Texas Divorce Statistics Reveal Surprising Trends

The Texas Department of State Health Services compiled a report on the Texas divorce rates in various locations around the state. The report shows the trends in marriage and divorce in 2012, the latest data available, and reveals some surprising results. Overall, the number of Texas divorce cases in 2012 stood at just over 80,000, compared to the all-time high of nearly 102,000 in 1981. The state’s crude divorce rate stayed steady at 3.1 divorces per 1,000 residents in both 2011 and 2012.

Long-Term Texas Divorce Trends

The study examined Texas divorce since 1970 and revealed some surprising results. The Texas divorce rate in 1970 was around 4.5 per 1,000 residents, but peaked in 1981 at nearly 7.0 divorces per 1,000 residents. Since then, Texas divorce rates have been on a steady decline. Since 2006, the divorce rate in Texas has been between 3.0 and 3.5 divorces per 1,000 residents.

Texas Divorce Rates In Harris County

The study showed both the raw number of Texas divorce cases by county and the rate of divorce per 1,000 residents. Harris County, the state’s most populous county with over 4.3 million residents, had the highest raw number of divorces in 2012 with 14,030. Despite the high number of raw divorces, Harris County has a Texas divorce rate of 3.23 divorces per 1,000 residents, just four percent higher than the state average.

Startling Texas Divorce Statistics

One of the more startling aspects of the state’s Texas divorce statistics shows up when examining divorce rates in specific counties. The report showed that Bell County in Central Texas had the highest Texas divorce rate in the state. The county, which has a population of 327,000 and includes cities such as Killeen, Temple and Belton, had a divorce rate of 12.89 divorces per 1,000 residents. On the other side of the coin, two counties near San Antonio (Atascosa, Zavala) and two in the Rio Grande Valley (Hidalgo, Starr) all had divorce rates at or near zero.

Children Affected By Texas Divorce

The report also tracked the impact of Texas divorce on the minor children from those relationships. The study showed that more than 62,000 children were affected by divorce in Texas in 2012. Children were involved in 45 percent of all Texas divorce cases. Nearly one-fourth (23.9 percent) of all Texas divorce cases involved two or more children, while just over one-fifth (21.7 percent) of all divorce cases in the state involved an only child.

Source: Texas Department of State Health Services

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