly measure the lifetime probability that any particular marriage will end.
Is the New Jersey Divorce Rate Going Up or Down?
Over the longer term, it is down.
New Jersey’s divorce rate was:
- 3.0 per 1,000 in 2000
- 3.0 in 2010
- 2.5 in 2019
- 2.2 in 2023
The rate has moved up and down from year to year, so the decline is not perfectly linear. But the broader trend since the early 2000s is downward.
The unusual 2020 rate deserves particular caution.
New Jersey’s divorce rate fell to 1.7 per 1,000 in 2020 before rising to 2.2 in 2021 and 2.3 in 2022. Court operations, public-health restrictions, and disruptions to ordinary life during the COVID-19 pandemic make 2020 a poor standalone baseline for judging the underlying long-term divorce trend.
By 2023, the rate had returned well above its 2020 low but remained below the 2019 rate of 2.5.
Are Fewer New Jersey Residents Getting Married?
Compared with several decades ago, the annual marriage rate is substantially lower.
New Jersey recorded 7.6 marriages per 1,000 residents in 1990, compared with 5.4 in 2023. That represents a decline of roughly 29% in the crude marriage rate over that period.
Again, this should not be interpreted to mean 29% fewer individuals will ever marry. The rate is affected by population composition, age at marriage, cohabitation patterns, remarriage, and other demographic changes.
The data do show that marriages occur less frequently relative to the state’s total population than they did in 1990.
New Jersey Marriage Rates Rebounded After 2020
Marriage statistics show one of the clearest pandemic-era disruptions.
The New Jersey marriage rate fell from 5.2 per 1,000 in 2019 to 4.1 in 2020. By 2021, it had rebounded to 5.1, remained at 5.1 in 2022, and increased to 5.4 in 2023.
The 2023 rate was approximately 32% higher than the unusually low 2020 figure.
Even after that rebound, however, the state’s marriage rate remained well below its 1990 level.
The New Jersey Department of Health’s Center for Health Statistics reported in May 2026 that it had released 2025 marriage counts, providing more recent state-level information on marriage events than the CDC’s currently published comparable rate series.
How Does New Jersey Compare With the National Divorce Rate?
In 2023:
New Jersey: 2.2 divorces per 1,000 residents
United States: 2.4 divorces per 1,000 residents among reporting states and D.C.
So New Jersey was modestly below the reported national crude divorce rate.
However, state comparisons require context.
Five states—California, Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota, and New Mexico—did not have rates included in the CDC’s 2023 state divorce table. The national divorce figure is therefore not based on reporting from all 50 states.
Differences in age distribution, marriage rates, migration, and demographics can also influence crude divorce rates.
How Does New Jersey Compare With Nearby States?
The CDC’s 2023 divorce-rate data show:
- New Jersey: 2.2 per 1,000
- Pennsylvania: 2.2
- New York: 2.4
- Connecticut: 2.6
- Delaware: 2.6
New Jersey therefore had a lower 2023 crude divorce rate than New York, Connecticut, and Delaware and the same reported rate as Pennsylvania.
This does not necessarily mean New Jersey marriages are “more successful.” It is simply a comparison of divorces recorded relative to population during that particular year.
Is It True That Half of All Marriages End in Divorce?
The familiar “50% of marriages end in divorce” statistic should not be treated as a current annual divorce rate.
No single year’s CDC divorce rate answers the question, “What percentage of marriages will ultimately end in divorce?”
Answering that question requires longitudinal analysis that follows marriages over time or uses demographic models of marriage duration and dissolution. A crude annual rate compares divorces in one year against the entire population.
This distinction matters because statements about a person’s lifetime probability of divorce, the percentage of a marriage cohort that ultimately divorces, and the annual population divorce rate all measure different things.
Why Do Different Websites Give Different New Jersey Divorce Rates?
The first question to ask is: What is the source and what exactly is it measuring?
The CDC’s National Vital Statistics System is primarily records-based and compiles administrative marriage and divorce data supplied by reporting jurisdictions.
The U.S. Census Bureau also publishes marriage and divorce statistics, but Census estimates are generally derived from surveys such as the American Community Survey.
The CDC expressly notes that Census data are survey-based while the National Vital Statistics data are records-based.
Both sources can provide useful information, but their estimates should not be mixed together without explaining their different methodologies.
What Is the Difference Between a Divorce Rate and Family Court Filings?
They are not the same thing.
A divorce rate attempts to measure divorces relative to population.
Court filing statistics measure cases entering or moving through the court system.
The New Jersey Department of Health notes that dissolution and divorce data are maintained by the Superior Court of New Jersey Records Center, rather than by the Department of Health.
The New Jersey Judiciary also maintains a public Filings and Resolutions Dashboard showing current trial-court filing, resolution, and backlog information.
Those court statistics can be useful for evaluating the volume of litigation, but a filing count should not be presented as though it were the number of final divorces.
Why Family Court Data Include More Than Divorce
New Jersey’s Family Division handles far more than the legal dissolution of marriages.
Family-law matters can include disputes involving:
- Divorce
- Child custody
- Parenting time
- Child support
- Alimony
- Post-judgment modifications
- Domestic violence
- Enforcement applications
- Other family matters
A single divorce can also continue generating court activity after the judgment if parents later dispute custody, support, or enforcement.
For example, changes in employment, relocation, children’s needs, or other circumstances may eventually lead a former spouse to seek modifications. Russell Law’s practice therefore extends beyond the initial divorce to matters involving child custody and alimony.
Do Divorce Statistics Tell Us How Difficult a Divorce Will Be?
No.
Population statistics tell us very little about the complexity of an individual case.
An uncontested divorce involving few assets may be resolved relatively efficiently. A divorce involving a privately owned business, executive compensation, real estate, significant investments, or disputed parenting issues can require substantially more financial analysis and litigation.
Some couples are also able to resolve their disputes through divorce mediation rather than asking a judge to decide every contested issue.
Cases involving substantial or unusual assets may require additional valuation, tax, and financial planning, as discussed in our guide to high-net-worth divorce in New Jersey.
Statewide divorce rates cannot capture any of those differences.
What the New Jersey Divorce Statistics Do Tell Us
Several conclusions can reasonably be drawn from the current data.
First, New Jersey’s crude divorce rate is lower today than it was through much of the 2000s and early 2010s.
Second, New Jersey’s marriage rate has also fallen substantially over the longer term.
Third, both marriage and divorce data were unusually affected around 2020, making longer-term trends more informative than a comparison based only on the pandemic period.
Fourth, New Jersey’s current crude divorce rate is somewhat below the reported national rate.
What the numbers do not establish is why a particular marriage ends, whether any particular couple is likely to divorce, or how difficult an individual divorce will be.
Why This Article Uses 2023 Rates in a 2026 Statistics Guide
Government datasets are not always published in real time.
As of August 2026, the CDC’s National Vital Statistics System lists 2023 as the most recent year in its state marriage and divorce rate trend series. The CDC’s official 2026 publication schedule lists the 2024 state marriage and divorce rate tables for release in September 2026.
Rather than labeling older statistics as though they were 2026 events, this article uses the latest comparable data currently available and identifies the underlying year.
That distinction is important for any reliable statistics resource.
New Jersey Divorce Statistics: Key Takeaways
As of the latest comparable federal data:
- New Jersey’s divorce rate is 2.2 per 1,000 residents
- New Jersey’s marriage rate is 5.4 per 1,000 residents
- Both rates are below their reported U.S. counterparts
- The state’s divorce rate is lower than it was in 2000 or 2010
- The marriage rate remains substantially below its 1990 level
- The dramatic 2020 decline in both marriage and divorce should be interpreted in the context of pandemic-era disruption
- Court filings and final divorce rates measure different things
- The CDC’s next state-rate update, covering 2024, is scheduled for September 2026
For individuals, however, statistics are only background. Every divorce depends on the family’s specific financial circumstances, property, children, goals, and ability to resolve disputed issues.
Russell Law Divorce & Family Lawyers represents clients throughout New Jersey in divorce and family-law matters ranging from negotiated settlements to complex financial and custody disputes.
Frequently Asked Questions About Divorce Statistics in New Jersey
What is the current divorce rate in New Jersey?
The latest comparable CDC rate is 2.2 divorces per 1,000 residents in 2023. As of August 2026, the CDC has not yet published its state-level 2024 rate series.
Is the divorce rate increasing in New Jersey?
The long-term trend is downward. New Jersey’s crude divorce rate was 3.0 per 1,000 in 2010 and 2.2 in 2023, although individual years fluctuate.
Does a 2.2 divorce rate mean that 2.2% of marriages end in divorce?
No. It means approximately 2.2 divorces were recorded per 1,000 people in the population during the year. It is not the percentage of existing marriages that ended.
Is New Jersey’s divorce rate higher than the national average?
No. The reported U.S. divorce rate for 2023 was 2.4 per 1,000 among reporting states and D.C., compared with 2.2 in New Jersey.
Why are the newest CDC divorce statistics from 2023?
Marriage and divorce statistics take time to collect, standardize, and publish. The CDC’s 2026 schedule currently lists state 2024 marriage and divorce rate tables for September 2026.
Where does New Jersey publish family court statistics?
The New Jersey Judiciary maintains online dashboards with current filing, resolution, and backlog information. Those court statistics measure court activity rather than the crude population divorce rate.
