What states have the highest and lowest divorce rates in 2025?

1. What the sources agree on: national decline and measurement confusion

Multiple sources describe a clear downward trend in U.S. divorce measures in recent years: outlets cite crude rates around 2.3–2.5 divorces per 1,000 population and refined divorce rates (divorces per 1,000 married women) that have fallen from peaks in the 1980s into lower values in the 2010s–2020s ^{[2] [4] [3]}. Those two metrics — crude vs. refined — produce different numerical values and can change which states look highest or lowest depending on which metric an analyst uses ^{[1] [5]}.

2. Why you won’t find a clean 2025 state ranking in these sources

The dataset fragments in the provided sample do not include an authoritative 2025 state-by-state table. One site offers a 2025 state breakdown page but without clear provenance shown in the excerpts, and other summaries focus on national or historical patterns rather than a ranked, state-level list for 2025 ^{[1] [6]}. The CDC’s FastStats page is the official portal for marriage/divorce trends but the snippets here point to provisional national trends through 2023 and do not present a 2025 state ranking in the material provided ^[3].

3. Where reporters and analysts typically get state-level numbers — and limitations

State rankings usually come from state vital statistics compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) or state health departments and then summarized by independent sites; however, reporting lags and different metrics (crude divorce rate vs. refined divorce rate vs. divorces per 1,000 married women) produce divergent state orderings ^{[3] [5] [1]}. Commentary sites sometimes republish or re-calculate rankings without linking to original vital-statistics tables, which makes cross-checking difficult ^{[1] [6]}.

4. Examples of conflicting or unreliable state-level claims in 2025 reporting

Commercial or legal websites make striking claims (for example, high percentages for certain states or a state having “60%” of marriages ending in divorce) but the excerpts do not show original data sources or methodology; these assertions should be treated skeptically unless traced to NCHS or state vital records ^{[7] [6]}. One site states a national refined-rate figure near 16.9 per 1,000 married women while others give different national figures (7.1, 14.4, etc.), demonstrating how metric choice and calculation year matter greatly ^{[8] [1] [4] [9]}.

5. How to get an authoritative state ranking for 2025 (practical next steps)

To answer your original question definitively, consult the NCHS state reports or each state’s vital statistics office for their 2025 provisional or final “marriage and divorce” tables; the CDC’s FastStats page links to national datasets and often to state breakdowns ^[3]. If you need a quick, citable list, ask me to extract and compare a specific metric (e.g., crude divorces per 1,000 population or refined divorces per 1,000 married women) and I will synthesize only from sources you provide or that explicitly publish 2025 state tables in the excerpts.

6. What to watch for in interpreting any state ranking

When you see a “highest” or “lowest” state claim, check which metric was used, the year of the underlying data, and whether small-state population variability could exaggerate rank swings ^{[5] [1]}. Also consider social-demographic explanations often cited by analysts — age at marriage, education, religion, and local economic conditions — but note that the provided sources emphasize measurement differences and overall national decline more than definitive state-by-state causal analysis ^{[4] [1]}.

Limitations: the provided sources do not include a definitive state-by-state 2025 ranked table; where sources give state claims or percentages, their methodology or provenance is not shown in the excerpts ^{[1] [7]}. If you want, I can: (A) search for NCHS/CDC 2025 state divorce tables, or (B) compile a ranked list from any state-level 2025 reports you point me to.