The 10 Cities In Minnesota With The Highest Divorce Rates For 2026


The cities in Minnesota with the highest divorce rate are Virginia and International Falls for 2026 based on Saturday Night Science.

Cities with highest divorce rate in Minnesota research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to analyze Minnesota’s most recent Census data to determine the divorce rate for each city in Minnesota based on the percentage of currently divorced residents. Here are the results of our analysis:

  • The city with the highest divorce rate in Minnesota is Virginia based on the most recent Census data.

  • Virginia is 17.0% Divorced.

  • The city with the lowest divorce rate in Minnesota is North Oaks.

  • North Oaks is 1.0% Divorced.

  • Minnesota is 6.0% Divorced.

Cities With Highest Divorce Rate In Minnesota Map


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


There are some 275,493 people living in Minnesota 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 North Star 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 Minnesota with the highest rates of divorcees.

Let’s quickly recap before we dive into the Saturday Night Science behind the data.

What is the city in Minnesota with the highest divorce rate? That would be Virginia, with 17.0% of people over 15 years of age being divorced, per the most recent census data.

What is the overall Minnesota divorce rate? According to the 2020-2024 Community Survey, the overall divorce rate in Minnesota is 6.0%, which compares to the US divorce rate of 10.9%.

Alrighty, on to how we calculated the places with the highest divorce rates in Minnesota.

For more Minnesota reading, check out:

The 10 Places With The Highest Divorce Rate In Minnesota For 2026

Virginia, MN

Source: Wikipedia User Bjoertvedt | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 8,332
Divorce Rate: 17.0%
Divorcees: 1,133
Median Income: $51,720
More on Virginia: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

International Falls, MN

Source: Wikipedia User Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 5,642
Divorce Rate: 16.0%
Divorcees: 722
Median Income: $57,662
More on International Falls: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Little Falls, MN

Source: Wikipedia User Dustin Simmonds at English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 9,121
Divorce Rate: 13.0%
Divorcees: 948
Median Income: $47,863
More on Little Falls: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Buffalo, MN

Source: Wikipedia User AlexiusHoratius | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 16,499
Divorce Rate: 13.0%
Divorcees: 1,715
Median Income: $88,820
More on Buffalo: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Cloquet, MN

Source: Wikipedia User McGhiever | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 12,537
Divorce Rate: 12.0%
Divorcees: 1,203
Median Income: $61,367
More on Cloquet: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Mound, MN

Source: Wikipedia User User:Eco84 | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 9,107
Divorce Rate: 12.0%
Divorcees: 874
Median Income: $86,675
More on Mound: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

Glencoe, MN

Source: Wikipedia User Jon Platek | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,695
Divorce Rate: 12.0%
Divorcees: 546
Median Income: $71,356
More on Glencoe: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Isanti, MN

Source: Wikipedia User FlickreviewR 2 | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 7,210
Divorce Rate: 11.0%
Divorcees: 634
Median Income: $87,500
More on Isanti: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Brainerd, MN

Source: Wikipedia User Elkman | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 14,468
Divorce Rate: 11.0%
Divorcees: 1,273
Median Income: $56,111
More on Brainerd: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Grand Rapids, MN

Source: Wikipedia User Jonathunder | GFDL 1.2
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 11,207
Divorce Rate: 11.0%
Divorcees: 986
Median Income: $61,029
More on Grand Rapids: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

How We Determined The Places In Minnesota 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 151 places in Minnesota 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 Minnesota the place with the highest incidence of divorcees, Virginia.

And if you’re trying to avoid divorce, check out North Oaks, the city with the lowest divorce rate in Minnesota.

We updated this article for 2026 and this list is our fifth time ranking the cities in Minnesota with the highest divorce rates.

Getting Some Closure In Minnesota After Untying The Know

Besides just coming up with what we thought would be a great new blog/book title, “Untying the Knot In Minnesota: Life After Divorce,” we now have a sense of what places in the North Star State don’t pay much attention to the whole “’til death do we part” phrase.

The cities with the highest divorce rate in Minnesota are Virginia, International Falls, Little Falls, Buffalo, Cloquet, Mound, Glencoe, Isanti, Brainerd, and Grand Rapids.

Try to keep in mind that the reason cities rank where they do in Minnesota 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 Minnesota reading, check out:

Cities With The Highest Divorce Rates In Minnesota

RankCityPopulationDivorceesDivorce Rate
1Virginia, MN8,3321,13317.0%
2International Falls, MN5,64272216.0%
3Little Falls, MN9,12194813.0%
4Buffalo, MN16,4991,71513.0%
5Cloquet, MN12,5371,20312.0%
6Mound, MN9,10787412.0%
7Glencoe, MN5,69554612.0%
8Isanti, MN7,21063411.0%
9Brainerd, MN14,4681,27311.0%
10Grand Rapids, MN11,20798611.0%
11Hibbing, MN16,0571,41311.0%
12Fairmont, MN10,29690611.0%
13Cambridge, MN10,30790711.0%
14Becker, MN5,03444211.0%
15Redwood Falls, MN5,06844511.0%
16Jordan, MN6,77159511.0%
17Montevideo, MN5,31546711.0%
18Lake City, MN5,03444211.0%
19Hutchinson, MN14,6801,17410.0%
20Sauk Rapids, MN13,8521,10810.0%
21Kasson, MN7,05056410.0%
22Red Wing, MN16,7581,34010.0%
23Princeton, MN5,27442110.0%
24White Bear Lake, MN23,9081,7219.0%
25Monticello, MN14,8581,0699.0%
26Detroit Lakes, MN10,0257219.0%
27Albertville, MN8,2075909.0%
28Albert Lea, MN18,3301,3199.0%
29Zimmerman, MN6,5464719.0%
30St. Francis, MN8,3726029.0%
31Faribault, MN24,6311,7739.0%
32Stillwater, MN19,3551,3939.0%
33Baxter, MN8,9666459.0%
34Thief River Falls, MN8,8236359.0%
35Litchfield, MN6,5764739.0%
36Coon Rapids, MN63,4684,0618.0%
37Big Lake, MN12,3677918.0%
38Ramsey, MN28,4211,8188.0%
39Robbinsdale, MN14,2349108.0%
40Champlin, MN23,2941,4908.0%
41Delano, MN6,9424448.0%
42Alexandria, MN14,7359438.0%
43Bemidji, MN15,5699968.0%
44St. Michael, MN20,0101,2808.0%
45St. Anthony, MN9,6716188.0%
46Fergus Falls, MN14,1819078.0%
47Belle Plaine, MN7,4234758.0%
48Anoka, MN17,9701,1508.0%
49Waseca, MN9,1645868.0%
50St. Joseph, MN7,0214498.0%
51North Mankato, MN14,2119098.0%
52New Ulm, MN14,0568998.0%
53South St. Paul, MN20,6111,1547.0%
54St. Paul Park, MN5,4573057.0%
55North Branch, MN11,5656477.0%
56Stewartville, MN6,8073817.0%
57Orono, MN8,1954587.0%
58Blaine, MN72,4884,0597.0%
59Hastings, MN22,1171,2387.0%
60Forest Lake, MN20,7291,1607.0%
61Farmington, MN23,9021,3387.0%
62Elk River, MN26,7931,5007.0%
63Crystal, MN22,4761,2587.0%
64Minnetonka, MN53,0642,9717.0%
65Mounds View, MN12,9267237.0%
66Inver Grove Heights, MN35,9062,0107.0%
67Vadnais Heights, MN12,8387187.0%
68Spring Lake Park, MN7,0323937.0%
69Duluth, MN87,0934,8777.0%
70Willmar, MN21,3781,1977.0%
71East Bethel, MN12,1156787.0%
72Oakdale, MN28,5851,6007.0%
73New Hope, MN21,1811,1867.0%
74Winona, MN26,0091,4567.0%
75West St. Paul, MN21,3821,1977.0%
76Sartell, MN19,7589486.0%
77Edina, MN53,2622,5566.0%
78Ham Lake, MN16,7028016.0%
79Hugo, MN16,3407846.0%
80Oak Grove, MN9,1304386.0%
81Waite Park, MN8,3994036.0%
82St. Peter, MN12,1855846.0%
83Shakopee, MN46,0122,2086.0%
84Owatonna, MN26,4981,2716.0%
85Apple Valley, MN55,6792,6726.0%
86Marshall, MN13,8966676.0%
87Hopkins, MN18,8199036.0%
88Little Canada, MN10,5145046.0%
89Columbia Heights, MN22,1551,0636.0%
90St. Cloud, MN70,6293,3906.0%
91Crookston, MN7,3443526.0%
92Austin, MN26,3581,2656.0%
93Chanhassen, MN26,0061,2486.0%
94Chaska, MN28,7061,3776.0%
95Shoreview, MN26,7141,2826.0%
96Dayton, MN9,0954366.0%
97Cottage Grove, MN40,9921,9676.0%
98Maplewood, MN40,6951,9536.0%
99Corcoran, MN7,3022925.0%
100Shorewood, MN7,6473055.0%
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.