We used Saturday Night Science to analyze Maine’s most recent Census data to determine the divorce rate for each city in Maine based on the percentage of currently divorced residents.
The city with the highest divorce rate in Maine is Bangor, with 12.0% of people over 15 years of age being divorced, per the most recent census data. The city with the lowest divorce rate in Maine is Portland.
Maine is 7.0% divorced overall. There are some 77,717 people living in Maine 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 Maine with the highest rates of divorcees.
12.0% divorced · #2 highest divorce rate in Maine
Located in
Penobscot County, Maine
Bangor is a city along the Penobscot River in the U.S. state of Maine. The city proper has a population of 33,039, while the Bangor metropolitan area has a population of 153,746. Bangor is known as the “Queen City” of Maine.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12.0% divorced · #2 highest divorce rate in Maine
Located in
Aroostook County, Maine
Caribou is the second largest city in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. Its population was 8,189 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12.0% divorced · #2 highest divorce rate in Maine
Located in
Kennebec County, Maine
Augusta is the capital of the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Kennebec County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
10.0% divorced · #4 highest divorce rate in Maine
Located in
Penobscot County, Maine
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
10.0% divorced · #4 highest divorce rate in Maine
Located in
Aroostook County, Maine
Presque Isle is the commercial center and largest city in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,171 in 2015 as estimated by the US Census, a decrease from the count of 9,692 in the 2010 Census. The city is home to the University of Maine at Presque Isle, Northern Maine Community College, Husson University Presque Isle, Northern Maine Fairgrounds, The Aroostook Centre Mall, and the Northern Maine Regional Airport.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9.0% divorced · #8 highest divorce rate in Maine
Located in
Androscoggin County, Maine
Lewiston is the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County. The city borders the coastal sideways of the Gulf of Maine and is south of Augusta, the state’s capital and north of Portland, the cultural hub of Maine. It is one-half of the Lewiston-Auburn Metropolitan Statistical Area, commonly referred to as “L.A.” or “L-A.” Lewiston exerts a significant impact upon the diversity, religious variety, commerce, education, and economic power of Maine. It is known for a relatively low cost of living, substantial access to medical care, and an extremely low violent crime rate. While the dominant language spoken in the city is English, it is home to the largest French-speaking population in the United States while it is second to St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, in percentage of speakers.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9.0% divorced · #8 highest divorce rate in Maine
Located in
Kennebec County, Maine
Gardiner is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,800 at the 2010 census. Popular with tourists, Gardiner is noted for its culture and old architecture. Gardiner is included in the Augusta, Maine micropolitan New England City and Town Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9.0% divorced · #8 highest divorce rate in Maine
Located in
Androscoggin County, Maine
Auburn is a city in and the county seat of Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 23,055 at the 2010 census. Auburn and Lewiston are known locally as the Twin Cities or Lewiston-Auburn.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9.0% divorced · #8 highest divorce rate in Maine
Located in
Kennebec County, Maine
Waterville is a city in Kennebec County of the U.S. state of Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. Home to Colby College and Thomas College, the population was 15,722 at the 2010 census. Waterville is also the latter of the cities which make up the Augusta-Waterville, ME Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
8.0% divorced · #12 highest divorce rate in Maine
Old Town is a city in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,840 at the 2010 census. The city’s developed area is chiefly located on relatively large Marsh Island, though its boundaries extend beyond that. The island is surrounded and defined by the Penobscot River to the east, and the Stillwater River to the west.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Maine’s statewide median.
Maine statewide median: $74,733
On the map
Where Maine’s highest divorce rates are
Saturday Night Science
How We Determined The Places In Maine 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 22 places in Maine with a population of over 1,000.
- 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 Maine the place with the highest incidence of divorcees, Bangor.
And if you’re trying to avoid divorce, check out Portland, the city with the lowest divorce rate in Maine. We updated this article for 2026 and this list is our eleventh time ranking the cities in Maine with the highest divorce rates.
The full plate
Cities With The Highest Divorce Rates In Maine
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Divorcees | Divorce Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Bangor | 31,938 | 3,066 | 12.0% |
| 2 | Caribou | 7,382 | 709 | 12.0% |
| 2 | Augusta | 19,077 | 1,831 | 12.0% |
| 4 | Brewer | 9,652 | 772 | 10.0% |
| 4 | Presque Isle | 8,736 | 699 | 10.0% |
| 7 | Lewiston | 38,324 | 2,759 | 9.0% |
| 7 | Gardiner | 6,088 | 438 | 9.0% |
| 7 | Auburn | 24,602 | 1,771 | 9.0% |
| 7 | Waterville | 17,077 | 1,230 | 9.0% |
| 11 | Old Town | 7,470 | 478 | 8.0% |
| 11 | Hallowell | 2,592 | 166 | 8.0% |
| 11 | Belfast | 6,986 | 447 | 8.0% |
| 11 | Westbrook | 20,775 | 1,330 | 8.0% |
| 15 | Bath | 8,815 | 494 | 7.0% |
| 15 | Ellsworth | 8,657 | 485 | 7.0% |
| 15 | South Portland | 26,930 | 1,508 | 7.0% |
| 18 | Biddeford | 22,498 | 1,080 | 6.0% |
| 18 | Eastport | 1,263 | 61 | 6.0% |
| 18 | Calais | 3,097 | 149 | 6.0% |
| 20 | Rockland | 7,035 | 281 | 5.0% |
| 20 | Saco | 20,819 | 833 | 5.0% |
| 22 | Portland | 68,854 | 2,203 | 4.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 22 cities with more than 1,000 residents.
Summary
Getting Some Closure In Maine After Untying The Knot
We now have a sense of what places in the Pine Tree State don’t pay much attention to the whole “’til death do we part” phrase.
The cities with the highest divorce rate in Maine are Bangor, Caribou, Augusta, Brewer, Presque Isle, Lewiston, Gardiner, Auburn, Waterville, and Old Town.
Try to keep in mind that the reason cities rank where they do in Maine could be because of the age, education, and income distribution, as all of those things impact the rate of divorce.
