Cities with highest divorce rate in Rhode Island research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to analyze Rhode Island’s most recent Census data to determine the divorce rate for each city in Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island is Chepachet based on the most recent Census data.
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Chepachet is 12.0% Divorced.
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The city with the lowest divorce rate in Rhode Island is Melville.
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Melville is 0.0% Divorced.
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Rhode Island is 6.0% Divorced.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
There are some 52,886 people living in Rhode Island 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 Ocean 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 Rhode Island with the highest rates of divorcees.
The 10 Cities In Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island with the highest divorce rate? That would be Chepachet, with 12.0% of people over 15 years of age being divorced, per the most recent census data.
What is the overall Rhode Island divorce rate? According to the 2020-2024 Community Survey, the overall divorce rate in Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island.
For more Rhode Island reading, check out:
The 10 Places With The Highest Divorce Rate In Rhode Island For 2026
1. Chepachet

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Population: 1,923
Divorce Rate: 12.0%
Divorcees: 184
Median Income: $92,971
More on Chepachet: Movers
2. Ashaway

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Population: 1,722
Divorce Rate: 9.0%
Divorcees: 123
Median Income: $103,707
More on Ashaway: Movers

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Population: 8,296
Divorce Rate: 8.0%
Divorcees: 530
Median Income: $97,234
More on Greenville: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

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Population: 83,175
Divorce Rate: 8.0%
Divorcees: 5,323
Median Income: $88,708
More on Warwick: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
5. Harrisville

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Population: 1,767
Divorce Rate: 8.0%
Divorcees: 113
Median Income: $62,535
More on Harrisville: Movers

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Population: 43,521
Divorce Rate: 7.0%
Divorcees: 2,437
Median Income: $61,059
More on Woonsocket: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

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Population: 11,069
Divorce Rate: 7.0%
Divorcees: 619
Median Income: $89,028
More on Newport East: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

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Population: 3,167
Divorce Rate: 7.0%
Divorcees: 177
Median Income: $82,192
More on Narragansett Pier: Data | Movers

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Population: 12,657
Divorce Rate: 7.0%
Divorcees: 708
Median Income: $92,901
More on Valley Falls: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
10. Carolina

Population: 1,048
Divorce Rate: 7.0%
Divorcees: 58
Median Income: $140,196
More on Carolina: Movers
How We Determined The Places In Rhode Island 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 25 places in Rhode Island with a population of over 1,000.
We ranked each place by the percentage of divorcees over 15 years of age from highest to lowest. We crowned the divorce capital of Rhode Island the place with the highest incidence of divorcees, Chepachet.
And if you’re trying to avoid divorce, check out Melville, the city with the lowest divorce rate in Rhode Island.
We updated this article for 2026 and this list is our fifth time ranking the cities in Rhode Island with the highest divorce rates.
Getting Some Closure In Rhode Island After Untying The Know
Besides just coming up with what we thought would be a great new blog/book title, “Untying the Knot In Rhode Island: Life After Divorce,” we now have a sense of what places in the Ocean State don’t pay much attention to the whole “’til death do we part” phrase.
The cities with the highest divorce rate in Rhode Island are Chepachet, Ashaway, Greenville, Warwick, Harrisville, Woonsocket, Newport East, Narragansett Pier, Valley Falls, and Carolina.
Try to keep in mind that the reason cities rank where they do in Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island reading, check out:
Cities With The Highest Divorce Rates In Rhode Island
| Rank | City | Population | Divorcees | Divorce Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chepachet, RI | 1,923 | 184 | 12.0% |
| 2 | Ashaway, RI | 1,722 | 123 | 9.0% |
| 3 | Greenville, RI | 8,296 | 530 | 8.0% |
| 4 | Warwick, RI | 83,175 | 5,323 | 8.0% |
| 5 | Harrisville, RI | 1,767 | 113 | 8.0% |
| 6 | Woonsocket, RI | 43,521 | 2,437 | 7.0% |
| 7 | Newport East, RI | 11,069 | 619 | 7.0% |
| 8 | Narragansett Pier, RI | 3,167 | 177 | 7.0% |
| 9 | Valley Falls, RI | 12,657 | 708 | 7.0% |
| 10 | Carolina, RI | 1,048 | 58 | 7.0% |
| 11 | East Providence, RI | 47,281 | 2,269 | 6.0% |
| 12 | Cranston, RI | 83,250 | 3,996 | 6.0% |
| 13 | Pawtucket, RI | 75,893 | 3,035 | 5.0% |
| 14 | Harmony, RI | 1,006 | 40 | 5.0% |
| 15 | Pascoag, RI | 4,410 | 141 | 4.0% |
| 16 | Westerly, RI | 18,411 | 589 | 4.0% |
| 17 | Cumberland Hill, RI | 8,648 | 276 | 4.0% |
| 18 | Newport, RI | 24,874 | 795 | 4.0% |
| 19 | Central Falls, RI | 22,701 | 544 | 3.0% |
| 20 | Hope Valley, RI | 2,297 | 55 | 3.0% |
| 21 | Providence, RI | 191,767 | 3,068 | 2.0% |
| 22 | Tiverton, RI | 8,091 | 129 | 2.0% |
| 23 | Kingston, RI | 7,332 | 58 | 1.0% |
| 24 | Bradford, RI | 1,511 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 25 | Melville, RI | 1,631 | 0 | 0.0% |
