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 147,913 people living in Maine over fifteen years of age who are divorced. Or compare that to the 28,339,199 dAmericans who are already divorced in 2019.
A lot of people make the decision to run away – or simply split up – across the Pine Tree 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 Maine 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 Maine 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 ME.
What is the city in Maine with the highest divorce rate? That would be Augusta, with 21.3% of people over 15 years of age being divorced, per the most recent census data.
What is the overall Maine divorce rate? According to the 2013-2017 Community Survey, the overall divorce rate in Maine is 13.900000000000002%, which compares to the US divorce rate of 10.9%.
Alrighty, on to how we calculated the places with the highest divorce rates in Maine.
For more Maine reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Live In Maine
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Maine
- 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In Maine
How We Determined The Places In Maine 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 2013-2017 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 22 places in Maine with a population of over 1,000.
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 Maine the place with the highest incidence of divorcees, Augusta.
And if you’re trying to avoid divorce, check out Presque Isle, the city with the lowest divorce rate in Maine.
Now on to a deeper look at the top ten.
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Augusta is the capital of the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Kennebec County.
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Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,297. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination. It is a departure point for the Maine State Ferry Service to the islands of Penobscot Bay: Vinalhaven, North Haven and Matinicus.
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Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 8,514 at the 2010 census, and 8,357 as of 2013, the population has had a change of -10.2% since 2000. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County, which includes one city and 10 towns. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its 19th-century architecture. It is home to the Bath Iron Works and Heritage Days Festival, held annually on the Fourth of July weekend. It is commonly known as “The City of Ships.” Bath is part of the metropolitan statistical area of Greater Portland.
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Population: 1,399
Divorce Rate: 16.0%
Divorcees: 201
Median Income: $29,375
More on Eastport: Data
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Auburn is a city in and the county seat of Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 23,055 at the 2010 census. Auburn and Lewiston are known locally as the Twin Cities or Lewiston-Auburn.
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Bangor is a city along the Penobscot River in the U.S. state of Maine. The city proper has a population of 33,039, while the Bangor metropolitan area has a population of 153,746. Bangor is known as the “Queen City” of Maine.
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South Portland is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, and is the fourth-largest city in the state, incorporated in 1898. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 25,002. Known for its working waterfront, South Portland is situated on Portland Harbor and overlooks the skyline of Portland and the islands of Casco Bay. Due to South Portland’s close proximity to air, marine, rail, and highway transportation options, the city has become a center for retail and industry in the region.
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Gardiner is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,800 at the 2010 census. Popular with tourists, Gardiner is noted for its culture and old architecture. Gardiner is included in the Augusta, Maine micropolitan New England City and Town Area.
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Belfast is a city in Waldo County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 6,668. Located at the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River estuary on Penobscot Bay, Belfast is the county seat of Waldo County. The seaport has a wealth of antique architecture in several historic districts, and remains popular with tourists.
Getting Some Closure In Maine After Untying The Know
Besides just coming up with what we thought would be a great new blog/book title, “Untying the Knot In Maine: Life After Divorce”, we now have a sense of what places in the Pine Tree 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 Maine 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.
For more Maine reading, check out:
- These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In Maine
- These Are The 10 Richest Cities In Maine
- 10 Safest Places In Maine
Detailed List Of The Cities With The Highest Divorce Rates In Maine
| Rank | City | Divorce Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Augusta, ME | 21.3% |
| 2 | Rockland, ME | 18.5% |
| 3 | Calais, ME | 16.8% |
| 4 | Bath, ME | 16.2% |
| 5 | Eastport, ME | 16.0% |
| 6 | Auburn, ME | 15.9% |
| 7 | Bangor, ME | 15.6% |
| 8 | South Portland, ME | 15.2% |
| 9 | Gardiner, ME | 14.6% |
| 10 | Belfast, ME | 14.5% |
| 11 | Lewiston, ME | 14.5% |
| 12 | Biddeford, ME | 14.1% |
| 13 | Brewer, ME | 13.8% |
| 14 | Hallowell, ME | 13.7% |
| 15 | Saco, ME | 13.6% |
| 16 | Waterville, ME | 13.5% |
| 17 | Old Town, ME | 13.4% |
| 18 | Westbrook, ME | 13.1% |
| 19 | Portland, ME | 12.5% |
| 20 | Ellsworth, ME | 12.5% |
| 21 | Caribou, ME | 12.5% |
| 22 | Presque Isle, ME | 11.7% |