This Is the City With the Highest Divorce Rate

By Douglas A. McIntyre Published Dec 18, 11:00AM EST

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This Is the City With the Highest Divorce Rate — © chameleonseye / iStock via Getty Images

The annual divorce rate in America is 14.9 per 1,000 people. That number has fallen most years over the past decade. This may be due partly to the fact that fewer people are getting married. Nevertheless, the United States still has one of the highest divorce rates in the world. And the city with the highest divorce rate is Hot Springs, Ark., where some 16.86% of the population has been divorced.

Divorce has profound effects on society. One in five women who divorce fall into poverty. Children lose critical time with parents, and children of divorced couples often lose health insurance benefits. They are also less likely to graduate from high school. (Click here to see the city in which most people get divorced in every state.)

The situation of every couple is different, so there is no universal dynamic that drives couples apart. Ann Gold Buscho, Ph.D., author of “The Parent’s Guide to Birdnesting: A Child-Centered Solution to Co-Parenting During Separation and Divorce,” writes in Psychology Today that the reasons for divorce run the gamut from incompatibility and money conflicts to the age-old breaking point, infidelity. Couples who have lost the ability to communicate or to be intimate are more likely to divorce, as well, she adds. Not surprisingly, abuse or addiction problems often lead to broken marriages, too.

To determine the metro area with the most divorce, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the percentage of the population aged 15 and older that is currently divorced in the 384 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas, using annual estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey. Data on the married, separated, never married, and total population also came from the ACS. All are shares of the 15 and older population, not the total population, and are current as of 2019.

Click here to see the American cities with the highest divorce rate

Data about divorce also comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s library of marriage statistics. The CDC logs the number of divorces and annulments per 1,000 population. The rate in 2019 was 2.7. (The CDC notes that California, Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota, and New Mexico did not report that year.)

25. Pueblo, CO
> Divorced population: 14.85% or 20,474
> Separated population: 2,168 (1.57% – #210 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 63,598 (46.12% – #265 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 43,952 (31.87% – #223 highest of 384)
> Total population: 168,424 – #256 largest of 384 metros

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24. Albany, GA
> Divorced population: 14.87% or 17,650
> Separated population: 4,872 (4.11% – #2 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 43,007 (36.24% – #382 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 44,592 (37.58% – #54 highest of 384)
> Total population: 147,384 – #286 largest of 384 metros

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Elkhart, Indiana (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Ken Luu043fd

23. Elkhart-Goshen, IN
> Divorced population: 14.89% or 23,795
> Separated population: 2,612 (1.63% – #200 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 70,302 (43.99% – #332 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 52,183 (32.65% – #200 highest of 384)
> Total population: 206,341 – #219 largest of 384 metros

22. Staunton, VA
> Divorced population: 14.92% or 15,583
> Separated population: 1,597 (1.53% – #219 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 50,339 (48.20% – #177 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 28,699 (27.48% – #336 highest of 384)
> Total population: 123,120 – #325 largest of 384 metros

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20190905 56 Kokomo, Indiana by David Wilson

20190905 56 Kokomo, Indiana (CC BY 2.0) by David Wilson

21. Kokomo, IN
> Divorced population: 15.14% or 10,140
> Separated population: 877 (1.31% – #273 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 32,221 (48.12% – #183 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 19,641 (29.33% – #295 highest of 384)
> Total population: 82,544 – #375 largest of 384 metros

Baldwin County Courthouse Bay Minette June 2013 1 by Chris Pruitt

Baldwin County Courthouse Bay Minette June 2013 1 (CC BY-SA 3.0) by Chris Pruitt

20. Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL
> Divorced population: 15.15% or 28,093
> Separated population: 5,236 (2.82% – #24 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 90,635 (48.88% – #150 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 48,179 (25.98% – #358 highest of 384)
> Total population: 223,234 – #203 largest of 384 metros

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07 21 09 042xRP - Flickr - drewj1946 by Drew Jacksich

07 21 09 042xRP - Flickr - drewj1946 (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Drew Jacksich

19. Michigan City-La Porte, IN
> Divorced population: 15.16% or 13,823
> Separated population: 1,283 (1.41% – #251 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 41,003 (44.97% – #302 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 28,642 (31.41% – #227 highest of 384)
> Total population: 109,888 – #342 largest of 384 metros

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Riverstone in Coeur D'Alene, I... by Paul Sableman

Riverstone in Coeur D'Alene, I... (CC BY 2.0) by Paul Sableman

18. Coeur d’Alene, ID
> Divorced population: 15.20% or 20,458
> Separated population: 1,838 (1.37% – #259 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 72,409 (53.81% – #29 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 33,471 (24.88% – #367 highest of 384)
> Total population: 165,697 – #260 largest of 384 metros

Corvallis, Oregon - Benton County Courthouse 02 by Joe Mabel

Corvallis, Oregon - Benton County Courthouse 02 (CC BY 4.0) by Joe Mabel

17. Albany-Lebanon, OR
> Divorced population: 15.24% or 16,306
> Separated population: 1,226 (1.15% – #307 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 51,389 (48.04% – #187 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 31,856 (29.78% – #286 highest of 384)
> Total population: 129,749 – #312 largest of 384 metros

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Gadsden, AL (CC BY 2.0) by Curtis Palmer

16. Gadsden, AL
> Divorced population: 15.33% or 12,767
> Separated population: 1,672 (2.01% – #120 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 37,820 (45.42% – #284 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 23,570 (28.31% – #318 highest of 384)
> Total population: 102,268 – #353 largest of 384 metros

15. Port St. Lucie, FL
> Divorced population: 15.34% or 63,648
> Separated population: 8,302 (2.00% – #123 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 192,288 (46.35% – #254 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 117,501 (28.33% – #315 highest of 384)
> Total population: 489,297 – #113 largest of 384 metros

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14. Lewiston, ID-WA
> Divorced population: 15.84% or 8,192
> Separated population: 490 (0.95% – #335 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 25,561 (49.43% – #123 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 13,194 (25.51% – #362 highest of 384)
> Total population: 62,990 – #381 largest of 384 metros

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Lots Of Hot Air by Paul VanDerWerf [Off for awhile]

Lots Of Hot Air (CC BY 2.0) by Paul VanDerWerf [Off for awhile]

13. Lewiston-Auburn, ME
> Divorced population: 15.88% or 14,110
> Separated population: 192 (0.22% – #384 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 41,974 (47.23% – #217 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 26,785 (30.14% – #271 highest of 384)
> Total population: 108,277 – #346 largest of 384 metros

12. Terre Haute, IN
> Divorced population: 15.92% or 24,412
> Separated population: 1,722 (1.12% – #310 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 69,836 (45.54% – #280 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 47,232 (30.80% – #243 highest of 384)
> Total population: 185,782 – #230 largest of 384 metros

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11. Sherman-Denison, TX
> Divorced population: 16.06% or 17,539
> Separated population: 1,466 (1.34% – #262 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 51,017 (46.73% – #240 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 31,170 (28.55% – #310 highest of 384)
> Total population: 136,212 – #303 largest of 384 metros

10. Parkersburg-Vienna, WV
> Divorced population: 16.08% or 11,986
> Separated population: 771 (1.03% – #324 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 35,718 (47.92% – #193 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 20,303 (27.24% – #340 highest of 384)
> Total population: 89,676 – #368 largest of 384 metros

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9. Lawton, OK
> Divorced population: 16.14% or 16,394
> Separated population: 2,559 (2.52% – #50 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 42,052 (41.41% – #365 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 34,237 (33.72% – #161 highest of 384)
> Total population: 126,043 – #317 largest of 384 metros

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8. Danville, IL
> Divorced population: 16.26% or 9,858
> Separated population: 1,516 (2.50% – #51 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 25,691 (42.37% – #355 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 19,578 (32.29% – #210 highest of 384)
> Total population: 75,758 – #379 largest of 384 metros

7. Santa Fe, NM
> Divorced population: 16.32% or 21,042
> Separated population: 2,491 (1.93% – #140 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 55,737 (43.22% – #343 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 41,710 (32.35% – #208 highest of 384)
> Total population: 150,358 – #280 largest of 384 metros

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6. Muskegon, MI
> Divorced population: 16.35% or 23,037
> Separated population: 2,127 (1.51% – #222 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 62,207 (44.14% – #322 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 43,912 (31.16% – #233 highest of 384)
> Total population: 173,566 – #245 largest of 384 metros

5. Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ
> Divorced population: 16.46% or 33,720
> Separated population: 2,738 (1.34% – #264 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 108,324 (52.88% – #41 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 44,348 (21.65% – #382 highest of 384)
> Total population: 235,099 – #196 largest of 384 metros

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4. Medford, OR
> Divorced population: 16.53% or 30,296
> Separated population: 1,707 (0.93% – #338 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 88,960 (48.53% – #162 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 49,316 (26.90% – #346 highest of 384)
> Total population: 220,944 – #206 largest of 384 metros

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3. Jackson, MI
> Divorced population: 16.81% or 22,010
> Separated population: 2,418 (1.85% – #153 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 56,040 (42.79% – #346 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 42,419 (32.39% – #206 highest of 384)
> Total population: 158,510 – #266 largest of 384 metros

2. Great Falls, MT
> Divorced population: 16.83% or 11,091
> Separated population: 1,023 (1.55% – #216 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 29,622 (44.94% – #303 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 19,872 (30.15% – #270 highest of 384)
> Total population: 81,366 – #376 largest of 384 metros

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1. Hot Springs, AR
> Divorced population: 16.86% or 14,130
> Separated population: 1,723 (2.06% – #111 highest of 384 metros)
> Married, not separated pop.: 39,995 (47.73% – #197 highest of 384)
> Never married population: 21,204 (25.31% – #364 highest of 384)
> Total population: 99,386 – #358 largest of 384 metros

About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.