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 South Charleston based on the most recent Census data.
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South Charleston is 18.0% 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 3.0% Divorced.
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West Virginia is 9.0% Divorced.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
There are some 128,042 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 2026.
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 South Charleston, with 18.0% 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 2020-2024 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:
- Safest Places In West Virginia
- Worst Places To Live In West Virginia
- Cheapest Places To Live In West Virginia
The 10 Places With The Highest Divorce Rate In West Virginia For 2026
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Population: 13,457
Divorce Rate: 18.0%
Divorcees: 1,937
Median Income: $63,884
More on South Charleston: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 7,254
Divorce Rate: 17.0%
Divorcees: 986
Median Income: $58,379
More on Dunbar: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 15,549
Divorce Rate: 16.0%
Divorcees: 1,990
Median Income: $47,386
More on Clarksburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,736
Divorce Rate: 16.0%
Divorcees: 734
Median Income: $43,900
More on Princeton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 5,133
Divorce Rate: 15.0%
Divorcees: 615
Median Income: $60,946
More on New Martinsville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 16,818
Divorce Rate: 14.0%
Divorcees: 1,883
Median Income: $45,826
More on Beckley: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 29,240
Divorce Rate: 13.0%
Divorcees: 3,040
Median Income: $49,025
More on Parkersburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 6,855
Divorce Rate: 13.0%
Divorcees: 712
Median Income: $71,167
More on Hurricane: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 10,522
Divorce Rate: 13.0%
Divorcees: 1,094
Median Income: $53,972
More on St. Albans: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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Population: 9,387
Divorce Rate: 11.0%
Divorcees: 826
Median Income: $49,375
More on Bluefield: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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 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 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, South Charleston.
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 2026 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 South Charleston, Dunbar, Clarksburg, Princeton, New Martinsville, Beckley, Parkersburg, Hurricane, St. Albans, and Bluefield.
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:
- Safest Places In West Virginia
- Worst Places To Live In West Virginia
- Cheapest Places To Live In West Virginia
Cities With The Highest Divorce Rates In West Virginia
| Rank | City | Population | Divorcees | Divorce Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Charleston, WV | 13,457 | 1,937 | 18.0% |
| 2 | Dunbar, WV | 7,254 | 986 | 17.0% |
| 3 | Clarksburg, WV | 15,549 | 1,990 | 16.0% |
| 4 | Princeton, WV | 5,736 | 734 | 16.0% |
| 5 | New Martinsville, WV | 5,133 | 615 | 15.0% |
| 6 | Beckley, WV | 16,818 | 1,883 | 14.0% |
| 7 | Parkersburg, WV | 29,240 | 3,040 | 13.0% |
| 8 | Hurricane, WV | 6,855 | 712 | 13.0% |
| 9 | St. Albans, WV | 10,522 | 1,094 | 13.0% |
| 10 | Bluefield, WV | 9,387 | 826 | 11.0% |
| 11 | Moundsville, WV | 7,869 | 692 | 11.0% |
| 12 | Nitro, WV | 6,853 | 603 | 11.0% |
| 13 | Charleston, WV | 47,421 | 4,173 | 11.0% |
| 14 | Oak Hill, WV | 7,937 | 634 | 10.0% |
| 15 | Vienna, WV | 10,518 | 841 | 10.0% |
| 16 | Elkins, WV | 6,811 | 544 | 10.0% |
| 17 | Wheeling, WV | 26,350 | 1,897 | 9.0% |
| 18 | Huntington, WV | 45,787 | 3,296 | 9.0% |
| 19 | Fairmont, WV | 18,221 | 1,166 | 8.0% |
| 20 | Martinsburg, WV | 18,904 | 1,058 | 7.0% |
| 21 | Weirton, WV | 18,647 | 1,044 | 7.0% |
| 22 | Buckhannon, WV | 5,116 | 245 | 6.0% |
| 23 | Bridgeport, WV | 9,252 | 370 | 5.0% |
| 24 | Morgantown, WV | 30,236 | 725 | 3.0% |
| 25 | Charles Town, WV | 7,337 | 176 | 3.0% |