States With the Highest Rates of Divorce

Source: Thinkstock

5. Minnesota
> Divorce rate: 12.8 per 1,000 married people
> Marriage rate: 13.9 per 1,000 people (23rd lowest)
> Unemployment rate: 3.9% (13th lowest)
> Avg. wedding cost: $28,778 (17th highest)

Minnesota may be one of the colder states, but luckily the state’s residents probably have a spouse to keep them warm at night. The land of 10,000 lakes is one of the few states in which most of its adult residents are married.

In Minnesota, 51.7% of males 15 years old and over and 50.9% of females 15 years and over are married and not separated — both the seventh-highest shares in the country.

Source: Thinkstock

4. New York
> Divorce rate: 12.8 per 1,000 married people
> Marriage rate: 12.5 per 1,000 people (10th lowest)
> Unemployment rate: 4.8% (25th highest)
> Avg. wedding cost: $36,978 (5th highest)

New York, home to the nation’s most diverse city, has a statewide population of 19.8 million people. The state also has the fourth-lowest divorce rate. Perhaps the state’s median household income of $62,909 a year — well above the national median of $57,617 — plays an integral role in feeling stable in a marriage. Only 12.8 people per every 1,000 married residents in New York have gotten a divorce in the past year.

The state also has a significantly high number of married people of about 7.58 million people — that’s over one-third of the population in a marriage.

Source: Thinkstock

3. New Jersey
> Divorce rate: 12.7 per 1,000 married people
> Marriage rate: 11.6 per 1,000 people (4th lowest)
> Unemployment rate: 5.0% (18th highest)
> Avg. wedding cost: $39,602 (the highest)

Marriage is a significant commitment no matter where you make it, but having a wedding in New Jersey is a bigger financial commitment than anywhere else in the country. The state has the highest average cost of a wedding and an engagement ring.

New Jersey residents have a strong track record of staying married. The state has the lowest percentage of males 15 years old and over who are divorced at just 6.9%. Females over 15 tend to stay married as well — just 10.2% are divorced, the fifth-lowest share of any state.

Source: Thinkstock

2. Hawaii
> Divorce rate: 12.6 per 1,000 married people
> Marriage rate: 16.9 per 1,000 people (6th highest)
> Unemployment rate: 3.0% (3rd lowest)
> Avg. wedding cost: $37,755 (4th highest)

Aloha means both ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ but Hawaiians don’t seem to say goodbye to their spouses too often. Hawaii has the second lowest divorce rate in the nation as 12.6 per 1,000 married people got divorced in 2016.

Financial distress doesn’t seem to be a major factor in divorce in Hawaii. The median household income of this resort-filled, non-contiguous state is $74,511 a year in 2016 — well above the nationwide figure of $57,617 and the fifth-highest of any state.

Source: Thinkstock

1. Massachusetts
> Divorce rate: 12.3 per 1,000 married people
> Marriage rate: 13.2 1,000 people (14th lowest)
> Unemployment rate: 3.7% (10th lowest)
> Avg. wedding cost: $38,191 (3rd highest)

Married couples are more likely to stay together in Massachusetts than in any other state. Just 12.3 individuals per 1,000 married people divorced in 2016 in the state, possibly because it is a great environment for stable relationships.

Some 42.7% of the state’s adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, the highest percentage in the U.S. That likely contributes to the state’s high median household income of $75,297 a year. High incomes allow couples to focus on their marriage instead of money.