With all the recent news of celebrity divorces, you might think that Hollywood has one of the highest divorce rates in the nation. As a matter of fact, it’s not even in the top 50.
The news and opinion website the Daily Beast recently analyzed census data to find out just what cities and towns have the highest divorce rates. One surprise is that so many of the places with the highest population of divorced people are in rural areas. In fact, three of the top 50 communities with the highest divorce rates are rural communities in Georgia.
Dalton, Albany and Warner Robins, Georgia, Make the Top 50
Despite the stereotypes about Hollywood, no Southern California city made the list of the top 50 communities with the highest rates of divorce. Three California towns did make the list, all of them rural towns in Northern California.
Redding, California, in rural Shasta County was number 34 on the list, with 13.7 percent of its population divorcees. Its rank jumped from 114th in 2009. Eureka, which is way up north in Humboldt County, California, came in at number 47, up from number 69 last year. 12.2 percent of Eureka residents are divorced. Santa Rosa, which is in the Sonoma County wine country, came in 48th, up from 83rd last year. 12.3 percent of those living in Santa Rosa have gone through a divorce.
Dalton, Georgia, which is in northwestern Whitfield County, ranked number 11 in the divorce survey. 13.4 of its population is divorced. Dalton’s divorce rate in 2009 was ranked number 28, and its divorce rate is around 3.6 percent.
At number 21 on the list of communities with the highest divorce rates is Albany, which is in southwestern Dougherty County. It has a divorce rate of around 3.6 percent as well, but only 12.2 percent of its population is divorced. Its ranking jumped a bit since last year, as well — in 2009 it was ranked 29th.
Middle Georgia’s Warner Robins came in at number 43. 12.1 percent of the Houston County town’s population is divorced, and its divorce rate is about 3.1 percent. Last year, Warner Robins was number 56 on the list.
The city with the highest divorce rate in America? Panama City, Florida. Its divorce rate is approximately 4.3 percent, and 15.5 percent of its residents are divorced. Last year, Panama City ranked second — a tie with Grand Junction, Colorado. Last year’s number 1 city for divorce, Florence, Alabama, fell to number 20 on this year’s list.
Source: The Daily Beast, “America’s 50 Divorce Capitals,” October 17, 2010
