Cities with highest divorce rate in Minnesota research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to analyze Minnesota’s most recent Census data to determine the divorce rate for each city in Minnesota based on the percentage of currently divorced residents. Here are the results of our analysis:
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The city with the highest divorce rate in Minnesota is Virginia based on the most recent Census data.
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Virginia is 17.0% Divorced.
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The city with the lowest divorce rate in Minnesota is North Oaks.
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North Oaks is 1.0% Divorced.
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Minnesota is 6.0% Divorced.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
There are some 275,493 people living in Minnesota over fifteen years of age who are divorced. You can compare that to the 28,339,199 Americans who are currently divorced in 2026.
Many people decide to run away – or split up – across the North Star 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 Minnesota with the highest rates of divorcees.
The 10 Cities In Minnesota With The Highest Divorce Rates
Let’s quickly recap before we dive into the Saturday Night Science behind the data.
What is the city in Minnesota with the highest divorce rate? That would be Virginia, with 17.0% of people over 15 years of age being divorced, per the most recent census data.
What is the overall Minnesota divorce rate? According to the 2020-2024 Community Survey, the overall divorce rate in Minnesota is 6.0%, which compares to the US divorce rate of 10.9%.
Alrighty, on to how we calculated the places with the highest divorce rates in Minnesota.
For more Minnesota reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Minnesota
- Worst Places To Live In Minnesota
- Cheapest Places To Live In Minnesota
The 10 Places With The Highest Divorce Rate In Minnesota For 2026
/10
Population: 8,332
Divorce Rate: 17.0%
Divorcees: 1,133
Median Income: $51,720
More on Virginia: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 5,642
Divorce Rate: 16.0%
Divorcees: 722
Median Income: $57,662
More on International Falls: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 9,121
Divorce Rate: 13.0%
Divorcees: 948
Median Income: $47,863
More on Little Falls: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 16,499
Divorce Rate: 13.0%
Divorcees: 1,715
Median Income: $88,820
More on Buffalo: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 12,537
Divorce Rate: 12.0%
Divorcees: 1,203
Median Income: $61,367
More on Cloquet: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 9,107
Divorce Rate: 12.0%
Divorcees: 874
Median Income: $86,675
More on Mound: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,695
Divorce Rate: 12.0%
Divorcees: 546
Median Income: $71,356
More on Glencoe: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 7,210
Divorce Rate: 11.0%
Divorcees: 634
Median Income: $87,500
More on Isanti: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 14,468
Divorce Rate: 11.0%
Divorcees: 1,273
Median Income: $56,111
More on Brainerd: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 11,207
Divorce Rate: 11.0%
Divorcees: 986
Median Income: $61,029
More on Grand Rapids: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
How We Determined The Places In Minnesota 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 2020-2024 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 151 places in Minnesota 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 Minnesota the place with the highest incidence of divorcees, Virginia.
And if you’re trying to avoid divorce, check out North Oaks, the city with the lowest divorce rate in Minnesota.
We updated this article for 2026 and this list is our fifth time ranking the cities in Minnesota with the highest divorce rates.
Getting Some Closure In Minnesota After Untying The Know
Besides just coming up with what we thought would be a great new blog/book title, “Untying the Knot In Minnesota: Life After Divorce,” we now have a sense of what places in the North Star State don’t pay much attention to the whole “’til death do we part” phrase.
The cities with the highest divorce rate in Minnesota are Virginia, International Falls, Little Falls, Buffalo, Cloquet, Mound, Glencoe, Isanti, Brainerd, and Grand Rapids.
Try to keep in mind that the reason cities rank where they do in Minnesota 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 Minnesota reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Minnesota
- Worst Places To Live In Minnesota
- Cheapest Places To Live In Minnesota
Cities With The Highest Divorce Rates In Minnesota
| Rank | City | Population | Divorcees | Divorce Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virginia, MN | 8,332 | 1,133 | 17.0% |
| 2 | International Falls, MN | 5,642 | 722 | 16.0% |
| 3 | Little Falls, MN | 9,121 | 948 | 13.0% |
| 4 | Buffalo, MN | 16,499 | 1,715 | 13.0% |
| 5 | Cloquet, MN | 12,537 | 1,203 | 12.0% |
| 6 | Mound, MN | 9,107 | 874 | 12.0% |
| 7 | Glencoe, MN | 5,695 | 546 | 12.0% |
| 8 | Isanti, MN | 7,210 | 634 | 11.0% |
| 9 | Brainerd, MN | 14,468 | 1,273 | 11.0% |
| 10 | Grand Rapids, MN | 11,207 | 986 | 11.0% |
| 11 | Hibbing, MN | 16,057 | 1,413 | 11.0% |
| 12 | Fairmont, MN | 10,296 | 906 | 11.0% |
| 13 | Cambridge, MN | 10,307 | 907 | 11.0% |
| 14 | Becker, MN | 5,034 | 442 | 11.0% |
| 15 | Redwood Falls, MN | 5,068 | 445 | 11.0% |
| 16 | Jordan, MN | 6,771 | 595 | 11.0% |
| 17 | Montevideo, MN | 5,315 | 467 | 11.0% |
| 18 | Lake City, MN | 5,034 | 442 | 11.0% |
| 19 | Hutchinson, MN | 14,680 | 1,174 | 10.0% |
| 20 | Sauk Rapids, MN | 13,852 | 1,108 | 10.0% |
| 21 | Kasson, MN | 7,050 | 564 | 10.0% |
| 22 | Red Wing, MN | 16,758 | 1,340 | 10.0% |
| 23 | Princeton, MN | 5,274 | 421 | 10.0% |
| 24 | White Bear Lake, MN | 23,908 | 1,721 | 9.0% |
| 25 | Monticello, MN | 14,858 | 1,069 | 9.0% |
| 26 | Detroit Lakes, MN | 10,025 | 721 | 9.0% |
| 27 | Albertville, MN | 8,207 | 590 | 9.0% |
| 28 | Albert Lea, MN | 18,330 | 1,319 | 9.0% |
| 29 | Zimmerman, MN | 6,546 | 471 | 9.0% |
| 30 | St. Francis, MN | 8,372 | 602 | 9.0% |
| 31 | Faribault, MN | 24,631 | 1,773 | 9.0% |
| 32 | Stillwater, MN | 19,355 | 1,393 | 9.0% |
| 33 | Baxter, MN | 8,966 | 645 | 9.0% |
| 34 | Thief River Falls, MN | 8,823 | 635 | 9.0% |
| 35 | Litchfield, MN | 6,576 | 473 | 9.0% |
| 36 | Coon Rapids, MN | 63,468 | 4,061 | 8.0% |
| 37 | Big Lake, MN | 12,367 | 791 | 8.0% |
| 38 | Ramsey, MN | 28,421 | 1,818 | 8.0% |
| 39 | Robbinsdale, MN | 14,234 | 910 | 8.0% |
| 40 | Champlin, MN | 23,294 | 1,490 | 8.0% |
| 41 | Delano, MN | 6,942 | 444 | 8.0% |
| 42 | Alexandria, MN | 14,735 | 943 | 8.0% |
| 43 | Bemidji, MN | 15,569 | 996 | 8.0% |
| 44 | St. Michael, MN | 20,010 | 1,280 | 8.0% |
| 45 | St. Anthony, MN | 9,671 | 618 | 8.0% |
| 46 | Fergus Falls, MN | 14,181 | 907 | 8.0% |
| 47 | Belle Plaine, MN | 7,423 | 475 | 8.0% |
| 48 | Anoka, MN | 17,970 | 1,150 | 8.0% |
| 49 | Waseca, MN | 9,164 | 586 | 8.0% |
| 50 | St. Joseph, MN | 7,021 | 449 | 8.0% |
| 51 | North Mankato, MN | 14,211 | 909 | 8.0% |
| 52 | New Ulm, MN | 14,056 | 899 | 8.0% |
| 53 | South St. Paul, MN | 20,611 | 1,154 | 7.0% |
| 54 | St. Paul Park, MN | 5,457 | 305 | 7.0% |
| 55 | North Branch, MN | 11,565 | 647 | 7.0% |
| 56 | Stewartville, MN | 6,807 | 381 | 7.0% |
| 57 | Orono, MN | 8,195 | 458 | 7.0% |
| 58 | Blaine, MN | 72,488 | 4,059 | 7.0% |
| 59 | Hastings, MN | 22,117 | 1,238 | 7.0% |
| 60 | Forest Lake, MN | 20,729 | 1,160 | 7.0% |
| 61 | Farmington, MN | 23,902 | 1,338 | 7.0% |
| 62 | Elk River, MN | 26,793 | 1,500 | 7.0% |
| 63 | Crystal, MN | 22,476 | 1,258 | 7.0% |
| 64 | Minnetonka, MN | 53,064 | 2,971 | 7.0% |
| 65 | Mounds View, MN | 12,926 | 723 | 7.0% |
| 66 | Inver Grove Heights, MN | 35,906 | 2,010 | 7.0% |
| 67 | Vadnais Heights, MN | 12,838 | 718 | 7.0% |
| 68 | Spring Lake Park, MN | 7,032 | 393 | 7.0% |
| 69 | Duluth, MN | 87,093 | 4,877 | 7.0% |
| 70 | Willmar, MN | 21,378 | 1,197 | 7.0% |
| 71 | East Bethel, MN | 12,115 | 678 | 7.0% |
| 72 | Oakdale, MN | 28,585 | 1,600 | 7.0% |
| 73 | New Hope, MN | 21,181 | 1,186 | 7.0% |
| 74 | Winona, MN | 26,009 | 1,456 | 7.0% |
| 75 | West St. Paul, MN | 21,382 | 1,197 | 7.0% |
| 76 | Sartell, MN | 19,758 | 948 | 6.0% |
| 77 | Edina, MN | 53,262 | 2,556 | 6.0% |
| 78 | Ham Lake, MN | 16,702 | 801 | 6.0% |
| 79 | Hugo, MN | 16,340 | 784 | 6.0% |
| 80 | Oak Grove, MN | 9,130 | 438 | 6.0% |
| 81 | Waite Park, MN | 8,399 | 403 | 6.0% |
| 82 | St. Peter, MN | 12,185 | 584 | 6.0% |
| 83 | Shakopee, MN | 46,012 | 2,208 | 6.0% |
| 84 | Owatonna, MN | 26,498 | 1,271 | 6.0% |
| 85 | Apple Valley, MN | 55,679 | 2,672 | 6.0% |
| 86 | Marshall, MN | 13,896 | 667 | 6.0% |
| 87 | Hopkins, MN | 18,819 | 903 | 6.0% |
| 88 | Little Canada, MN | 10,514 | 504 | 6.0% |
| 89 | Columbia Heights, MN | 22,155 | 1,063 | 6.0% |
| 90 | St. Cloud, MN | 70,629 | 3,390 | 6.0% |
| 91 | Crookston, MN | 7,344 | 352 | 6.0% |
| 92 | Austin, MN | 26,358 | 1,265 | 6.0% |
| 93 | Chanhassen, MN | 26,006 | 1,248 | 6.0% |
| 94 | Chaska, MN | 28,706 | 1,377 | 6.0% |
| 95 | Shoreview, MN | 26,714 | 1,282 | 6.0% |
| 96 | Dayton, MN | 9,095 | 436 | 6.0% |
| 97 | Cottage Grove, MN | 40,992 | 1,967 | 6.0% |
| 98 | Maplewood, MN | 40,695 | 1,953 | 6.0% |
| 99 | Corcoran, MN | 7,302 | 292 | 5.0% |
| 100 | Shorewood, MN | 7,647 | 305 | 5.0% |