PRB

(October 2007) The share of baby-boomer men who divorced by age 40 fell from a high of 29.2 percent of those born from 1945 to 1949 to 25.4 percent of later baby boomers born between 1960 and 1964.

The pattern is similar for women, according to data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau and based on the 2004 Survey of Income and Program Participation. The share of women divorced by 40 was 34.4 percent for early baby boomers and 30.3 percent for tail-end boomers.

It’s possible that the lower divorce rates are related to lower percentages married among the younger group. For example, while 84.7 percent of earlier boomers were married by age 30, a smaller share (73.6 percent) of the later boomers had tied the knot by the same age.

Detailed Tables – Number, Timing and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2004 can be found at: www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/marr-div/2004detailed_tables.html.

—Sandra Yin, PRB Associate Editor