Cities with highest divorce rate in Virginia research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to analyze Virginia’s most recent Census data to determine the divorce rate for each city in Virginia 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 Virginia is Covington based on the most recent Census data.
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Covington is 12.0% Divorced.
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The city with the lowest divorce rate in Virginia is Herndon.
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Herndon is 0.0% Divorced.
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Virginia is 4.0% Divorced.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
There are some 278,565 people living in Virginia 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 Old Dominion.
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 Virginia with the highest rates of divorcees.
The 10 Cities In Virginia 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 Virginia with the highest divorce rate? That would be Covington, with 12.0% of people over 15 years of age being divorced, per the most recent census data.
What is the overall Virginia divorce rate? According to the 2020-2024 Community Survey, the overall divorce rate in Virginia is 4.0%, which compares to the US divorce rate of 10.9%.
Alrighty, on to how we calculated the places with the highest divorce rates in Virginia.
For more Virginia reading, check out:
- Worst Cities In Virginia For 2017
- Richest Cities In Virginia
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Virginia
The 10 Places With The Highest Divorce Rate In Virginia For 2026
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Population: 5,680
Divorce Rate: 12.0%
Divorcees: 545
Median Income: $41,944
More on Covington: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 5,670
Divorce Rate: 12.0%
Divorcees: 544
Median Income: $40,896
More on Marion: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 8,330
Divorce Rate: 11.0%
Divorcees: 733
Median Income: $54,544
More on Abingdon: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 7,853
Divorce Rate: 11.0%
Divorcees: 691
Median Income: $44,052
More on South Boston: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 13,658
Divorce Rate: 11.0%
Divorcees: 1,201
Median Income: $46,727
More on Martinsville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,162
Divorce Rate: 10.0%
Divorcees: 412
Median Income: $54,581
More on Big Stone Gap: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 8,056
Divorce Rate: 10.0%
Divorcees: 644
Median Income: $65,445
More on Vinton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 42,214
Divorce Rate: 10.0%
Divorcees: 3,377
Median Income: $44,423
More on Danville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 8,202
Divorce Rate: 10.0%
Divorcees: 656
Median Income: $47,270
More on Wytheville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 25,948
Divorce Rate: 9.0%
Divorcees: 1,868
Median Income: $65,581
More on Staunton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
How We Determined The Places In Virginia 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 62 places in Virginia 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 Virginia the place with the highest incidence of divorcees, Covington.
And if you’re trying to avoid divorce, check out Herndon, the city with the lowest divorce rate in Virginia.
We updated this article for 2026 and this list is our fifth time ranking the cities in Virginia with the highest divorce rates.
Getting Some Closure In Virginia After Untying The Know
Besides just coming up with what we thought would be a great new blog/book title, “Untying the Knot In Virginia: Life After Divorce,” we now have a sense of what places in the Old Dominion don’t pay much attention to the whole “’til death do we part” phrase.
The cities with the highest divorce rate in Virginia are Covington, Marion, Abingdon, South Boston, Martinsville, Big Stone Gap, Vinton, Danville, Wytheville, and Staunton.
Try to keep in mind that the reason cities rank where they do in Virginia 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 Virginia reading, check out:
- Worst Cities In Virginia For 2017
- Richest Cities In Virginia
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Virginia
Cities With The Highest Divorce Rates In Virginia
| Rank | City | Population | Divorcees | Divorce Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Covington, VA | 5,680 | 545 | 12.0% |
| 2 | Marion, VA | 5,670 | 544 | 12.0% |
| 3 | Abingdon, VA | 8,330 | 733 | 11.0% |
| 4 | South Boston, VA | 7,853 | 691 | 11.0% |
| 5 | Martinsville, VA | 13,658 | 1,201 | 11.0% |
| 6 | Big Stone Gap, VA | 5,162 | 412 | 10.0% |
| 7 | Vinton, VA | 8,056 | 644 | 10.0% |
| 8 | Danville, VA | 42,214 | 3,377 | 10.0% |
| 9 | Wytheville, VA | 8,202 | 656 | 10.0% |
| 10 | Staunton, VA | 25,948 | 1,868 | 9.0% |
| 11 | Franklin, VA | 8,250 | 594 | 9.0% |
| 12 | Pulaski, VA | 8,893 | 640 | 9.0% |
| 13 | Colonial Heights, VA | 18,352 | 1,321 | 9.0% |
| 14 | Waynesboro, VA | 22,841 | 1,644 | 9.0% |
| 15 | Bristol, VA | 16,849 | 1,213 | 9.0% |
| 16 | Front Royal, VA | 15,296 | 1,101 | 9.0% |
| 17 | Petersburg, VA | 33,537 | 2,414 | 9.0% |
| 18 | Salem, VA | 25,618 | 1,639 | 8.0% |
| 19 | Roanoke, VA | 98,355 | 6,294 | 8.0% |
| 20 | Richlands, VA | 5,171 | 330 | 8.0% |
| 21 | Strasburg, VA | 7,214 | 461 | 8.0% |
| 22 | Portsmouth, VA | 97,190 | 5,442 | 7.0% |
| 23 | Buena Vista, VA | 6,593 | 369 | 7.0% |
| 24 | Galax, VA | 6,726 | 376 | 7.0% |
| 25 | Emporia, VA | 5,547 | 266 | 6.0% |
| 26 | Richmond, VA | 229,359 | 11,009 | 6.0% |
| 27 | Lynchburg, VA | 79,497 | 3,815 | 6.0% |
| 28 | Warrenton, VA | 10,176 | 488 | 6.0% |
| 29 | Christiansburg, VA | 22,720 | 1,090 | 6.0% |
| 30 | Hopewell, VA | 22,959 | 1,102 | 6.0% |
| 31 | Newport News, VA | 184,216 | 7,368 | 5.0% |
| 32 | Charlottesville, VA | 45,437 | 1,817 | 5.0% |
| 33 | Fredericksburg, VA | 28,873 | 1,154 | 5.0% |
| 34 | Winchester, VA | 27,913 | 1,116 | 5.0% |
| 35 | Suffolk, VA | 98,796 | 3,951 | 5.0% |
| 36 | Woodstock, VA | 5,871 | 234 | 5.0% |
| 37 | Radford, VA | 16,726 | 669 | 5.0% |
| 38 | Orange, VA | 5,066 | 202 | 5.0% |
| 39 | Norfolk, VA | 233,596 | 9,343 | 5.0% |
| 40 | Hampton, VA | 137,557 | 5,502 | 5.0% |
| 41 | Smithfield, VA | 8,834 | 282 | 4.0% |
| 42 | Chesapeake, VA | 252,583 | 8,082 | 4.0% |
| 43 | Virginia Beach, VA | 456,349 | 14,603 | 4.0% |
| 44 | Culpeper, VA | 20,794 | 665 | 4.0% |
| 45 | Lexington, VA | 7,525 | 180 | 3.0% |
| 46 | Bridgewater, VA | 6,708 | 160 | 3.0% |
| 47 | Farmville, VA | 7,774 | 186 | 3.0% |
| 48 | Harrisonburg, VA | 51,392 | 1,233 | 3.0% |
| 49 | Ashland, VA | 7,772 | 186 | 3.0% |
| 50 | Manassas, VA | 42,976 | 687 | 2.0% |
| 51 | Manassas Park, VA | 16,798 | 268 | 2.0% |
| 52 | Leesburg, VA | 49,171 | 786 | 2.0% |
| 53 | Poquoson, VA | 12,639 | 202 | 2.0% |
| 54 | Williamsburg, VA | 15,798 | 252 | 2.0% |
| 55 | Dumfries, VA | 5,816 | 46 | 1.0% |
| 56 | Vienna, VA | 16,412 | 131 | 1.0% |
| 57 | Alexandria, VA | 156,976 | 1,255 | 1.0% |
| 58 | Falls Church, VA | 14,710 | 117 | 1.0% |
| 59 | Purcellville, VA | 8,973 | 71 | 1.0% |
| 60 | Blacksburg, VA | 45,446 | 363 | 1.0% |
| 61 | Fairfax, VA | 25,026 | 200 | 1.0% |
| 62 | Herndon, VA | 24,672 | 0 | 0.0% |