When NYC Marriages End: Divorce by Borough and Marriage Length
Page Contents
New York City courts granted 18,465 divorces in 2023. The largest group, 7,167 or 38.8%, ended marriages that had lasted 5 to 9 years, and that was the largest length group in every year from 2013 to 2023.
Key numbers
- 18,465divorces granted by New York City courts in 2023, 36% of New York State’s 51,261NYS Department of Health, Vital Statistics 2023, Table 51 (provisional)
- 38.8%of NYC divorces ended marriages of 5 to 9 years (7,167); statewide it was 33.1%NYS DOH Vital Statistics 2023, Table 51
- 6 yearsthe most common length among NYC divorces of marriages under 10 years in 2023 (1,915 divorces); DOH lists single years only up to 9NYS DOH Vital Statistics 2023, Table 49
- 21.5%of NYC divorces involved at least one child under 18 (3,968); 74.1% involved noneNYS DOH Vital Statistics 2023, Table 52
- 6.2divorces per 1,000 married NYC residents in 2023Our calculation: NYS DOH 2023 and Census ACS 2023 1-year (B12001). Rest of the state: 7.0, or 6.6 without Jefferson County (Fort Drum), whose court granted 44.9 per 1,000 married residents.
How long NYC marriages lasted before divorce
Divorces granted by courts in the five NYC counties, by duration of marriage. Not stated: 83. The 20 to 29 band covers ten years; the others cover five. Source: NYS Department of Health, Vital Statistics of New York State 2023, Table 51 (2023 data are provisional).
| Length of marriage | Divorces | Share of all NYC divorces |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | 49 | 0.3% |
| 1 year | 478 | 2.6% |
| 2 years | 593 | 3.2% |
| 3 years | 957 | 5.2% |
| 4 years | 1,375 | 7.4% |
| 5 years | 1,586 | 8.6% |
| 6 years | 1,915 | 10.4% |
| 7 years | 1,640 | 8.9% |
| 8 years | 1,129 | 6.1% |
| 9 years | 897 | 4.9% |
By borough court
The pattern holds in each borough court: marriages of 5 to 9 years were the largest group in all five. Remember that these counts are by where the divorce was granted, not where the couple lived.
| Where granted | Total | Under 5 | 5-9 | 10-14 | 15-19 | 20-29 | 30+ | Not stated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manhattan | 1,388 | 221 (16%) | 568 (41%) | 200 (14%) | 134 (10%) | 158 (11%) | 93 (7%) | 14 |
| Brooklyn | 4,849 | 1,005 (21%) | 1,839 (38%) | 734 (15%) | 420 (9%) | 497 (10%) | 339 (7%) | 15 |
| Queens | 5,670 | 916 (16%) | 2,210 (39%) | 875 (15%) | 526 (9%) | 658 (12%) | 452 (8%) | 33 |
| Bronx | 5,809 | 1,184 (20%) | 2,357 (41%) | 831 (14%) | 513 (9%) | 587 (10%) | 318 (5%) | 19 |
| Staten Island | 749 | 126 (17%) | 193 (26%) | 127 (17%) | 98 (13%) | 134 (18%) | 69 (9%) | 2 |
| New York City | 18,465 | 3,452 (19%) | 7,167 (39%) | 2,767 (15%) | 1,691 (9%) | 2,034 (11%) | 1,271 (7%) | 83 |
| Rest of New York State | 32,796 | 5,856 (18%) | 9,793 (30%) | 5,184 (16%) | 3,828 (12%) | 5,048 (15%) | 2,872 (9%) | 215 |
| New York State | 51,261 | 9,308 (18%) | 16,960 (33%) | 7,951 (16%) | 5,519 (11%) | 7,082 (14%) | 4,143 (8%) | 298 |
Eleven years of New York City divorces
The share of NYC divorces that ended marriages of 5 to 9 years ranged from 30.7% to 38.8% between 2013 and 2023, and was highest in 2023.
| Year | NYC divorces | 5 to 9 years | Share 5 to 9 | New York State divorces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 27,671 | 9,214 | 33.3% | 58,313 |
| 2014 | 27,457 | 8,960 | 32.6% | 56,245 |
| 2015 | 26,121 | 8,616 | 33.0% | 55,335 |
| 2016 | 27,858 | 8,898 | 31.9% | 56,663 |
| 2017 | 25,949 | 8,177 | 31.5% | 54,133 |
| 2018 | 26,143 | 8,016 | 30.7% | 55,460 |
| 2019 | 17,099 | 5,267 | 30.8% | 35,765 |
| 2020 | 13,183 | 4,359 | 33.1% | 35,810 |
| 2021 | 17,477 | 6,327 | 36.2% | 44,162 |
| 2022 | 16,532 | 6,279 | 38.0% | 44,222 |
| 2023 | 18,465 | 7,167 | 38.8% | 51,261 |
| Year | Manhattan | Brooklyn | Queens | Bronx | Staten Island |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 15,666 | 3,986 | 3,874 | 3,256 | 889 |
| 2014 | 14,259 | 4,086 | 4,071 | 4,340 | 701 |
| 2015 | 10,371 | 3,712 | 5,861 | 5,357 | 820 |
| 2016 | 13,358 | 4,823 | 4,771 | 3,927 | 979 |
| 2017 | 10,750 | 4,642 | 4,727 | 5,041 | 789 |
| 2018 | 9,841 | 5,081 | 5,444 | 4,967 | 810 |
| 2019 | 5,930 | 3,981 | 3,206 | 3,410 | 572 |
| 2020 | 3,844 | 2,681 | 2,737 | 3,329 | 592 |
| 2021 | 3,687 | 3,435 | 3,835 | 6,042 | 478 |
| 2022 | 3,209 | 4,019 | 2,737 | 5,632 | 935 |
| 2023 | 1,388 | 4,849 | 5,670 | 5,809 | 749 |
Children under 18
| Where granted | Total | None | One | Two | Three or more | Not stated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manhattan | 1,388 | 1,015 | 211 | 105 | 27 | 30 |
| Brooklyn | 4,849 | 3,718 | 479 | 292 | 89 | 271 |
| Queens | 5,670 | 4,169 | 657 | 414 | 105 | 325 |
| Bronx | 5,809 | 4,336 | 790 | 389 | 132 | 162 |
| Staten Island | 749 | 441 | 124 | 118 | 36 | 30 |
| New York City | 18,465 | 13,679 | 2,261 | 1,318 | 389 | 818 |
| New York State | 51,261 | 33,845 | 7,635 | 5,652 | 1,940 | 2,189 |
What this means for couples
- Most divorces in New York City end younger marriages: 57.5% of the city’s 2023 divorces ended marriages of less than 10 years. The stretch from year 5 to year 9 stands out in every year of the data.
- If you are in those middle years and keep having the same arguments, you are far from alone, and you do not need to wait for a crisis to talk with someone. Couples counseling is one place to start.
- If one of you is unsure whether to stay, discernment counseling is a short, structured process for couples in that situation.
- About one in five NYC divorces in 2023 (21.5%) involved at least one child under 18.
- Divorce itself is a legal process, and spiral2grow does not give legal advice. The New York State courts publish divorce information and forms.
How we did this
The New York State Department of Health (DOH) publishes yearly vital statistics tables on divorces granted in the state. We used Table 51 (divorces by county of decree and duration of marriage) for 2013 to 2023, Table 49 (single years of duration, New York City section) and Table 52 (number of children under 18) for 2023, and checked that Table 48 (type of decree) gives the same 2023 total. “New York City” is the sum of the five county courts. For the rate, we divided 2023 divorces by the number of married residents (men and women aged 15 and over who are now married, including separated) in the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 2023 1-year estimates, table B12001.
Limits
- DOH counts divorces by the county where the decree was granted, not where the couple lived. That is why we do not calculate divorce rates by borough: the borough counts move with where cases are filed and decided. For example, the Manhattan court count fell from 15,666 in 2013 to 1,388 in 2023 while the Bronx count rose from 3,256 to 5,809.
- Couples who live in the city may divorce in a court elsewhere in the state, and the reverse, so the citywide rate is an approximation too. Counting by court also skews comparisons with the rest of the state: the Jefferson County court (home to Fort Drum) granted 2,226 divorces in 2023, 44.9 per 1,000 married county residents. The rest-of-state rate is 7.0 with Jefferson County and 6.6 without it.
- DOH marks the 2023 tables as provisional. Totals also swing between years (for example, statewide counts fell sharply in 2019, were about level in 2020 and have risen since); the tables do not explain these swings, so we compare shares within each year rather than reading the year-to-year totals as a trend.
- The marriage-length bands are uneven: “20 to 29” spans ten years and “30 or more” is open-ended. A small number of divorces have no length or number of children stated.
- Annulments and other dissolutions (25 in NYC in 2023) are not included.
Sources
- NYS Department of Health, Vital Statistics of New York State 2023, Table 51: Divorces by County of Decree and Duration of Marriage. 2023 (provisional); the same table for 2013 to 2022 is at the same address with the year changed.
- NYS DOH Vital Statistics 2023, Table 49: Dissolutions of Marriage by Duration and Type of Decree by Region. Single years of marriage, New York City section.
- NYS DOH Vital Statistics 2023, Table 52: Divorces by County of Decree and Number of Children Under 18. 2023.
- NYS DOH Vital Statistics 2023, Table 48: Dissolutions of Marriage by County of Decree and Type of Decree. 2023, used to check totals.
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 1-year estimates, table B12001 (Sex by Marital Status). Married residents aged 15 and over, five NYC counties and New York State.
Cite this study
spiral2grow. (2026). When NYC Marriages End: Divorce by Borough and Marriage Length. spiral2grow Marriage & Family Therapy, New York, NY. https://www.spiral2grow.com/research/nyc-divorce-by-borough/
Download the data: nyc-divorce-by-borough.csv (NYC and borough divorces by length of marriage 2013-2023, single years for 2023, children under 18, and the 2023 rate). Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to spiral2grow and a link to this page.
Talk it through before things harden
Moshe Ratson, LMFT, MBA, is a licensed marriage and family therapist (New York license #000697) who works with couples in Midtown Manhattan, near Grand Central Station, and online by video. A free phone consultation is the first step.
Request a free consultationCall (917) 692-3867In crisis? Call or text 988, or call 911.
