Kentucky Ranks 5th In Highest Divorce Rates In The US

Indiana also sneaks its way into the top 10

Apr 22, 2024 at 2:58 pm
Divorce is the fifth most likely in the Commonwealth.
Divorce is the fifth most likely in the Commonwealth. Claassen Attorneys

There are many different reasons why couples who get married decide to get divorced. One of the more unlikely ones could be where you live. Kentucky recently made its way up to the fifth spot for states where married couples are most likely to get divorced. Is it the state or factors of living in the state of Kentucky? That remains a mystery.


Forbes Advisor put together a comprehensive list of states with divorce rates and where they were most common across the country. The US currently has the 10th highest divorce rate in the world at 50% of all first marriages ending in divorce.


There were a few indicators for how common divorce was in each state, with Forbes putting the following categories into place to show a scaled score out of 100 for divorce in each state:

  • Divorce Rate (women divorcing per 1,000 married women in 2022)
  • Percent of Population That is Divorced
  • Cost of Divorce as Percentage of Median Married Household Income
These four categories put together would come out to a score out of 100. Here is where Kentucky stood in each category.
  • Divorce Rate (women divorcing per 1,000 married women in 2022): 19.52%
  • Percent of Population That is Divorced: 12.6%
  • Cost of Divorce as Percentage of Median Married Household Income: 7.53%
Overall, Kentucky stood at a 85.64 scaled score which ranked it as the fifth most common state for divorce in the US. Indiana followed behind at number 10.