We used Saturday Night Science to analyze Massachusetts’s most recent Census data to determine the divorce rate for each city in Massachusetts based on the percentage of currently divorced residents.
The city with the highest divorce rate in Massachusetts is Palmer Town, with 11.0% of people over 15 years of age being divorced, per the most recent census data. The city with the lowest divorce rate in Massachusetts is Cambridge.
Massachusetts is 5.0% divorced overall. There are some 281,762 people living in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts with the highest rates of divorcees.
11.0% divorced · #2 highest divorce rate in Massachusetts
Palmer is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,140 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Palmer adopted a home rule charter in 2004 with a council-manager form of government. Palmer is one of fourteen Massachusetts municipalities that have applied for, and been granted, city forms of government but wish to retain “The town of- in their official names.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
11.0% divorced · #2 highest divorce rate in Massachusetts
The Town of Southbridge has a city form of government with a city council legislative body, but via a statute calls itself a Town. It is located in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,719 at the 2010 census. Southbridge is one of fourteen Massachusetts municipalities that have applied for, and been granted, city forms of government but wish to retain “The town of- in their official names.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
10.0% divorced · #3 highest divorce rate in Massachusetts
Located in
Essex County, Massachusetts
Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts’ North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census. An important center of the fishing industry and a popular summer destination, Gloucester consists of an urban core on the north side of the harbor and the outlying neighborhoods of Annisquam, Bay View, Lanesville, Folly Cove, Magnolia, Riverdale, East Gloucester, and West Gloucester.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9.0% divorced · #6 highest divorce rate in Massachusetts
Located in
Worcester County, Massachusetts
Gardner is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 20,228 at the 2010 census. Gardner is home to Dunn State Park, Gardner Heritage State Park, Lake Wampanoag Wildlife Sanctuary, and Mount Wachusett Community College.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9.0% divorced · #6 highest divorce rate in Massachusetts
Located in
Worcester County, Massachusetts
Fitchburg is the third largest city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,318 at the 2010 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private elementary and high schools.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9.0% divorced · #6 highest divorce rate in Massachusetts
Located in
Berkshire County, Massachusetts
North Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population was 13,708 as of the 2010 census, making it the least populous city in the state. Best known as the home of the largest contemporary art museum in the United States, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams has in recent years become a center for tourism, culture and recreation.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9.0% divorced · #6 highest divorce rate in Massachusetts
Winthrop is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,497 at the 2010 census. Winthrop is an ocean-side suburban community in Greater Boston situated at the north entrance to Boston Harbor, close to Logan International Airport. It is located on a peninsula, 1.6 square miles in area, connected to Revere by a narrow isthmus and to East Boston by a bridge over the harbor inlet to the Belle Isle Marsh Reservation. Settled in 1630, Winthrop is one of the oldest communities in the United States. It is also one of the smallest and most densely populated municipalities in Massachusetts. It is one of the four cities in Suffolk County. It is the southernmost part of the North Shore, with a 7-mile shoreline that provides views of the Atlantic Ocean to the east and of the Boston skyline to the west.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
8.0% divorced · #9 highest divorce rate in Massachusetts
Located in
Hampden County, Massachusetts
Chicopee is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States of America. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 55,298, making it the second largest city in Western Massachusetts after Springfield. The current mayor is Richard Kos.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
8.0% divorced · #9 highest divorce rate in Massachusetts
Located in
Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. The population was 44,737 at the 2010 census. Although the population has declined in recent decades, Pittsfield remains the third largest municipality in western Massachusetts, behind only Springfield and Chicopee.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
8.0% divorced · #9 highest divorce rate in Massachusetts
Located in
Essex County, Massachusetts
Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Massachusetts’s statewide median.
Massachusetts statewide median: $103,960
On the map
Where Massachusetts’s highest divorce rates are
Saturday Night Science
How We Determined The Places In Massachusetts 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 48 places in Massachusetts with a population of over 12,000.
- 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 Massachusetts the place with the highest incidence of divorcees, Palmer Town.
And if you’re trying to avoid divorce, check out Cambridge, the city with the lowest divorce rate in Massachusetts. We updated this article for 2026 and this list is our eleventh time ranking the cities in Massachusetts with the highest divorce rates.
The full plate
Cities With The Highest Divorce Rates In Massachusetts
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Divorcees | Divorce Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palmer Town | 12,381 | 1,090 | 11.0% |
| 1 | Southbridge Town | 17,928 | 1,578 | 11.0% |
| 3 | Gloucester | 30,075 | 2,406 | 10.0% |
| 5 | Gardner | 21,148 | 1,523 | 9.0% |
| 5 | Fitchburg | 41,798 | 3,009 | 9.0% |
| 5 | North Adams | 12,606 | 908 | 9.0% |
| 5 | Winthrop Town | 18,759 | 1,351 | 9.0% |
| 9 | Chicopee | 55,295 | 3,539 | 8.0% |
| 9 | Pittsfield | 43,457 | 2,781 | 8.0% |
| 9 | Haverhill | 67,698 | 4,333 | 8.0% |
| 15 | Agawam Town | 28,539 | 1,598 | 7.0% |
| 15 | Peabody | 54,695 | 3,063 | 7.0% |
| 15 | Weymouth Town | 58,505 | 3,276 | 7.0% |
| 15 | Taunton | 60,433 | 3,384 | 7.0% |
| 15 | New Bedford | 100,998 | 5,656 | 7.0% |
| 15 | Attleboro | 46,762 | 2,619 | 7.0% |
| 15 | Leominster | 43,909 | 2,459 | 7.0% |
| 15 | Fall River | 94,082 | 5,269 | 7.0% |
| 15 | Barnstable Town | 49,568 | 2,776 | 7.0% |
| 23 | Woburn | 41,939 | 2,013 | 6.0% |
| 23 | West Springfield Town | 28,772 | 1,381 | 6.0% |
| 23 | Westfield | 40,378 | 1,938 | 6.0% |
| 23 | Beverly | 42,665 | 2,048 | 6.0% |
| 23 | Newburyport | 18,652 | 895 | 6.0% |
| 23 | Salem | 44,795 | 2,150 | 6.0% |
| 23 | Holyoke | 37,813 | 1,815 | 6.0% |
| 30 | Worcester | 207,055 | 8,282 | 5.0% |
| 30 | Northampton | 30,962 | 1,238 | 5.0% |
| 30 | Braintree Town | 38,899 | 1,556 | 5.0% |
| 30 | Melrose | 29,650 | 1,186 | 5.0% |
| 30 | Lowell | 118,368 | 4,735 | 5.0% |
| 30 | Revere | 60,012 | 2,400 | 5.0% |
| 30 | Marlborough | 41,647 | 1,666 | 5.0% |
| 36 | Brockton | 105,386 | 3,372 | 4.0% |
| 36 | Franklin Town | 33,154 | 1,061 | 4.0% |
| 36 | Springfield | 154,749 | 4,952 | 4.0% |
| 36 | Lynn | 101,709 | 3,255 | 4.0% |
| 36 | Quincy | 102,114 | 3,268 | 4.0% |
| 40 | Medford | 59,354 | 1,424 | 3.0% |
| 40 | Waltham | 64,902 | 1,558 | 3.0% |
| 40 | Everett | 50,045 | 1,201 | 3.0% |
| 40 | Newton | 89,044 | 2,137 | 3.0% |
| 44 | Somerville | 81,036 | 1,297 | 2.0% |
| 44 | Boston | 666,442 | 10,663 | 2.0% |
| 44 | Chelsea | 39,908 | 639 | 2.0% |
| 44 | Malden | 65,906 | 1,054 | 2.0% |
| 47 | Lawrence | 88,736 | 710 | 1.0% |
| 47 | Cambridge | 118,796 | 950 | 1.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 48 cities with more than 12,000 residents.
Summary
Getting Some Closure In Massachusetts After Untying The Knot
We now have a sense of what places in the Bay State don’t pay much attention to the whole “’til death do we part” phrase.
The cities with the highest divorce rate in Massachusetts are Palmer Town, Southbridge Town, Gloucester, Gardner, Fitchburg, North Adams, Winthrop Town, Chicopee, Pittsfield, and Haverhill.
Try to keep in mind that the reason cities rank where they do in Massachusetts could be because of the age, education, and income distribution, as all of those things impact the rate of divorce.
