Cities with highest divorce rate in West Virginia research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to analyze West Virginia’s most recent Census data to determine the divorce rate for each city in West 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 West Virginia is Dunbar based on the most recent Census data.
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Dunbar is 20.0% Divorced.
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The city with the lowest divorce rate in West Virginia is Charles Town.
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Charles Town is 2.0% Divorced.
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West Virginia is 9.0% Divorced.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
There are some 128,481 people living in West Virginia over fifteen years of age who are divorced. You can compare that to the 28,339,199 Americans who are currently divorced in 2025.
Many people decide to run away – or split up – across the Mountain 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 West Virginia with the highest rates of divorcees.
The 10 Cities In West 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 West Virginia with the highest divorce rate? That would be Dunbar, with 20.0% of people over 15 years of age being divorced, per the most recent census data.
What is the overall West Virginia divorce rate? According to the 2019-2023 Community Survey, the overall divorce rate in West Virginia 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 West Virginia.
For more West Virginia reading, check out:
- Cheapest Places To Live In West Virginia
- Safest Places In West Virginia
- Richest Cities In West Virginia
The 10 Places With The Highest Divorce Rate In West Virginia For 2025
/10
Population: 7,340
Divorce Rate: 20.0%
Divorcees: 1,174
Median Income: $54,647
More on Dunbar: Data
/10
Population: 13,594
Divorce Rate: 18.0%
Divorcees: 1,957
Median Income: $59,616
More on South Charleston: Data
/10
Population: 15,829
Divorce Rate: 17.0%
Divorcees: 2,152
Median Income: $46,859
More on Clarksburg: Data
/10
Population: 16,977
Divorce Rate: 15.0%
Divorcees: 2,037
Median Income: $39,939
More on Beckley: Data
/10
Population: 29,461
Divorce Rate: 14.0%
Divorcees: 3,299
Median Income: $44,675
More on Parkersburg: Data
/10
Population: 6,891
Divorce Rate: 13.0%
Divorcees: 716
Median Income: $67,083
More on Hurricane: Data
/10
Population: 5,175
Divorce Rate: 13.0%
Divorcees: 538
Median Income: $51,226
More on New Martinsville: Data
/10
Population: 10,637
Divorce Rate: 12.0%
Divorcees: 1,021
Median Income: $58,788
More on St. Albans: Data
/10
Population: 5,780
Divorce Rate: 12.0%
Divorcees: 554
Median Income: $44,428
More on Princeton: Data
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Population: 47,918
Divorce Rate: 11.0%
Divorcees: 4,216
Median Income: $64,512
More on Charleston: Data
How We Determined The Places In West 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 2019-2023 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 West 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 West Virginia the place with the highest incidence of divorcees, Dunbar.
And if you’re trying to avoid divorce, check out Charles Town, the city with the lowest divorce rate in West Virginia.
We updated this article for 2025 and this list is our fifth time ranking the cities in West Virginia with the highest divorce rates.
Getting Some Closure In West 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 West Virginia: Life After Divorce,” we now have a sense of what places in the Mountain State don’t pay much attention to the whole “’til death do we part” phrase.
The cities with the highest divorce rate in West Virginia are Dunbar, South Charleston, Clarksburg, Beckley, Parkersburg, Hurricane, New Martinsville, St. Albans, Princeton, and Charleston.
Try to keep in mind that the reason cities rank where they do in West 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 West Virginia reading, check out:
- Cheapest Places To Live In West Virginia
- Safest Places In West Virginia
- Richest Cities In West Virginia
Cities With The Highest Divorce Rates In West Virginia
| Rank | City | Population | Divorcees | Divorce Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dunbar, WV | 7,340 | 1,174 | 20.0% |
| 2 | South Charleston, WV | 13,594 | 1,957 | 18.0% |
| 3 | Clarksburg, WV | 15,829 | 2,152 | 17.0% |
| 4 | Beckley, WV | 16,977 | 2,037 | 15.0% |
| 5 | Parkersburg, WV | 29,461 | 3,299 | 14.0% |
| 6 | Hurricane, WV | 6,891 | 716 | 13.0% |
| 7 | New Martinsville, WV | 5,175 | 538 | 13.0% |
| 8 | St. Albans, WV | 10,637 | 1,021 | 12.0% |
| 9 | Princeton, WV | 5,780 | 554 | 12.0% |
| 10 | Charleston, WV | 47,918 | 4,216 | 11.0% |
| 11 | Oak Hill, WV | 8,057 | 709 | 11.0% |
| 12 | Moundsville, WV | 7,934 | 698 | 11.0% |
| 13 | Vienna, WV | 10,575 | 846 | 10.0% |
| 14 | Elkins, WV | 6,875 | 550 | 10.0% |
| 15 | Nitro, WV | 6,941 | 499 | 9.0% |
| 16 | Wheeling, WV | 26,670 | 1,920 | 9.0% |
| 17 | Huntington, WV | 46,189 | 3,325 | 9.0% |
| 18 | Bluefield, WV | 9,511 | 684 | 9.0% |
| 19 | Buckhannon, WV | 5,144 | 329 | 8.0% |
| 20 | Weirton, WV | 18,785 | 1,051 | 7.0% |
| 21 | Fairmont, WV | 18,303 | 1,024 | 7.0% |
| 22 | Martinsburg, WV | 18,805 | 902 | 6.0% |
| 23 | Bridgeport, WV | 9,292 | 297 | 4.0% |
| 24 | Morgantown, WV | 30,273 | 726 | 3.0% |
| 25 | Charles Town, WV | 6,854 | 109 | 2.0% |