Divorce and Race

In 2008, 3% of all marriages were interracial with the highest #s being between a White individual & an individual of some other race.   Some say interracial marriages have a higher divorce rates due to pressures (society & family) facing the couple.   This is not necessarily true, although there is a relationship to race and divorce.

Interracial couples tend to get married later and have higher income (=lower risk) and they have bigger age and education differences (=higher risk). 


The biggest predictor of divorce appears to be the racial composition of husband and wife.  

In interracial marriages, couples who are:

• Asian/White are more likely to divorce than Asian/Asian 
• (depends) Black/White are more likely to divorce than White/White 
-White women/Black men couples are twice as likely to divorce as White/White couples        

-White husband/Black wife couples are 44% less likely to divorce than White/White couples
• Black/Black are more likely to divorce than White/White 

Sources: Marital Dissolution Among Interracial Couples  and 

"But Will it Last?": Marital Instability Among Interracial and Same-Race Couples