The American divorce rate is at its lowest level in decades, with just 14.9 out of every 1,000 marriages ending in divorce. Still, over 746,000 married couples decided to split up in the last year. Going through a divorce can be a challenging process for the couple and their families, not just due to the emotional strain, but also because it is an expensive undertaking.
Each partner in a divorce will pay, on average, nearly $10,000 in legal fees throughout the process — and proceedings get even pricier if children are involved. This is not the case everywhere, though. In some states, the average cost of divorce is less than $7,000, while in others divorce legal fees can balloon to over $12,000.
To determine the cost of a divorce in every state, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed estimates from Self Financial, Inc., a financial services company. States were ranked based on the average cost of legal representation and court fees in every state.
As is perhaps expected, divorce is more expensive in states with higher incomes. In these states, people are better able to afford higher-priced legal counsel. However, these states tend to have a much lower share of their populations who are divorced. Among the 12 states where divorce is the most expensive, just one has a higher share of its population that is divorced than the national rate of 10.9%. These are America’s richest and poorest states.
Another factor affecting the price of divorce is children. The legal fees associated with sorting out custody agreements, child support, and other related issues increase the cost of divorce by an average of 36.7%, or over $7,200 nationwide.
Click here to see how much it costs to get divorced in every state
Click here to see our methodology
50. Montana
> Avg. cost of divorce: $6,170
> Annual divorce rate: 3.0 divorces per 1,000 people (18th highest)
> Median household income: $57,153 (11th lowest)
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49. New Mexico
> Avg. cost of divorce: $6,637
> Annual divorce rate: N/A
> Median household income: $51,945 (6th lowest)
48. North Dakota
> Avg. cost of divorce: $8,080
> Annual divorce rate: 2.5 divorces per 1,000 people (10th lowest)
> Median household income: $64,577 (20th highest)
47. Maine
> Avg. cost of divorce: $8,120
> Annual divorce rate: 3.0 divorces per 1,000 people (17th highest)
> Median household income: $58,924 (16th lowest)
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46. West Virginia
> Avg. cost of divorce: $8,134
> Annual divorce rate: 3.6 divorces per 1,000 people (7th highest)
> Median household income: $48,850 (2nd lowest)
45. Kentucky
> Avg. cost of divorce: $8,151
> Annual divorce rate: 3.4 divorces per 1,000 people (12th highest)
> Median household income: $52,295 (7th lowest)
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44. Nebraska
> Avg. cost of divorce: $8,158
> Annual divorce rate: 2.7 divorces per 1,000 people (17th lowest)
> Median household income: $63,229 (25th highest)
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43. Arkansas
> Avg. cost of divorce: $8,165
> Annual divorce rate: 4.0 divorces per 1,000 people (2nd highest)
> Median household income: $48,952 (3rd lowest)
42. Idaho
> Avg. cost of divorce: $8,181
> Annual divorce rate: 3.9 divorces per 1,000 people (4th highest)
> Median household income: $60,999 (20th lowest)
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40. Kansas (tied)
> Avg. cost of divorce: $8,400
> Annual divorce rate: 2.3 divorces per 1,000 people (6th lowest)
> Median household income: $62,087 (24th lowest)
40. Mississippi (tied)
> Avg. cost of divorce: $8,400
> Annual divorce rate: 2.6 divorces per 1,000 people (15th lowest)
> Median household income: $45,792 (the lowest)
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39. South Dakota
> Avg. cost of divorce: $8,595
> Annual divorce rate: 2.6 divorces per 1,000 people (14th lowest)
> Median household income: $59,533 (18th lowest)
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38. Wisconsin
> Avg. cost of divorce: $8,690
> Annual divorce rate: 2.3 divorces per 1,000 people (8th lowest)
> Median household income: $64,168 (21st highest)
37. Wyoming
> Avg. cost of divorce: $9,085
> Annual divorce rate: 3.8 divorces per 1,000 people (5th highest)
> Median household income: $65,003 (19th highest)
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36. Vermont
> Avg. cost of divorce: $9,090
> Annual divorce rate: 2.8 divorces per 1,000 people (21st lowest)
> Median household income: $63,001 (25th lowest)
35. Indiana
> Avg. cost of divorce: $9,157
> Annual divorce rate: N/A
> Median household income: $57,603 (14th lowest)
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34. Oklahoma
> Avg. cost of divorce: $9,183
> Annual divorce rate: 3.9 divorces per 1,000 people (3rd highest)
> Median household income: $54,449 (8th lowest)
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33. Iowa
> Avg. cost of divorce: $9,184
> Annual divorce rate: 2.3 divorces per 1,000 people (4th lowest)
> Median household income: $61,691 (21st lowest)
32. Hawaii
> Avg. cost of divorce: $9,240
> Annual divorce rate: N/A
> Median household income: $83,102 (4th highest)
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31. Ohio
> Avg. cost of divorce: $9,350
> Annual divorce rate: 2.8 divorces per 1,000 people (20th lowest)
> Median household income: $58,642 (15th lowest)
30. Minnesota
> Avg. cost of divorce: $9,365
> Annual divorce rate: N/A
> Median household income: $74,593 (13th highest)
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29. New Hampshire
> Avg. cost of divorce: $9,400
> Annual divorce rate: 3.1 divorces per 1,000 people (16th highest)
> Median household income: $77,933 (8th highest)
28. Tennessee
> Avg. cost of divorce: $9,722
> Annual divorce rate: 3.5 divorces per 1,000 people (11th highest)
> Median household income: $56,071 (9th lowest)
27. North Carolina
> Avg. cost of divorce: $10,113
> Annual divorce rate: 3.1 divorces per 1,000 people (15th highest)
> Median household income: $57,341 (12th lowest)
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26. South Carolina
> Avg. cost of divorce: $10,150
> Annual divorce rate: 2.6 divorces per 1,000 people (13th lowest)
> Median household income: $56,227 (10th lowest)
25. Missouri
> Avg. cost of divorce: $10,184
> Annual divorce rate: 2.9 divorces per 1,000 people (23rd lowest)
> Median household income: $57,409 (13th lowest)
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24. Louisiana
> Avg. cost of divorce: $10,200
> Annual divorce rate: 2.4 divorces per 1,000 people (9th lowest)
> Median household income: $51,073 (4th lowest)
23. Michigan
> Avg. cost of divorce: $10,215
> Annual divorce rate: 2.3 divorces per 1,000 people (7th lowest)
> Median household income: $59,584 (19th lowest)
22. Nevada
> Avg. cost of divorce: $10,258
> Annual divorce rate: 4.2 divorces per 1,000 people (the highest)
> Median household income: $63,276 (24th highest)
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21. Arizona
> Avg. cost of divorce: $10,280
> Annual divorce rate: 2.9 divorces per 1,000 people (19th highest)
> Median household income: $62,055 (23rd lowest)
20. Alaska
> Avg. cost of divorce: $10,288
> Annual divorce rate: 3.6 divorces per 1,000 people (6th highest)
> Median household income: $75,463 (12th highest)
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19. Oregon
> Avg. cost of divorce: $10,301
> Annual divorce rate: 3.2 divorces per 1,000 people (14th highest)
> Median household income: $67,058 (18th highest)
18. Washington
> Avg. cost of divorce: $10,314
> Annual divorce rate: 2.8 divorces per 1,000 people (22nd lowest)
> Median household income: $78,687 (7th highest)
17. Illinois
> Avg. cost of divorce: $10,334
> Annual divorce rate: 1.3 divorces per 1,000 people (the lowest)
> Median household income: $69,187 (17th highest)
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15. Rhode Island (tied)
> Avg. cost of divorce: $10,400
> Annual divorce rate: 2.7 divorces per 1,000 people (19th lowest)
> Median household income: $71,169 (15th highest)
15. Alabama (tied)
> Avg. cost of divorce: $10,400
> Annual divorce rate: 3.6 divorces per 1,000 people (8th highest)
> Median household income: $51,734 (5th lowest)
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14. Florida
> Avg. cost of divorce: $10,409
> Annual divorce rate: 3.5 divorces per 1,000 people (10th highest)
> Median household income: $59,227 (17th lowest)
13. Utah
> Avg. cost of divorce: $10,725
> Annual divorce rate: 3.5 divorces per 1,000 people (9th highest)
> Median household income: $75,780 (11th highest)
12. Maryland
> Avg. cost of divorce: $11,165
> Annual divorce rate: 2.7 divorces per 1,000 people (16th lowest)
> Median household income: $86,738 (the highest)
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11. Pennsylvania
> Avg. cost of divorce: $11,202
> Annual divorce rate: 2.6 divorces per 1,000 people (12th lowest)
> Median household income: $63,463 (23rd highest)
10. Colorado
> Avg. cost of divorce: $11,230
> Annual divorce rate: 3.3 divorces per 1,000 people (13th highest)
> Median household income: $77,127 (9th highest)
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9. Georgia
> Avg. cost of divorce: $11,400
> Annual divorce rate: 2.3 divorces per 1,000 people (5th lowest)
> Median household income: $61,980 (22nd lowest)
8. Virginia
> Avg. cost of divorce: $11,584
> Annual divorce rate: 2.9 divorces per 1,000 people (21st highest)
> Median household income: $76,456 (10th highest)
7. Delaware
> Avg. cost of divorce: $12,165
> Annual divorce rate: 2.9 divorces per 1,000 people (20th highest)
> Median household income: $70,176 (16th highest)
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6. Massachusetts
> Avg. cost of divorce: $12,200
> Annual divorce rate: 1.5 divorces per 1,000 people (2nd lowest)
> Median household income: $85,843 (2nd highest)
5. New Jersey
> Avg. cost of divorce: $12,300
> Annual divorce rate: 2.5 divorces per 1,000 people (11th lowest)
> Median household income: $85,751 (3rd highest)
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4. Connecticut
> Avg. cost of divorce: $12,360
> Annual divorce rate: 2.7 divorces per 1,000 people (18th lowest)
> Median household income: $78,833 (6th highest)
3. Texas
> Avg. cost of divorce: $12,792
> Annual divorce rate: 2.1 divorces per 1,000 people (3rd lowest)
> Median household income: $64,034 (22nd highest)
2. New York
> Avg. cost of divorce: $13,835
> Annual divorce rate: 2.9 divorces per 1,000 people (22nd highest)
> Median household income: $72,108 (14th highest)
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1. California
> Avg. cost of divorce: $14,435
> Annual divorce rate: N/A
> Median household income: $80,440 (5th highest)
Methodology:
To determine the cost of a divorce in every state, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed estimates from Self Financial, Inc., a financial services company. States were ranked based on the average cost of legal representation and court fees in every state. Additional estimates on the cost of divorce with and without children also came from Self Financial. Estimates were originally based on data from FindLaw and Lawyers.com. Supplemental data on the percent of adults 15 years and over who are divorced came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey and are one-year estimates. Data on the number of divorces per 1,000 residents in 2019 came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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