Canton Leads Ohio In Divorce Rate

While divorce can happen anywhere, I was surprised to see that Canton leads Ohio in divorce rate. Obviously, every relationship is different and individual circumstances play a part in things, let’s look at what’s happening with divorces in the Hall of Fame City and the rest of Ohio.

Ohio is pretty middle of the pack when it comes to state by state divorce rates. Sitting at around 12%, that rate has remained relatively stable over the past few decades from when it spiked in the 1990s. In Ohio, men and women have different divorce rates, with men sitting at 10.8% and women at 13.1%. Most divorces in the state are initiated by women at around 70% of the time.

A closer look at the numbers shows us that while divorces happen all over Ohio, they happen in some cities more than others. On top of that list is Canton. Tied with Hamilton, Ohio, the divorce rate in Canton is 16.5%. About 33% of Canton residents are married, which puts it towards the bottom of the marriage rate in Ohio.

1. Canton/Hamilton – 16.5%
2. Springfield – 16%
3. Youngstown/Dayton/Toledo/Cleveland – 15.5%

Looking at the most commonly listed reasons for divorce in the United States, we can speculate on why the divorce rate is so high in Canton.

1. Lack of family support – 43%
2. Infidelity – 34%
3. Lack of compatibility – 31%
4. Lack of intimacy – 31%
5. Finances – 31%

Considering how many people stay in the Canton/Stark County area if they grew up here, I don’t think lack of family support would be an issue, but that’s just my assumption. In my head, finances and lack of opportunity would be main drivers of stress in this area and obviously cheating can happen anywhere.