They say things are bigger in Texas, but one area where that doesn’t apply is the percentage of Texans getting a divorce each year. Texas ranks 44th out of 46 states that supply data, as only Illinois and Massachusetts have lower rates.
April 14 is National Ex-Spouse’s Day. While it’s not likely people are buying flowers for their former flame, one must wonder just how many out there are feeling the burn.
BetTexas.com, home to coverage of Texas sports betting, used data from the National Center for Health Statistics to determine the states with the highest and lowest divorce rates. The figures for the divorce rate are per 1,000 women in 2021, the latest year for which the data has been compiled by the Center.
States Ranked By Divorce Rate
When betting becomes legal in the state, come to BetTexas.com for Texas sportsbook promos.
Texas is No-Fault Divorce State
The Texas divorce rate is 1.4 per 1,000 according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Conversely, Texas is in the middle of the rankings in marriage rates at 5.8 per 1,000.
Texas is a no-fault state when it comes to divorce, which means you don’t have to cite fault on one side of the relationship to obtain the divorce. According to Conaster Family Law in Dallas, the most common reason cited for divorce in Texas is insupportability, otherwise known as irreconcilable differences.
Apparently, married couples in Texas do a much better job of getting along with each other than just about anywhere else in the country.
The other two no-fault reasons for obtaining a divorce are living apart for more than three years and being confined to a mental institution for more than three years.
Texas has four fault-grounds for divorce that are fairly similar to other states: Cruelty, Adultery, Felony Conviction and Abandonment.
The Mims Ballew Hollingsworth Family Law firm in Fort Worth offers this breakdown for the top reasons for divorce in Texas for 2022, which are also credited to the National Center for Health Statistics.
A big reason for Texas ranking so low in divorces might have something to do with how expensive it can be. A 2020 story by USA Today cites Texas with the fifth-highest cost of divorce without children at $15,600 and fifth-highest with children at $23,500.
So it seems that in Texas, either married couples have been doing a better job of getting along or economic times make it more sensible to keep trying to work things out. No matter the reason, there are fewer Texans celebrating National Ex-Spouse’s Day than just about everywhere else.
Author
Douglas Pils has been a sports journalist for 30 years in Texas, Arkansas and New York having worked for the San Antonio Express-News, the Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News and Newsday. He most recently ran the Student Media Department at Texas A&M for eight years.
