Where can one access the National Center for Family & Marriage Research’s full state-by-state refined divorce rate tables for 2024 and 2025?
Executive summary
The National Center for Family & Marriage Research (NCFMR) publishes state-by-state refined divorce rate tables on its Bowling Green State University website within its Family Profiles series; the most recent release covering 2024 is available on the NCFMR site and the underlying American Community Survey table (B12503) on data.census.gov [1] [2]. Reporting does not provide a distinct NCFMR “2025" state-by-state refined divorce table in the supplied sources; the 2025 Family Profile documents appear to report 2024 estimates derived from the ACS [1] [3].
1. Where to get the NCFMR state-by-state refined divorce rate tables
The direct location for state-by-state refined divorce rate tables is the NCFMR Family Profiles pages hosted by Bowling Green State University; the Family Profile titled “Refined Divorce Rate in the U.S.: Geographic Variation, 2024” (FP‑25‑31) contains the full geographic breakdown and suggested citation information [1]. Related NCFMR family profile pages that compute marriage/divorce measures and geographic variation (for example, FP‑25‑32 and other FP entries) are hosted in the same NCFMR resources/data/family‑profiles section on the BGSU site [4] [1].
2. The underlying data source and how to retrieve raw tables
NCFMR’s refined divorce rates are calculated from American Community Survey (ACS) estimates, specifically tables such as B12503; the Family Profiles cite ACS Table B12503 as the source for state-level refined divorce estimates and provide links or references to the census table on data.census.gov for users who want the raw ACS counts [2]. To reproduce or inspect the numbers directly, the ACS table B12503 on data.census.gov is the primary public source NCFMR uses for its state-by-state computations [2].
3. How NCFMR’s refined divorce rate differs from other government measures
Researchers should note that NCFMR’s “refined divorce rate” derived from the ACS is distinct from the provisional state divorce rates compiled by the CDC/NCHS’s vital‑statistics system; the CDC’s state maps and tables count divorces per 1,000 residents and may omit states that do not report to the National Vital Statistics System, producing differences in coverage and methodology [5]. NCFMR’s approach focuses on divorces per 1,000 married women (the refined rate) using ACS survey responses, which explains systematic differences between NCFMR outputs and CDC/NCHS state‑vital‑statistic tables [2] [5].
4. What exists for “2025” and the limitation of the available reporting
The materials provided include Family Profile releases dated 2025 that analyze 2024 ACS data (for example, the 2025 Family Profile FP‑25‑31 on 2024 refined divorce rates), and the documentation and DOI for the 2024 series are given [1]. The sources supplied do not contain a standalone NCFMR state-by-state refined divorce table explicitly labeled “2025 data” (that is, rates computed from 2025 ACS releases); therefore, an asserted 2025 state table cannot be confirmed from these sources, and users should treat 2025 references in the Family Profiles as the 2024-year estimates reported in 2025 publications [1] [3].
5. Practical steps to access and cite the tables
Navigate to the NCFMR Family Profiles section on the Bowling Green State University website and open the Family Profile “Refined Divorce Rate in the U.S.: Geographic Variation, 2024” (FP‑25‑31) to download the state-by-state tables and accompanying figures and margins of error [1]. For reproducibility or custom tabulations, pull ACS Table B12503 from data.census.gov (the B12503 table cited by NCFMR) and cross-check NCFMR’s documentation and suggested citation [2] [1]. When comparing with other government statistics, consult the CDC/NCHS state divorce maps/tables for the vital‑statistics perspective and note methodological exclusions flagged by the CDC [5].
6. Interpretation caveats and competing narratives
Analysts must remember that ACS‑based refined rates and CDC vital‑statistics rates answer different questions (divorces per married women versus divorces per resident population) and that some public outlets cite NCFMR-derived ratios or summaries without noting methodological differences; NCFMR’s Family Profiles and the CDC pages explicitly document their methods and exclusions and should be read together for accurate interpretation [2] [5]. The supplied reporting does not supply a separate NCFMR “2025 state table” derived from 2025 ACS data, so claims about a 2025 NCFMR state-by-state refined divorce table cannot be validated from these sources [1] [2].