From Divorce Magnet To Stable Marriages, South Dakota’s Dramatic Reversal

More than a century ago, South Dakota was considered the 'Divorce Capital of the Nation'.

Between 1877 and 1909, the Mount Rushmore State earned the title because of its lenient residency laws and permissive grounds for ending a marriage. Back then, the state required only a short residency period (initially 90 days, later six months), and only a hotel or boarding house receipt as evidence of residency, even if the person barely stayed there.

READ MORE: Can Your Sleeping Position Predict Your Chances of Divorce?

The result?

Wealthy individuals, mainly from eastern states, where divorce laws were much stricter, traveled here to get out of their marriages.

That was then. This is now.

According to new data from PlayCasino.com, South Dakota is no longer a haven for matrimony failures.

The state now has one of the lowest divorce rates in America: 5.08 per 1,000 people, or about one in 197. That's second best in the nation, trailing only Vermont.

STATES WITH THE HIGHEST DIVORCE RATES (Per 1,000 People)

1. Alaska: 9.85
2. Wyoming: 9.73
3. Nevada: 9.27
4. Delaware: 9.25
5. North Dakota: 8.99
6. Oklahoma: 8.77
7. Mississippi: 8.61
8. Alabama: 8.60
9. Arkansas: 8.51
10. West Virginia: 8.45

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