If you’re married, the thought of divorce has probably popped into your mind at least once.
Come on, admit it.
And if you’re not married, let me tell you that there’s gonna be a point at 2 a.m. when you have a crying baby and haven’t slept in two months that it’s gonna run through your head to run.
Far.
Away.
But, don’t just take my word for it, take the word of the some 424,795 people living in Indiana over fifteen years of age who are divorced. Or compare that to the 28,339,199 dAmericans who are already divorced in 2020.
A lot of people make the decision to run away – or simply split up – across the Hoosier State.
Isn’t the divorce rate in America close to 50%? Yes indeed. But that’s not quite what we’re measuring; we are looking at counts and percentages of people over 15 years old who are currently divorced.
You typically calculate that 50% statistic as percent of marriages.
But we are just going to focus on the actual number of divorced people today — what better way to measure marital misery than the straight count of people in Indiana it affects?
So now that we have you biting your nails, rethinking your world view, and pulling out your hair, let’s take a look at the places in Indiana with highest rates of divorcees.
Let’s quickly recap before we dive into the methodology and a closer look at the top ten places in IN.
What is the city in Indiana with the highest divorce rate? That would be Linton, with 18.0% of people over 15 years of age being divorced, per the most recent census data.
What is the overall Indiana divorce rate? According to the 2014-2018 Community Survey, the overall divorce rate in Indiana is 8.0%, which compares to the US divorce rate of 10.9%.
Alrighty, on to how we calculated the places with the highest divorce rates in Indiana.
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How We Determined The Places In Indiana That Get Un-Hitched The Most
Since that this is the 58th category of rankings we are compiling for the site, we had a pretty good idea where to find data on marriage and divorce in America the U.S. Census Bureau. Because who likes tracking misery more than the U.S. government?
Specifically, we looked at the 2014-2018 American Community Survey specifically table S1201 — Marital Status.
Pretty straight forward on that front — we just had to extract the following column of data:
- Population 15 Years and Over -> Divorced
There’s some kinda interesting/fun/sad data in there like .1% of female Americans aged 15-19 are divorced, but 0% of males (That’s probably a rounding issue, but still).
But the national data is for another day, today the analysis focuses on the 119 places in Indiana with a population of over 5,000.
We ranked each of these places by the percentage of divorcees over 15 years of age from highest to lowest. We crowned the divorce capital of Indiana the place with the highest incidence of divorcees, Linton.
And if you’re trying to avoid divorce, check out West Lafayette, the city with the lowest divorce rate in Indiana.
Now on to a deeper look at the top ten.
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Linton is a city in Stockton Township, Greene County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,413 at the 2010 census. A coal mining city, it is located southeast of Terre Haute. The current mayor is Scott Anthony Smithhart.
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Ellettsville is a town in Richland Township, Monroe County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 6,378 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bloomington, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. Ellettsville is the starting point for the Hilly Hundred, a two-day bicycle tour.
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Martinsville is a city in Washington Township, Morgan County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 11,828 at the 2010 United States Census. The city is the county seat of Morgan County.
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Gas City is a city in Grant County, Indiana, along the Mississinewa River. The population was 5,965 at the 2010 census.
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Rochester is a city in, and the county seat of, Fulton County, Indiana, United States. The population was 6,218 at the 2010 census.
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Rushville is a city in Rushville Township, Rush County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 6,341 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Rush County. It was the campaign headquarters for Wendell Willkie’s 1940 presidential campaign against Franklin D. Roosevelt. Willkie is buried in the city’s East Hill Cemetery. It, like the county, was named in honor of Dr. Benjamin Rush, who signed the Declaration of Independence.
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Elwood is a city in Madison and Tipton counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. The Madison County portion, which includes most of the city, is part of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the small portion in Tipton County is part of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,614 at the 2010 census.
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Salem is a city in Washington Township, Washington County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. Salem serves as the county seat. The population was 6,319 at the 2010 census.
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Population: 5,955
Divorce Rate: 15.0%
Divorcees: 714
Median Income: $63,901
More on New Whiteland: Data
New Whiteland is a town in Pleasant Township, Johnson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,472 at the 2010 census.
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Wabash is a city in Noble Township, Wabash County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 10,666 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Wabash County.
Getting Some Closure In Indiana After Untying The Know
Besides just coming up with what we thought would be a great new blog/book title, “Untying the Knot In Indiana: Life After Divorce”, we now have a sense of what places in the Hoosier State don’t pay much attention to the whole “’til death do we part” phrase.
Try to keep in mind that the reason cities rank where they do in Indiana could be because of the age, education, and income distribution, as all of those things impact the rate of divorce.
And, in all honestly, that’s probably for the best. It’s much better to get out of a toxic relationship than stay it.
Just make sure you have your running shoes ready to go.
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