We used Saturday Night Science to analyze Virginia’s most recent Census data to determine the divorce rate for each city in Virginia based on the percentage of currently divorced residents.
The city with the highest divorce rate in Virginia is Covington, 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 Virginia is Herndon.
Virginia is 4.0% divorced overall. There are some 278,565 people living in 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 Virginia with the highest rates of divorcees.
12.0% divorced · #2 highest divorce rate in Virginia
Located in
Covington city, Virginia
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12.0% divorced · #2 highest divorce rate in Virginia
Located in
Smyth County, Virginia
Marion is a town in Smyth County, Virginia, United States. The population was 6,033 according to a 2017 count- not estimate- using local resources, information and current data. It is the county seat. The town is named for American Revolutionary War officer Francis Marion.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
11.0% divorced · #4 highest divorce rate in Virginia
Located in
Washington County, Virginia
Abingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, United States, 133 miles southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,191 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Washington County. The town encompasses several historically significant sites and features a fine arts and crafts scene centered on the galleries and museums along Main Street.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
11.0% divorced · #4 highest divorce rate in Virginia
Located in
Halifax County, Virginia
South Boston, formerly Boyd’s Ferry, is a town in Halifax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,142 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
11.0% divorced · #4 highest divorce rate in Virginia
Located in
Martinsville city, Virginia
Martinsville is an independent city near the southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 13,821. It is the county seat of Henry County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Martinsville with Henry County for statistical purposes.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
10.0% divorced · #8 highest divorce rate in Virginia
Located in
Wise County, Virginia
Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The population was 5,643 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
10.0% divorced · #8 highest divorce rate in Virginia
Located in
Roanoke County, Virginia
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
10.0% divorced · #8 highest divorce rate in Virginia
Located in
Danville city, Virginia
Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 43,055. It is bounded by Pittsylvania County, Virginia and Caswell County, North Carolina. It hosts the Danville Braves baseball club of the Appalachian League.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
10.0% divorced · #8 highest divorce rate in Virginia
Located in
Wythe County, Virginia
Wytheville is a town in, and the county seat of, Wythe County, Virginia, United States. It is named after George Wythe, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and mentor to Thomas Jefferson. Wytheville’s population was 8,211 at the 2010 census. Located at the intersection of Interstate Highways 77 and 81, the town has long been a crossroads for travelers. During the American Civil War, Wytheville had a strategic importance, and was attacked in 1863 and 1865. The town is also the birthplace of Edith Bolling Wilson, wife of President Woodrow Wilson.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
9.0% divorced · #14 highest divorce rate in Virginia
Located in
Petersburg city, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 32,420. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg with Dinwiddie County for statistical purposes. It is located on the Appomattox River and 21 miles south of the state capital of Richmond. The city’s unique industrial past and its location as a transportation hub combined to create wealth for Virginia and the region.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Virginia’s statewide median.
Virginia statewide median: $93,170
On the map
Where Virginia’s highest divorce rates are
Saturday Night Science
How We Determined The Places In 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 62 places in 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 Virginia the place with the highest incidence of divorcees, Covington.
And if you’re trying to avoid divorce, check out Herndon, the city with the lowest divorce rate in Virginia. We updated this article for 2026 and this list is our eleventh time ranking the cities in Virginia with the highest divorce rates.
The full plate
Cities With The Highest Divorce Rates In Virginia
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Divorcees | Divorce Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Covington | 5,680 | 545 | 12.0% |
| 1 | Marion | 5,670 | 544 | 12.0% |
| 4 | Abingdon | 8,330 | 733 | 11.0% |
| 4 | South Boston | 7,853 | 691 | 11.0% |
| 4 | Martinsville | 13,658 | 1,202 | 11.0% |
| 7 | Big Stone Gap | 5,162 | 413 | 10.0% |
| 7 | Vinton | 8,056 | 644 | 10.0% |
| 7 | Danville | 42,214 | 3,377 | 10.0% |
| 7 | Wytheville | 8,202 | 656 | 10.0% |
| 13 | Petersburg | 33,537 | 2,415 | 9.0% |
| 13 | Front Royal | 15,296 | 1,101 | 9.0% |
| 13 | Bristol | 16,849 | 1,213 | 9.0% |
| 13 | Waynesboro | 22,841 | 1,645 | 9.0% |
| 13 | Staunton | 25,948 | 1,868 | 9.0% |
| 13 | Pulaski | 8,893 | 640 | 9.0% |
| 13 | Franklin | 8,250 | 594 | 9.0% |
| 13 | Colonial Heights | 18,352 | 1,321 | 9.0% |
| 19 | Strasburg | 7,214 | 462 | 8.0% |
| 19 | Richlands | 5,171 | 331 | 8.0% |
| 19 | Salem | 25,618 | 1,640 | 8.0% |
| 19 | Roanoke | 98,355 | 6,295 | 8.0% |
| 23 | Portsmouth | 97,190 | 5,443 | 7.0% |
| 23 | Buena Vista | 6,593 | 369 | 7.0% |
| 23 | Galax | 6,726 | 377 | 7.0% |
| 27 | Emporia | 5,547 | 266 | 6.0% |
| 27 | Richmond | 229,359 | 11,009 | 6.0% |
| 27 | Lynchburg | 79,497 | 3,816 | 6.0% |
| 27 | Warrenton | 10,176 | 488 | 6.0% |
| 27 | Christiansburg | 22,720 | 1,091 | 6.0% |
| 27 | Hopewell | 22,959 | 1,102 | 6.0% |
| 35 | Radford | 16,726 | 669 | 5.0% |
| 35 | Hampton | 137,557 | 5,502 | 5.0% |
| 35 | Norfolk | 233,596 | 9,344 | 5.0% |
| 35 | Orange | 5,066 | 203 | 5.0% |
| 35 | Woodstock | 5,871 | 235 | 5.0% |
| 35 | Newport News | 184,216 | 7,369 | 5.0% |
| 35 | Winchester | 27,913 | 1,117 | 5.0% |
| 35 | Fredericksburg | 28,873 | 1,155 | 5.0% |
| 35 | Charlottesville | 45,437 | 1,817 | 5.0% |
| 35 | Suffolk | 98,796 | 3,952 | 5.0% |
| 42 | Smithfield | 8,834 | 283 | 4.0% |
| 42 | Chesapeake | 252,583 | 8,083 | 4.0% |
| 42 | Virginia Beach | 456,349 | 14,603 | 4.0% |
| 42 | Culpeper | 20,794 | 665 | 4.0% |
| 47 | Harrisonburg | 51,392 | 1,233 | 3.0% |
| 47 | Farmville | 7,774 | 187 | 3.0% |
| 47 | Ashland | 7,772 | 187 | 3.0% |
| 47 | Lexington | 7,525 | 181 | 3.0% |
| 47 | Bridgewater | 6,708 | 161 | 3.0% |
| 52 | Manassas | 42,976 | 688 | 2.0% |
| 52 | Manassas Park | 16,798 | 269 | 2.0% |
| 52 | Leesburg | 49,171 | 787 | 2.0% |
| 52 | Poquoson | 12,639 | 202 | 2.0% |
| 52 | Williamsburg | 15,798 | 253 | 2.0% |
| 58 | Fairfax | 25,026 | 200 | 1.0% |
| 58 | Dumfries | 5,816 | 47 | 1.0% |
| 58 | Vienna | 16,412 | 131 | 1.0% |
| 58 | Alexandria | 156,976 | 1,256 | 1.0% |
| 58 | Falls Church | 14,710 | 118 | 1.0% |
| 58 | Purcellville | 8,973 | 72 | 1.0% |
| 58 | Blacksburg | 45,446 | 364 | 1.0% |
| 62 | Herndon | 24,672 | 0 | 0.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 62 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Getting Some Closure In Virginia After Untying The Knot
We now have a sense of what places in the Old Dominion don’t pay much attention to the whole “’til death do we part” phrase.
The cities with the highest divorce rate in Virginia are Covington, Marion, Abingdon, South Boston, Martinsville, Big Stone Gap, Vinton, Danville, Wytheville, and Petersburg.
Try to keep in mind that the reason cities rank where they do in Virginia could be because of the age, education, and income distribution, as all of those things impact the rate of divorce.
