California Divorce Statistics: Exploring 20 Years of Court Data

October 27, 2021 | Divorce

If we examine California divorce statistics over the last 20 years, divorce rates have been steadily declining since 2002, up until recently, that is. In 2002 160,785 marriages ended, compared to 108,422 in 2020. But from 2020 to 2021 the number of divorce filings in California increased to 114,238 – an increase of over 5,000 from the previous year. We will explore graphs that illustrate divorce statistics in California based on fiscal year and county and examine the impact Covid-19 had on these rates.

The table below shows the total number of family law filings for each fiscal year from 2002-2021.

California Family Court Filings: 2002 – 2021

Filings	Family Law Total	Dissolutions, Legal Separations, Annulments
FY21	297,957	114,238
FY20	307,731	108,422
FY19	353,674	126,141
FY18	360,387	131,042
FY17	374,994	134,708
FY16	389,428	139,806
FY15	381,214	138,109
FY14	384,428	139,026
FY13	392,799	140,246
FY12	418,696	150,602
FY11	433,087	154,549
FY10	455,834	154,534
FY09	458,138	153,205
FY08	439,420	151,505
FY07	460,437	154,649
FY06	455,901	157,719
FY05	475,322	154,906
FY04	481,640	152,237
FY03	473,248	153,858
FY02	490,602	160,785

California Divorce Data by County

Let’s look at how the rate of divorce changed by county from 2016-2020. The data shows how many divorces occurred each fiscal year, the total number of divorces, and the overall divorce rate in each county statewide.

California Divorce Rate by County

Yearly numbers of divorces vary greatly by county, depending on the overall population of each region. However, one commonality is that most counties’ yearly number of divorces steadily decline from 16/17 through 19/20, and then break this trend by increasing in 20/21.

California Divorces from 2016-2022

*Data is organized by Fiscal Year

County	FY 16-17	FY 17-18	FY 18-19	FY 19-20	FY20-21	Total	Divorce Rate
Statewide	134,756	131,042	121,477	108,457	114,238	609,970	3.10
Alameda	4,939	4,569	4,415	3,423	3,747	21,093	2.54
Alpine	1	3	—	2	2	8	1.46
Amador	197	187	182	159	125	850	4.38
Butte	917	923	827	720	626	4,013	3.55
Calaveras	163	185	179	151	170	848	3.72
Colusa	71	75	76	75	62	359	3.34
Contra Costa	3,522	3,443	3,317	2,868	3,045	16,195	2.82
Del Norte	105	95	104	102	115	521	3.78
El Dorado	649	752	701	654	593	3,349	3.53
Fresno	3,598	3,622	3,546	3,116	3,128	17,010	3.44
Glenn	98	98	93	106	85	480	3.42
Humboldt	467	467	453	418	373	2,178	3.20
Imperial	758	714	744	606	565	3,387	3.74
Inyo	55	59	68	60	46	288	3.21
Kern	3,345	3,321	3,264	2,702	2,775	15,407	3.46
Kings	608	578	565	569	613	2,933	3.89
Lake	276	247	262	226	231	1,242	3.87
Lassen	104	145	122	148	102	621	4.04
Los Angeles	33,783	32,330	30,875	26,490	29,136	152,614	3.03
Madera	549	542	513	473	461	2,538	3.26
Marin	901	818	784	645	635	3,783	2.91
Mariposa	49	68	42	68	57	284	3.27
Mendocino	345	389	380	339	247	1,700	3.90
Merced	871	919	889	832	793	4,304	3.16
Modoc	49	54	35	40	36	214	4.83
Mono	40	43	49	34	38	204	2.84
Monterey	1,366	1,236	1,228	1,151	1,325	6,306	2.91
Napa	532	500	483	500	488	2,503	3.59
Nevada	403	414	358	653	311	2,139	4.30
Orange	10,581	10,440	10,159	8,891	8,743	48,814	3.08
Placer	1,431	1,405	1,411	1,250	1,267	6,764	3.48
Plumas	78	79	—	97	60	314	3.36
Riverside	8,666	8,768	8,454	7,155	7,736	40,779	3.36
Sacramento	5,601	5,432	5,231	4,405	4,849	25,518	3.33
San Benito	199	193	215	172	185	964	3.17
San Bernardino	8,214	7,911	7,681	6,581	7,252	37,639	3.49
San Diego	12,690	12,342	12,045	9,862	10,982	57,921	3.48
San Francisco	2,340	2,256	2,100	1,801	1,819	10,316	2.35
San Joaquin	2,450	2,243	2,187	1,852	2,047	10,779	2.88
San Luis Obispo	907	888	855	792	791	4,233	2.99
San Mateo	2,129	2,036	1,983	1,715	1,589	9,452	2.46
Santa Barbara	1,276	1,296	1,244	1,031	1,064	5,911	2.65
Santa Clara	5,086	4,826	—	4,246	4,272	18,430	1.91
Santa Cruz	888	884	790	706	722	3,990	2.91
Shasta	878	826	804	705	690	3,903	4.35
Sierra	9	9	18	6	7	49	3.28
Siskiyou	180	173	185	165	145	848	3.90
Solano	1,674	1,691	1,651	1,404	1,353	7,773	3.50
Sonoma	1,679	1,639	1,604	1,310	1,384	7,616	3.05
Stanislaus	2,381	2,307	2,012	1,684	1,777	10,161	3.72
Sutter	378	406	405	333	338	1,860	3.86
Tehama	294	323	323	240	304	1,484	4.63
Trinity	62	73	35	35	38	243	3.86
Tulare	1,652	1,608	1,628	1,372	1,531	7,791	3.36
Tuolumne	214	219	224	216	182	1,055	3.90
Ventura	3,062	2,974	2,731	2,293	2,248	13,308	3.14
Yolo	682	665	613	522	630	3,112	2.85
Yuba	314	334	335	286	303	1,572	4.09

How Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Divorces in California?

Data shows that after years of steep and steady decline in divorce rates since 2002, the total number of divorces went up 5 percent overall from the 19/20 to 20/21 fiscal year. What caused this rise in rates? The most likely answer would be attributed to the effects of COVID-19. Marriages that had been on the rocks prior to the COVID-19 quarantine were put to the ultimate test when partners were forced to spend most, if not all, of their time together in a confined space.

The 2020 quarantine halted almost everything – including divorce proceedings, so divorces that were already underway or those getting ready to start the process, could not be moved forward or finalized. This caused a significant decrease in numbers for the 19/20 fiscal year. However, when the courts opened back up in 2021, those seeking a divorce flocked to court, causing the overall divorce rate to increase by 5 percent in the 20/21 fiscal year.

California Divorces During COVID

Data Table: COVID’s Impact on Divorce

Here we can take a closer look at the divorce rates per country from the 19/20 to 20/21 years. Most counties saw an increase in the number of divorces from 2020 to 2021, while some did not. In general, there were overwhelmingly more divorces in 20/21 than in 19/20. The information in the chart below is organized by fiscal year.