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Iowa and Illinois among the 18 least-divorced states in America

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 surpris...

couple hands marriage wedding

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 15 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

Percent of divorced residents: 10.7
Population: 3,062,553

#17 | Connecticut

Percent of divorced residents: 10.6
Population: 3,583,561

#16 | North Carolina

Percent of divorced residents: 10.6
Population: 9,651,380

#15 | Wisconsin

Percent of divorced residents: 10.5
Population: 5,706,871

#14 | South Carolina

Percent of divorced residents: 10.4
Population: 4,679,602

#13 | Nebraska

Percent of divorced residents: 10.3
Population: 1,841,625

#12 | Virginia

Percent of divorced residents: 9.9
Population: 8,100,653

#11 | Minnesota

Percent of divorced residents: 9.8
Population: 5,347,740

#10 | Illinois

Percent of divorced residents: 9.8
Population: 12,848,554

#9 | Maryland

Percent of divorced residents: 9.7
Population: 5,834,299

#8 | California

Percent of divorced residents: 9.6
Population: 37,659,181

#7 | Massachusetts

Percent of divorced residents: 9.5
Population: 6,605,058

#6 | Hawaii

Percent of divorced residents: 9.4
Population: 1,376,298

#5 | Pennsylvania

Percent of divorced residents: 9.3
Population: 12,731,381

Next

#4 | Utah

Percent of divorced residents: 9.2
Population: 2,813,673

#3 | North Dakota

Percent of divorced residents: 9.2
Population: 689,781

#2 | New York

Percent of divorced residents: 8.6
Population: 19,487,053

#1 | New Jersey

Percent of divorced residents: 8.5
Population: 8,832,406

Story distributed by Tribune Media Wire via FindTheBest