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.
The city with the highest divorce rate in West Virginia is South Charleston, with 18.0% of people over 15 years of age being divorced, per the most recent census data. The city with the lowest divorce rate in West Virginia is Charles Town.
West Virginia is 9.0% divorced overall. 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.
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 West Virginia with the highest rates of divorcees.
18.0% divorced · #1 highest divorce rate in West Virginia
Located in
Kanawha County, West Virginia
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
17.0% divorced · #2 highest divorce rate in West Virginia
Located in
Kanawha County, West Virginia
Dunbar is a city in Kanawha County, West Virginia, along the Kanawha River. The population was 7,907 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
16.0% divorced · #4 highest divorce rate in West Virginia
Located in
Harrison County, West Virginia
Clarksburg is a city in and the county seat of Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, in the north-central region of the state. The population of the city was 16,578 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Clarksburg, WV Micropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 94,221 in 2014. Clarksburg was named National Small City of the Year in 2011 by the National League of Cities.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
16.0% divorced · #4 highest divorce rate in West Virginia
Located in
Mercer County, West Virginia
Princeton, often referred to as the “Jewel of the South,” is a city in and the county seat of Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 6,432 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,342. The town hosts the Princeton Rays baseball club of the Appalachian League.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
15.0% divorced · #5 highest divorce rate in West Virginia
New Martinsville is a city in Wetzel County, West Virginia, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 5,366 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Wetzel County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
14.0% divorced · #6 highest divorce rate in West Virginia
Located in
Raleigh County, West Virginia
Beckley is a city in and the county seat of Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. It was founded on April 4, 1838. Beckley was named in honor of John James Beckley, who was the first Clerk of the House of Representatives and the first Librarian of Congress. It was founded by his son Alfred Beckley. The current mayor is Rob Rappold
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
13.0% divorced · #8 highest divorce rate in West Virginia
Located in
Wood County, West Virginia
Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia, United States. Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state’s third-largest city and the largest city in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna metropolitan area. The population was 31,492 at the 2010 census. Its peak of population was more than 44,000 in 1960. The city is about 14 miles south of Marietta, Ohio.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
13.0% divorced · #8 highest divorce rate in West Virginia
Located in
Putnam County, West Virginia
Hurricane is a city in Putnam County, West Virginia, in the United States. The population was 6,284 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
13.0% divorced · #8 highest divorce rate in West Virginia
Located in
Kanawha County, West Virginia
St. Albans is a city in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the Kanawha and Coal Rivers. The population was 11,044 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
11.0% divorced · #12 highest divorce rate in West Virginia
Located in
Putnam County, West Virginia
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is West Virginia’s statewide median.
West Virginia statewide median: $59,608
On the map
Where West Virginia’s highest divorce rates are
Saturday Night Science
How We Determined The Places In West Virginia 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 25 places in West Virginia 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 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 eleventh time ranking the cities in West Virginia with the highest divorce rates.
The full plate
Cities With The Highest Divorce Rates In West Virginia
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Divorcees | Divorce Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Charleston | 13,457 | 1,938 | 18.0% |
| 2 | Dunbar | 7,254 | 987 | 17.0% |
| 3 | Clarksburg | 15,549 | 1,990 | 16.0% |
| 3 | Princeton | 5,736 | 734 | 16.0% |
| 5 | New Martinsville | 5,133 | 616 | 15.0% |
| 6 | Beckley | 16,818 | 1,884 | 14.0% |
| 8 | Parkersburg | 29,240 | 3,041 | 13.0% |
| 8 | Hurricane | 6,855 | 713 | 13.0% |
| 8 | St. Albans | 10,522 | 1,094 | 13.0% |
| 11 | Nitro | 6,853 | 603 | 11.0% |
| 11 | Charleston | 47,421 | 4,173 | 11.0% |
| 11 | Bluefield | 9,387 | 826 | 11.0% |
| 11 | Moundsville | 7,869 | 692 | 11.0% |
| 15 | Oak Hill | 7,937 | 635 | 10.0% |
| 15 | Vienna | 10,518 | 841 | 10.0% |
| 15 | Elkins | 6,811 | 545 | 10.0% |
| 17 | Wheeling | 26,350 | 1,897 | 9.0% |
| 17 | Huntington | 45,787 | 3,297 | 9.0% |
| 19 | Fairmont | 18,221 | 1,166 | 8.0% |
| 20 | Martinsburg | 18,904 | 1,059 | 7.0% |
| 20 | Weirton | 18,647 | 1,044 | 7.0% |
| 22 | Buckhannon | 5,116 | 246 | 6.0% |
| 23 | Bridgeport | 9,252 | 370 | 5.0% |
| 24 | Morgantown | 30,236 | 726 | 3.0% |
| 24 | Charles Town | 7,337 | 176 | 3.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 25 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Getting Some Closure In West Virginia After Untying The Knot
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 Nitro.
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.
