The 10 Cities In Kentucky With The Highest Divorce Rates For 2024


The cities in Kentucky with the highest divorce rate are Lebanon and Shively for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Cities with highest divorce rate in Kentucky research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to analyze Kentucky’s most recent Census data to determine the divorce rate for each city in Kentucky based on the percentage of currently divorced residents. Here are the results of our analysis:

  • The city with the highest divorce rate in Kentucky is Lebanon based on the most recent Census data.

  • Lebanon is 19.0% Divorced.

  • The city with the lowest divorce rate in Kentucky is Morehead.

  • Morehead is 2.0% Divorced.

  • Kentucky is 9.0% Divorced.

Cities With Highest Divorce Rate In Kentucky Map


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


There are some 324,211 people living in Kentucky over fifteen years of age who are divorced. You can compare that to the 28,339,199 Americans who are currently divorced in 2024.

Many people decide to run away – or split up – across the Bluegrass State.

Isn’t the divorce rate in America close to 50%? Yes indeed. But we’re measuring something else; we are looking at counts and percentages of people over 15 years old who are currently divorced. That 50% statistic is for the percentage of people who have ever been divorced.

For today’s analysis, the focus will be on the number of currently divorced people.

So now that we have you biting your nails, rethinking your worldview, and pulling out your hair, let’s look at the places in Kentucky with the highest rates of divorcees.

The 10 Cities In Kentucky With The Highest Divorce Rates

  1. Lebanon
  2. Shively
  3. Lawrenceburg
  4. Pikeville
  5. London
  6. Owensboro
  7. Frankfort
  8. Madisonville
  9. Somerset
  10. Leitchfield

Let’s quickly recap before we dive into the Saturday Night Science behind the data.

What is the city in Kentucky with the highest divorce rate? That would be Lebanon, with 19.0% of people over 15 years of age being divorced, per the most recent census data.

What is the overall Kentucky divorce rate? According to the 2018-2022 Community Survey, the overall divorce rate in Kentucky is 9.0%, which compares to the US divorce rate of 10.9%.

Alrighty, on to how we calculated the places with the highest divorce rates in Kentucky.

For more Kentucky reading, check out:

The 10 Places With The Highest Divorce Rate In Kentucky For 2024

Lebanon, KY

Source: Wikipedia User W.marsh | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 6,274
Divorce Rate: 19.0%
Divorcees: 953
Median Income: $37,500
More on Lebanon: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Shively, KY

Source: Wikipedia User | CC-BY-2.5
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 15,595
Divorce Rate: 16.0%
Divorcees: 1,996
Median Income: $45,953
More on Shively: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Lawrenceburg, KY

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 11,749
Divorce Rate: 16.0%
Divorcees: 1,503
Median Income: $58,935
More on Lawrenceburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Pikeville, KY

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 7,563
Divorce Rate: 14.0%
Divorcees: 847
Median Income: $41,324
More on Pikeville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

London, KY

Source: Wikipedia User w.marsh | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 7,612
Divorce Rate: 14.0%
Divorcees: 852
Median Income: $45,858
More on London: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Owensboro, KY

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 60,019
Divorce Rate: 13.0%
Divorcees: 6,241
Median Income: $51,982
More on Owensboro: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Frankfort, KY

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 28,460
Divorce Rate: 13.0%
Divorcees: 2,959
Median Income: $53,905
More on Frankfort: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Madisonville, KY

Source: Flickr User merfam | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 19,433
Divorce Rate: 13.0%
Divorcees: 2,021
Median Income: $54,234
More on Madisonville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Somerset, KY

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 11,998
Divorce Rate: 13.0%
Divorcees: 1,247
Median Income: $33,245
More on Somerset: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Leitchfield, KY

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 6,432
Divorce Rate: 13.0%
Divorcees: 668
Median Income: $43,214
More on Leitchfield: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

How We Determined The Places In Kentucky That Get Un-Hitched The Most

Since this is the 58th category of rankings we are compiling for the site, we had a pretty good idea of where to find data on marriage and divorce in America. We used Saturday Night Science to look at the U.S. Census Bureau on divorce rates. Because who likes tracking misery more than the U.S. government?

Specifically, we looked at the 2018-2022 American Community Survey table S1201 — Marital Status.

Pretty straightforward on that front — we just had to extract the following column of data:

  • Population 15 Years and Over -> Divorced

There are some interesting/fun/sad data 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 80 places in Kentucky with a population of over 5,000.

We ranked each place by the percentage of divorcees over 15 years of age from highest to lowest. We crowned the divorce capital of Kentucky the place with the highest incidence of divorcees, Lebanon.

And if you’re trying to avoid divorce, check out Morehead, the city with the lowest divorce rate in Kentucky.

We updated this article for 2024 and this list is our fifth time ranking the cities in Kentucky with the highest divorce rates.

Getting Some Closure In Kentucky After Untying The Know

Besides just coming up with what we thought would be a great new blog/book title, “Untying the Knot In Kentucky: Life After Divorce,” we now have a sense of what places in the Bluegrass State don’t pay much attention to the whole “’til death do we part” phrase.

The cities with the highest divorce rate in Kentucky are Lebanon, Shively, Lawrenceburg, Pikeville, London, Owensboro, Frankfort, Madisonville, Somerset, and Leitchfield.

Try to keep in mind that the reason cities rank where they do in Kentucky could be because of the age, education, and income distribution, as all of those things impact the rate of divorce.

And that’s probably for the best. Getting out of a toxic relationship is much better than staying in it.

Just make sure you have your running shoes ready to go.

For more Kentucky reading, check out:

Cities With The Highest Divorce Rates In Kentucky

Rank City Population Divorcees Divorce Rate
1 Lebanon, KY 6,274 953 19.0%
2 Shively, KY 15,595 1,996 16.0%
3 Lawrenceburg, KY 11,749 1,503 16.0%
4 Pikeville, KY 7,563 847 14.0%
5 London, KY 7,612 852 14.0%
6 Owensboro, KY 60,019 6,241 13.0%
7 Frankfort, KY 28,460 2,959 13.0%
8 Madisonville, KY 19,433 2,021 13.0%
9 Somerset, KY 11,998 1,247 13.0%
10 Leitchfield, KY 6,432 668 13.0%
11 Shepherdsville, KY 14,136 1,357 12.0%
12 Bardstown, KY 13,564 1,302 12.0%
13 Winchester, KY 19,080 1,831 12.0%
14 Corbin, KY 8,611 826 12.0%
15 Glasgow, KY 15,043 1,444 12.0%
16 Berea, KY 15,404 1,478 12.0%
17 Ashland, KY 21,542 1,895 11.0%
18 Harrodsburg, KY 9,057 797 11.0%
19 Cynthiana, KY 6,355 559 11.0%
20 Mount Sterling, KY 7,532 662 11.0%
21 Princeton, KY 6,248 549 11.0%
22 Middlesborough, KY 9,383 825 11.0%
23 Mayfield, KY 10,011 880 11.0%
24 Danville, KY 17,191 1,512 11.0%
25 Bellevue, KY 5,596 492 11.0%
26 Paris, KY 10,143 892 11.0%
27 Hopkinsville, KY 31,042 2,731 11.0%
28 Versailles, KY 10,297 906 11.0%
29 Mount Washington, KY 17,987 1,438 10.0%
30 Campbellsville, KY 11,434 914 10.0%
31 Maysville, KY 8,831 706 10.0%
32 Florence, KY 32,056 2,564 10.0%
33 Erlanger, KY 19,577 1,409 9.0%
34 Hazard, KY 5,194 373 9.0%
35 Louisville, KY 629,176 45,300 9.0%
36 La Grange, KY 10,073 725 9.0%
37 Russellville, KY 7,186 517 9.0%
38 Taylor Mill, KY 6,851 493 9.0%
39 Georgetown, KY 37,510 2,700 9.0%
40 Paducah, KY 26,869 1,934 9.0%
41 Richmond, KY 34,883 2,511 9.0%
42 Nicholasville, KY 31,352 2,257 9.0%
43 Henderson, KY 28,166 2,027 9.0%
44 Central City, KY 5,740 413 9.0%
45 Hillview, KY 8,681 555 8.0%
46 Lyndon, KY 10,997 703 8.0%
47 Covington, KY 40,923 2,619 8.0%
48 Middletown, KY 9,594 614 8.0%
49 Douglass Hills, KY 5,466 349 8.0%
50 Shelbyville, KY 17,239 1,103 8.0%
51 Fort Mitchell, KY 8,667 554 8.0%
52 Elizabethtown, KY 31,425 2,011 8.0%
53 Flatwoods, KY 7,312 467 8.0%
54 Walton, KY 5,492 351 8.0%
55 Lexington, KY 321,276 17,991 7.0%
56 Bowling Green, KY 72,385 4,053 7.0%
57 Newport, KY 14,190 794 7.0%
58 Jeffersontown, KY 28,796 1,612 7.0%
59 Dayton, KY 5,674 317 7.0%
60 Crestwood, KY 6,175 345 7.0%
61 St. Matthews, KY 17,511 980 7.0%
62 Monticello, KY 5,770 323 7.0%
63 Alexandria, KY 10,322 495 6.0%
64 Highland Heights, KY 6,566 315 6.0%
65 Cold Spring, KY 6,258 300 6.0%
66 Independence, KY 28,722 1,148 5.0%
67 Wilmore, KY 6,017 240 5.0%
68 Villa Hills, KY 7,331 293 5.0%
69 Elsmere, KY 9,126 365 5.0%
70 Murray, KY 17,414 696 5.0%
71 Fort Thomas, KY 17,310 692 5.0%
72 Vine Grove, KY 6,611 211 4.0%
73 Union, KY 7,369 235 4.0%
74 Franklin, KY 10,141 324 4.0%
75 Fort Wright, KY 5,841 186 4.0%
76 Radcliff, KY 22,981 735 4.0%
77 Edgewood, KY 8,447 202 3.0%
78 Williamsburg, KY 5,229 125 3.0%
79 Oak Grove, KY 7,895 126 2.0%
80 Morehead, KY 7,001 112 2.0%
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *