The national divorce rate for 2020 was about 2.3 divorces per 1,000 residents. That was a significant drop from 2019, which experts believe happened mostly because family law courts across the U.S. shut down for months during COVID-19 lockdowns.
The national average statistic is interesting but does not tell the whole story. People in different states get divorced at different rates. Even individual cities and metro areas have divorce rates that could be quite different than their neighboring towns and counties. A recent news report listed the top 50 metro areas in the U.S. for divorce. And five of them are here in Florida.
Those cities are:
- #49, Panama City (13.6 percent of adult population divorced, 2.1 percent currently separated)
- #41, Port St. Lucie (13.7 percent divorced, 1.7 percent currently split)
- #40, Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville (13.7 percent divorced, 1.6 percent currently separated)
- #17, Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormand Beach (14.4 percent divorced, 1.6 percent currently separated)
- #14, Homosassa Springs (14.4 percent divorced, 1.4 percent currently separated)
All of these metro areas have divorced populations higher than the national average. If you are curious, the city with the highest percentage of divorced residents is Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Why does the divorce rate change from state to state?
Divorce rates vary by state and city for a variety of reasons. In many parts of the country, people tend to get married more, as opposed to cohabiting without marriage. Obviously, unmarried couples can break up without going through a divorce. But in places where marriage is the more expected arrangement, relationships that don’t work out are more likely to need a divorce to end.
Wherever you live in Florida, such as Destin, you might need the help of a divorce attorney someday. If you do, you should select one with extensive experience in family law, and one with whom you can work well.
