We used Saturday Night Science to analyze Illinois’s most recent Census data to determine the divorce rate for each city in Illinois based on the percentage of currently divorced residents.
The city with the highest divorce rate in Illinois is Harrisburg, with 19.0% of people over 15 years of age being divorced, per the most recent census data. The city with the lowest divorce rate in Illinois is Hawthorn Woods.
Illinois is 6.0% divorced overall. There are some 609,350 people living in Illinois over fifteen years of age who are divorced. You can compare that to the 28,339,199 Americans who are currently divorced.
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.
So now that we have you biting your nails, rethinking your worldview, and pulling out your hair, let’s look at the places in Illinois with the highest rates of divorcees.
19.0% divorced · #1 highest divorce rate in Illinois
Located in
Saline County, Illinois
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
16.0% divorced · #3 highest divorce rate in Illinois
Located in
Williamson County, Illinois
Herrin is a city in Williamson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,501 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
16.0% divorced · #3 highest divorce rate in Illinois
Located in
Franklin County, Illinois
Benton is a city in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,087 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
16.0% divorced · #3 highest divorce rate in Illinois
Located in
Coles County, Illinois
Mattoon is a city in Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 18,555 as of the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
15.0% divorced · #8 highest divorce rate in Illinois
Located in
Madison County, Illinois
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
15.0% divorced · #8 highest divorce rate in Illinois
Located in
Shelby County, Illinois
Pana is a city in Christian County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,614 at the 2000 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
15.0% divorced · #8 highest divorce rate in Illinois
Located in
Cook County, Illinois
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
15.0% divorced · #8 highest divorce rate in Illinois
Located in
Wabash County, Illinois
Mount Carmel is a city in and the county seat of Wabash County, Illinois, United States. At the time of the 2010 census, the population was 7,284, while the next largest town in Wabash County is Allendale, population 475. Located at the confluence of the Wabash, Patoka, and White Rivers, Mount Carmel borders both Gibson and Knox counties of Indiana. A small community known informally as East Mount Carmel sits near the mouth of the Patoka River on the opposite side of the Wabash River from Mount Carmel. Mount Carmel is 5 miles northeast of the Forest of the Wabash, a National Natural Landmark within Beall Woods State Park and about a mile north-northeast of one of its main employers, the Gibson Generating Station. Mount Carmel is also the home of Wabash Valley College, part of the Community College System of Eastern Illinois.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
15.0% divorced · #8 highest divorce rate in Illinois
Located in
Will County, Illinois
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
15.0% divorced · #8 highest divorce rate in Illinois
Located in
Jackson County, Illinois
Murphysboro is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,970 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Metro Lakeland area. The mayor of Murphysboro is Will Stephens. The government consists of the mayor and 10 city aldermen.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Illinois’s statewide median.
Illinois statewide median: $83,390
On the map
Where Illinois’s highest divorce rates are
Saturday Night Science
How We Determined The Places In Illinois That Get Un-Hitched The Most
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:
Today, the analysis focuses on the 330 places in Illinois with a population of over 5,000.
- Population 15 Years and Over -> Divorced
We ranked each place by the percentage of divorcees over 15 years of age from highest to lowest. We crowned the divorce capital of Illinois the place with the highest incidence of divorcees, Harrisburg.
And if you’re trying to avoid divorce, check out Hawthorn Woods, the city with the lowest divorce rate in Illinois. We updated this article for 2026 and this list is our eleventh time ranking the cities in Illinois with the highest divorce rates.
The full plate
Cities With The Highest Divorce Rates In Illinois
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Divorcees | Divorce Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harrisburg | 8,372 | 1,273 | 19.0% |
| 3 | Herrin | 12,226 | 1,565 | 16.0% |
| 3 | Benton | 6,863 | 878 | 16.0% |
| 3 | Mattoon | 16,586 | 2,123 | 16.0% |
| 7 | Wood River | 10,279 | 1,233 | 15.0% |
| 7 | Pana | 5,217 | 626 | 15.0% |
| 7 | Calumet Park | 6,855 | 823 | 15.0% |
| 7 | Mount Carmel | 6,854 | 822 | 15.0% |
| 7 | Crete | 8,386 | 1,006 | 15.0% |
| 7 | Murphysboro | 6,735 | 808 | 15.0% |
| 12 | Vandalia | 5,796 | 649 | 14.0% |
| 12 | Pekin | 31,781 | 3,559 | 14.0% |
| 12 | Du Quoin | 5,726 | 641 | 14.0% |
| 12 | West Frankfort | 7,118 | 797 | 14.0% |
| 21 | Rock Falls | 8,587 | 893 | 13.0% |
| 21 | Pontiac | 11,294 | 1,175 | 13.0% |
| 21 | Chillicothe | 5,900 | 614 | 13.0% |
| 21 | Mount Vernon | 14,090 | 1,465 | 13.0% |
| 21 | Coal City | 5,317 | 553 | 13.0% |
| 21 | Princeton | 7,975 | 829 | 13.0% |
| 21 | Hillsboro | 5,803 | 604 | 13.0% |
| 21 | Streator | 12,330 | 1,282 | 13.0% |
| 21 | University Park | 7,306 | 760 | 13.0% |
| 21 | Island Lake | 8,014 | 833 | 13.0% |
| 21 | Clinton | 6,985 | 726 | 13.0% |
| 21 | Bradley | 15,325 | 1,594 | 13.0% |
| 21 | Jacksonville | 18,014 | 1,873 | 13.0% |
| 32 | McHenry | 28,074 | 2,695 | 12.0% |
| 32 | Salem | 7,236 | 695 | 12.0% |
| 32 | East Alton | 5,689 | 546 | 12.0% |
| 32 | Bartonville | 5,841 | 561 | 12.0% |
| 32 | Taylorville | 10,646 | 1,022 | 12.0% |
| 32 | Wilmington | 5,494 | 527 | 12.0% |
| 32 | Rochelle | 9,529 | 915 | 12.0% |
| 32 | Hazel Crest | 13,792 | 1,324 | 12.0% |
| 32 | Canton | 13,144 | 1,262 | 12.0% |
| 46 | Monee | 5,108 | 450 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Peoria Heights | 5,825 | 513 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Johnsburg | 6,386 | 562 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Crestwood | 10,579 | 931 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Springfield | 113,330 | 9,973 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Quincy | 39,109 | 3,442 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Peru | 9,775 | 860 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Olney | 8,577 | 755 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Park Forest | 21,156 | 1,862 | 11.0% |
| 46 | East Peoria | 22,324 | 1,965 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Dolton | 20,825 | 1,833 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Granite City | 26,549 | 2,336 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Danville | 28,595 | 2,516 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Carlinville | 5,480 | 482 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Centralia | 11,856 | 1,043 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Fox Lake | 11,131 | 980 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Sauk Village | 9,678 | 852 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Rantoul | 12,421 | 1,093 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Kewanee | 11,913 | 1,048 | 11.0% |
| 46 | Alton | 25,279 | 2,225 | 11.0% |
| 64 | Effingham | 12,342 | 987 | 10.0% |
| 64 | Eureka | 5,007 | 401 | 10.0% |
| 64 | Galesburg | 29,481 | 2,358 | 10.0% |
| 64 | Freeport | 23,505 | 1,880 | 10.0% |
| 64 | Jerseyville | 7,445 | 596 | 10.0% |
| 64 | Sterling | 14,717 | 1,177 | 10.0% |
| 64 | Spring Valley | 5,476 | 438 | 10.0% |
| 64 | Machesney Park | 22,630 | 1,810 | 10.0% |
| 64 | Ottawa | 18,447 | 1,476 | 10.0% |
| 64 | Richton Park | 12,521 | 1,002 | 10.0% |
| 64 | Bethalto | 9,239 | 739 | 10.0% |
| 64 | Dixon | 14,910 | 1,193 | 10.0% |
| 64 | East Moline | 20,904 | 1,672 | 10.0% |
| 64 | Carterville | 5,818 | 465 | 10.0% |
| 64 | Morris | 14,898 | 1,192 | 10.0% |
| 64 | Marion | 16,836 | 1,347 | 10.0% |
| 84 | North Riverside | 7,249 | 522 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Roscoe | 10,706 | 771 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Peoria | 112,169 | 8,076 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Wood Dale | 13,933 | 1,003 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Decatur | 69,815 | 5,027 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Milan | 5,034 | 362 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Woodstock | 26,147 | 1,883 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Litchfield | 6,834 | 492 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Lincoln | 13,281 | 956 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Godfrey | 17,712 | 1,275 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Markham | 11,355 | 818 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Pontoon Beach | 6,025 | 434 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Belvidere | 24,752 | 1,782 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Paris | 8,276 | 596 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Pinckneyville | 5,018 | 361 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Genoa | 5,492 | 395 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Robinson | 7,084 | 510 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Manteno | 9,030 | 650 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Forest Park | 13,943 | 1,004 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Lakemoor | 6,467 | 466 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Crest Hill | 20,628 | 1,485 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Colona | 5,139 | 370 | 9.0% |
| 84 | Rockford | 147,521 | 10,622 | 9.0% |
| 112 | Highland | 10,262 | 657 | 8.0% |
| 112 | Washington | 15,919 | 1,019 | 8.0% |
| 112 | Brookfield | 19,331 | 1,237 | 8.0% |
| 112 | Country Club Hills | 16,324 | 1,045 | 8.0% |
| 112 | Belleville | 41,370 | 2,648 | 8.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 330 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Getting Some Closure In Illinois After Untying The Knot
We now have a sense of what places in the Prairie State don’t pay much attention to the whole “’til death do we part” phrase.
The cities with the highest divorce rate in Illinois are Harrisburg, Herrin, Benton, Mattoon, Wood River, Pana, Calumet Park, Mount Carmel, Crete, and Murphysboro.
Try to keep in mind that the reason cities rank where they do in Illinois could be because of the age, education, and income distribution, as all of those things impact the rate of divorce.
