4 Min Read

Divorce Statistics in Ohio

By Divorce.com staff
Updated Jun 21, 2023

Ohio divorce rates depend on many factors, including geographical areas, age, gender, etc., which you’ll find in this article. You’ll also see how divorce rates change for different ethnic groups, religions, and political views.

Let’s dig in.

Divorce Rate in Ohio

Ohio’s divorce rate takes the middle position in the state-by-state divorce ranking. The current percentage of divorces is 12% per 1,000 people. In addition, like other states, the number of divorces in Ohio has fallen since the 1990s by approximately 55%, judging by the CDC.gov divorce rates table.

Let’s look at a few other exciting facts concerning divorce trends in Ohio:

Ohio divorce rates have remained relatively constant during the last ten years - around 12%.
Men and women in Ohio have different divorce rates: 10.8% versus 13.1%.
The percentage of divorces is the highest for American Indians and Black or African Americans. On the other hand, Asians divorce the least often.
Approximately 20% of minor children live with their fathers and 35% with their mothers after divorce.
The divorce rates in Democratic counties in Ohio are higher (12.2%) than in the Republican ones (11.8%).

Divorce Rate by Year in Ohio

Divorce rates in Ohio have not changed much since 2014 and have varied only slightly from around 11.9% to 12.3%. The American Community Survey provides more detailed information about divorce rates in Ohio, displayed below:

2021 11.9%
2020 12%
2019 12.2%
2018 12.1%
2017 12%
2016 12.2%
2015 12.2%
2014 12.3%

Now, let’s look at the divorce rates for women and men. As it turns out, men have 2% fewer divorces annually than women.

Who Files for Divorce More in Ohio

According to the 2015 American Sociological Association survey, women initiate more divorces than men, and despite the higher risk of poverty and child-rearing responsibilities, 70% of women still choose to end their marriages.

Why do they do it? Some authors believe that women are more likely to file for divorce because of disproportional duties around the house and unmet expectations, both in financial and emotional support from men. Another reason could be professional success, which decreases wives’ economic dependence on their husbands.

What is the Most Common Reason for Divorce in Ohio

Ohio is a no-fault divorce state, which means that spouses can get a divorce without proving anyone’s fault. So, the couples usually state that they are no longer compatible in their divorce petitions. They can also indicate cheating, cruel treatment, and other fault-based causes.

However, the most common reasons for divorce rarely coincide with the legal names used in family law. The author of The 8 Reasons for Divorce, Thomas G. Pappa, believes that even the so-called irretrievable breakdown is usually caused by multiple problems in a marriage.

In reality, couples split for various reasons, the most widespread of which are financial and sexual problems, loss of respect, cultural and age differences, etc.

Divorce Rate in Ohio Counties

Ohio is the seventh most populous state, with almost 11.8 million people. It comprises 88 counties, and each has its divorce rate that contributes to the state’s overall number of divorces.

The data below illustrates the largest Ohio counties and their divorce rates per 1,000 people.

Franklin County 11.5%
Cuyahoga County 12%
Hamilton County 11.1%
Summit County 12.2%
Montgomery County 13.2%
Lucas County 13.4%
Butler County 10.6%
Stark County 12.9%
Lorain County 12.1%
Warren County 9.8%
Lake County 12.5%
Delaware County 9.2%
Clark County 14%
Mahoning County 12.9%
Ross County 15%
Clermont County 11.7%
Trumbull County 13.5%
Medina County 10.6%
Licking County 11.6%
Geauga County 9%

A County With the Highest Divorce Rate

Ross County has the highest divorce rate in Ohio - 15% per 1,000 people if we consider the most-populous areas. And similar to the state’s gender differences in divorces, men in Ross county divorce fewer times (14%) than women (16%).

The most significant share of divorced women (30.2%) by age group is 45-49 years old. By contrast, for men it is at 55-59 years (27.1%).

A County With the Lowest Divorce Rate

Geauga County has the lowest divorce rate among other counties in Ohio - 9% per 1,000 residents. Additionally, the share of divorced women (9%) is slightly higher than that of divorced men (8%). And according to the data, both genders end their marriages most often at 60-64 years old.

Divorce Rate in Ohio Cities

Divorce rates also differ from city to city. Below you can find the largest of them with their corresponding divorce rates, taken from the Statistical Atlas.

Hamilton 16.5%
Canton 16.5%
Springfield 16%
Youngstown 15.5%
Newark 15.5%
Dayton 15.5%
Toledo 15.5%
Cleveland 15.5%
Lorain 13.5%
Akron 13.5%
Cincinnati 12%
Columbus 12%
Parma 11.5%
Westlake 11%
Mentor 10.5%
Strongsville 9.5%
Beavercreek 8%
Hilliard 7.5%
Dublin 7%
Bowling Green 6%

City With the Highest Divorce Rate

Two cities in Ohio - Hamilton and Canton - have the highest divorce rate of 16.5%. If we look at the number of divorced men and women, we’ll see a slight difference between the sexes. In Hamilton, 19% of women and 14% of men are divorced, whereas, in Canton, these numbers are 18% and 15%, respectively.

City With the Lowest Divorce Rate

The city with the fewest divorces in Ohio is Bowling Green in Wood County. The current percentage of divorces in this city is 6%. In particular, 7% of women and 5% of men file for divorce in Bowling Green.

Additionally, most divorces (36.9%) for women fall in their 55-59 age period, while men tend to get divorced more (26% of divorces) at 50-54.

Divorce Rate for Families With Kids in Ohio

According to the American Community Survey data for 2021, at least 20.7% of divorced men and 37.5% of divorced women in Ohio live with children under 18 years. So, more children stay with their mothers after divorce despite the equal rights of both parents (male and female) to get child custody in Ohio.

Let’s look at how many children live with only one parent. Below are several Ohio counties and their percentage of single-parent families.

Divorce Rate for Families With Kids in Ohio

Cuyahoga County 44%
Delaware County 17%
Erie County 45%
Franklin County 39%
Hamilton County 41%
Lake County 32%
Lorain County 36%
Montgomery County 44%
Holmes County 9%

Divorce Rate by Ethnicity in Ohio

In 2021, 80% of people in Ohio were White, according to World Population Review. Other ethnicities included Black or African Americans (12%), Asians (2%), and Native Americans (0.2%). Additionally, about 4% of people belonged to two or more races.

Divorce rates are usually drastically different for different races. For instance, Asians traditionally have fewer divorces than Black or African Americans. So, let’s look at how divorce rates are distributed for different ethnic groups in Ohio.

White 12%
Black or African American 13.2%
Asian 4.4%
American Indians and Alaska Natives 17%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders 10.1%
Hispanic or Latino origin 9.7%
Two or more races 10.9%
Other races 8.6%

Divorce Rate by Religion in Ohio

The Pew Research data on Religious composition in Ohio suggests that most adults are Christians (73%). Non-Christian Faiths, such as Muslim and Jewish, cover 4% of the state residents. The rest are unaffiliated (religious “nones”).

Despite the widespread belief that religion strengthens marriage, the same survey results paint a different picture. As it turns out, several Christian denominations, such as Evangelical and Mainline Protestants, have a higher percentage of divorces than people who don’t follow any religion.

Here are divorce rates for religious groups in Ohio:

Christian 14%
Evangelical Protestant 12%
Mainline Protestant 18%
Catholic 10%
Unaffiliated 11%

Divorce Rates by a Political Party in Ohio

Currently, Ohio is a Republican state since about 53% of Ohioans voted for the Republican Party in 2020. Conversely, only 7 of 88 counties voted for the Democrats.

If we take the most-populous counties and their divorce rates, the median percentage of divorces in Ohio would be higher for the Democrats.

Democrats 12.2%
Republicans 11.8%

Let’s also analyze the counties with the most divorces in Ohio. As shown in the table below, three out of five are Republican. However, the county with the lowest divorce rate - Geauga County - is also Republican.

Divorce Rates by a Political Party in Ohio

Marriage Rate in Ohio

Ohio couples get married at a moderate rate of 47.5%, according to the World Population Review. In comparison to other states, it’s neither high nor small. In fact, Ohio’s marriage rate is 15th from the bottom in the state-by-state ranking. Also, the percentage of married men is 2% higher than the women’s marriage rate in Ohio.

Let’s consider a few useful statistical facts about marriage in Ohio:

The number of marriages has dropped from 49% in 2010 to 47.5% in 2022.
Ohio residents enter their first marriage at 27-29 years old.
Interracial marriages make up 11% of marriages in Ohio.
Almost a third of Ohioans are married at 20-34.
Asian and White ethnic groups have the highest marriage rates among other races - 61.3% and 50.8% per 1,000 people, respectively.

The Average Age of Marriage in Ohio

The median age when people in Ohio get married for the first time is 29.4 years for men and 27.5 for women. Let’s compare these figures with the national average age at first marriage. According to research, the median age when American women get married is 28.6. As for men, they start families at 30.6 years.

About a third of people get married in their 30s, and around 60% are already married at 35-44 years old. However, if the share of married men consistently grows with age, the number of married women starts shrinking after they reach 55 years old.

Here’s a Census.gov table showing the percentage of married men and women depending on the age group.

Average Length of Marriage in Ohio

The average length of marriage in Ohio is close to the national median duration of marriage. For instance, U.S. couples are married for 21 years on average before they might get a divorce. Second and third marriages last for 17 and 13 years. And in Ohio, the median length of a marriage is 21.1 years.

Marriage Rate by Year in Ohio

Marriage rates in Ohio have been more or less the same since 2014. The only year when the number of marriages was lower than usual was 2020.

Let’s look at the yearly marriage rates in Ohio, provided by American Community Survey and World Population Review:

2022 - 47.5%
2021 - 47.2%s
2020 - 43.2%
2019 - 47%
2018 - 46.8%
2017 - 47.4%
2016 - 47.4%
2015 - 47.5%
2014 - 47.4%

Marriage Rate in Ohio Counties

The marriage rates for the largest Ohio counties are represented below. As we can see, Delaware County has the highest marriage rate - 61.2%, and Cuyahoga County has the lowest marriage rate in Ohio - 39.7%.

Franklin County 42.4%
Cuyahoga County 39.7%
Hamilton County 43.2%
Summit County 46.8%
Montgomery County 43.7%
Lucas County 41.8%
Butler County 50.1%
Stark County 48.3%
Lorain County 48.2%
Warren County 59.4%
Lake County 49.8%
Delaware County 61.2%
Clark County 46%
Mahoning County 44.5%
Ross County 46.5%
Clermont County 54.0%
Trumbull County 46.3%
Medina County 57.3%
Licking County 52.9%
Geauga County 61%

Marriage Rate in Ohio Cities

The most populated cities in Ohio have different marriage rates, varying from 25% to 68% on average. As we can see, the city with the highest number of marriages is Dublin in Delaware county. Conversely, people in Cleveland marry the least often, with a 25% marriage rate.

Dublin 68%
Upper Arlington 63%
North Ridgeville 61%
Strongsville 60%
Hilliard 59%
Mentor 57%
Stow 55%
North Olmsted 53%
Huber Heights 52%
Brunswick 51%
Delaware 50%
Cuyahoga Falls 49%
Parma 48%
Kettering 46%
Reynoldsburg 45%
Toledo 34%
Akron 34%
Canton 33%
Warren 32%
Columbus 36%
Cincinnati 29%
Cleveland 25%

Same-Sex Marriage Statistics in Ohio

Same-sex couples in Ohio received the right to get married on 26 June 2015. Although the information and statistics on same-sex marriages are scarce, it is clear that the number of these unions is growing.

Let’s look at the available data on the number of married couple households with same-sex partners for 2019 and 2021.

2019

Total same-sex couples 14,260
Male spouses 5,887
Female spouses 8,373

2021

Total same-sex couples 19,196
Male spouses 7,915
Female spouses 11,281

As we can see, the number of same-sex married couples increased between 2019 and 2021 by 35%.

Rates for Civil Unions in Ohio

Ohio does not recognize civil marriage, which was previously the only option for forming same-sex unions. However, those who do not want to get married officially can choose to register a domestic partnership in some state areas. Another option is to enter a cohabitation agreement.

According to Census.gov, there were 379,155 cohabiting couples in Ohio in 2021. Of these, 5% were same-sex partners. There’s no information about how many of them are in a civil union or domestic partnership.

Cohabiting couples in total - 379,155
Opposite-sex - 362,532
Same-sex (male) - 7,884
Same-sex (female) - 9,739

Interracial Marriage Statistics in Ohio

The interracial marriage rate in Ohio has risen significantly in the last decade. According to the U.S. Census report, there were less than 5% of marriages between people of different races in Ohio in 2010.

The number of interracial marriages in Ohio increased to 11% in recent years, which is still below the national average of 16%, according to a Pew Research survey. Below are several metro areas in Ohio with interracial marriage rates.

Akron 12%
Cincinnati 9%
Cleveland-Elyria 12%
Columbus 11%
Dayton 11%
Toledo 20%
Youngstown 4%

Final Thoughts

Ohio’s divorce and marriage rates hold middle positions compared to the other states. The current divorce rate is 12% per 1,000 people, while the marriage rate in Ohio is 47.5%, which is approximately sixty thousand marriages in total.

On average, Ohioans start their families at 27-29 and stay married for 21.1 years. In addition, the highest number of married people is among Asian and White ethnic groups.

If we look at divorce rates for people with different religions and political views, Protestants and residents of Democratic counties have more divorces than others.

Sources:

Ohio Population 2023 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs)

Divorce Rates by State: 1990, 1995, and 1999-2021

Explore Census Data

Women More Likely Than Men to Initiate Divorces, But Not Non-Marital Breakups

Why women choose divorce: An evolutionary perspective

Largest Counties in the US 2023

Marital Status in Ross County, Ohio

Marital Status in Geauga County, Ohio

Map of Marital Status by County in Ohio

Marital Status in Hamilton, Ohio

Marital Status in Canton, Ohio