IC: Shutterstock
Sometimes it may seem more likely that you’ll win the lottery than have a lasting marriage.
More and more, the American public is bombarded with news of surprise breakups and cheating spouses, and many people still believe the myth that 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce. But according to a 2014 New York Times article, “The divorce rate peaked in the 1970s and early 1980s and has been declining for the three decades since. […] If current trends continue, nearly two-thirds of marriages will never involve a divorce.”
FindTheHome crunched the numbers to find the states that are leading this trend—who are not listening to the naysayers and skeptics. Here are the 18 states with the lowest percentage of divorced residents (out of the total population).
Note: The data was sourced from the 2013 American Community Survey (5-year estimate).
#18 | Iowa
IC: Shutterstock
Percent of divorced residents: 10.7
Population: 3,062,553
#17 | Connecticut
IC: Shutterstock
Percent of divorced residents: 10.6
Population: 3,583,561
#16 | North Carolina
IC: Shutterstock
Percent of divorced residents: 10.6
Population: 9,651,380
#15 | Wisconsin
IC: Matt Schilder
Percent of divorced residents: 10.5
Population: 5,706,871
#14 | South Carolina
IC: Shutterstock
Percent of divorced residents: 10.4
Population: 4,679,602
#13 | Nebraska
IC: Sarah Korf
Percent of divorced residents: 10.3
Population: 1,841,625
#12 | Virginia
IC: Shutterstock
Percent of divorced residents: 9.9
Population: 8,100,653
#11 | Minnesota
IC: Shutterstock
Percent of divorced residents: 9.8
Population: 5,347,740
#10 | Illinois
IC: Kevin Dooley
Percent of divorced residents: 9.8
Population: 12,848,554
#9 | Maryland
IC: Bill Mill
Percent of divorced residents: 9.7
Population: 5,834,299
#8 | California
Percent of divorced residents: 9.6
Population: 37,659,181
#7 | Massachusetts
IC: Shutterstock
Percent of divorced residents: 9.5
Population: 6,605,058
#6 | Hawaii
IC: Floyd Manzano
Percent of divorced residents: 9.4
Population: 1,376,298
#5 | Pennsylvania
IC: Shutterstock
Percent of divorced residents: 9.3
Population: 12,731,381
#4 | Utah
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Percent of divorced residents: 9.2
Population: 2,813,673
#3 | North Dakota
IC: Thomas Huston
Percent of divorced residents: 9.2
Population: 689,781
#2 | New York
IC: Ahmed Rabea
Percent of divorced residents: 8.6
Population: 19,487,053
#1 | New Jersey
IC: Shutterstock
Percent of divorced residents: 8.5
Population: 8,832,406