Is your state a 50/50 divorce state?

Two systems, and what "50/50" really means

Every state divides what a couple built during the marriage under one of two systems. Nine are community property states: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin, the list the IRS publishes. There, what either spouse earned while married starts out owned by both. The other states and DC use equitable distribution: the court divides marital property in the way it finds fair, which can be half each but does not have to be.

So "is my state 50/50?" has two parts. Who owns what is the first. Whether the court must split it exactly in half is the second, and the answer is not always the one the system's name suggests.

Where a statute requires an equal split, the table says so: California.

Some equitable distribution states start from half each and let the court move away from it only for a reason: Florida, Indiana, North Carolina and Ohio. In those states an equal split is the default, not a guarantee.

Whatever the system, it decides only how the total is shared. Whether you are better off keeping the house or taking more of the retirement accounts is a separate question, and the house against the 401(k) calculator runs it with your own numbers.

Every state

The split column shows the rule written in the state's statute, linked to the official text, for the states checked so far. The rest say so until they are checked: some equitable distribution states also start from half each, so the system's name alone does not answer the question. Each state's page has the rest of its rules: residency, waiting period, alimony and retirement accounts.

State	Regime	How property is split
Alabama	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Alaska	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Arizona	Community property	Not yet checked
Arkansas	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
California	Community property	Half each, by statute (Cal. Fam. Code § 2550)
Colorado	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Connecticut	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Delaware	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
District of Columbia	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Florida	Equitable distribution	Starts at half each (Section 61.075(1), Florida Statutes)
Georgia	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Hawaii	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Idaho	Community property	Not yet checked
Illinois	Equitable distribution	What the court finds fair (750 ILCS 5/503(d))
Indiana	Equitable distribution	Starts at half each (IC 31-15-7-5)
Iowa	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Kansas	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Kentucky	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Louisiana	Community property	Not yet checked
Maine	Equitable distribution	What the court finds fair (19-A M.R.S. §953(1))
Maryland	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Massachusetts	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Michigan	Equitable distribution	What the court finds fair (MCL 552.19)
Minnesota	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Mississippi	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Missouri	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Montana	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Nebraska	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Nevada	Community property	Not yet checked
New Hampshire	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
New Jersey	Equitable distribution	What the court finds fair (N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23.1)
New Mexico	Community property	Not yet checked
New York	Equitable distribution	What the court finds fair (N.Y. Domestic Relations Law § 236(B)(5)(c))
North Carolina	Equitable distribution	Starts at half each (G.S. 50-20(c))
North Dakota	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Ohio	Equitable distribution	Starts at half each (R.C. 3105.171(C)(1))
Oklahoma	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Oregon	Equitable distribution	What the court finds fair (ORS 107.105(1)(f))
Pennsylvania	Equitable distribution	What the court finds fair (23 Pa.C.S. § 3502(a))
Rhode Island	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
South Carolina	Equitable distribution	What the court finds fair (S.C. Code § 20-3-620)
South Dakota	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Tennessee	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Texas	Community property	What the court finds fair (Tex. Fam. Code § 7.001)
Utah	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Vermont	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Virginia	Equitable distribution	What the court finds fair (Va. Code § 20-107.3(C))
Washington	Community property	Not yet checked
West Virginia	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked
Wisconsin	Community property	Not yet checked
Wyoming	Equitable distribution	Not yet checked

What this does not tell you

Even in an equal-split state, a court first decides what counts as marital or community property. Gifts, inheritances and what each spouse owned before the marriage are usually kept apart, and the line between them is where most of the argument happens. Separation agreements, prenuptial agreements and the facts of a long marriage can move the result in any state. A family lawyer in your state can tell you how these rules apply to you.