The Worst Cities in America

Posted by Alex in Bathroom Reader, Travel & Places on May 13, 2008 at 1:11 am


The following is an article from Uncle John's Triumphant 20th
Anniversary Bathroom Reader (BRI is having a sale through June 15: everything is 30% off!)


Downtown Modesto, California, on a Sunday night. One of the oldest corners in downtown Modesto is dominated by bail bonds businesses. Photo: Inkyhack [Flickr]

Every city has something to be proud of, but some cities, despite their beauty, charm, or cultural importance, also have features of which they might be a little less proud. Here are a few cities with dubious distinctions.

• According to a survey by AutoVantage (an auto club like AAA), Miami, Florida, is the city with the rudest drivers.

• A Cornell University study determined that New York City has the lowest quality of housing. The World Health Organization says that New York is also the noisiest city in the United States.

• Because of high divorce and unemployment rates and consistently gloomy weather, the city statistics analyzing firm BestPlaces named Tacoma, Washington, the country's most stressful place to live.

• Breathe easy if you don't live in these places: Greenville, South Carolina (where residents suffer the most respiratory tract infections); Scranton, Pennsylvania (the worst city for asthma sufferers); and Tulsa, Oklahoma (the pollen capital of America).

• Based on the number of accidents and fatalities, the International Federation of Bike Messenger Associations named Boston the most dangerous place to ride a bike.

• Zero, a group dedicated to slowing population growth, determined what cities were the best and worst in which to raise children based on the quality of healthcare, education, public safety, transportation, the job market, and the natural environment. The best was Fargo, North Dakota; the worst was Newark, New Jersey.

• According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, Sarasota, Florida, is the city most hostile toward homeless people.

• Forbes magazine named Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the worst city for single people. Reasons: expensive beer, few nightclubs, and not enough single people.

• Worst traffic congestion: Los Angeles. (Not coincidentally, it also has the worst air pollution.)

• City with the bumpiest, most pothole-infested roads: Seattle.

• In 2007 Men's Health magazine analyzed various cities' obesity rates, eating habits, and other data, including how much time people spend exercising and sitting in traffic. Result: Las Vegas was judged the nation's "fattest city."

• The city with the most suicides per capita is Medford, Oregon.

• Decatur, Illinois, has the highest skin cancer fatality rate.

• America's most rat-infested city is Baltimore.

• New Orleans leads in both gun- and diabetes-related deaths per capita.

• Hallmark Cards call El Paso, Texas, the city with the worst sense of humor, based on polls in which very few people said they considered themselves funny. (The city also has very low sales of Hallmark's humorous cards.)

• City with the highest percentage of lawyers: Washington, D.C. Nearly 2% of all residents are attorneys.

• According to the book Cities Ranked and Rated, the worst overall city in America is Modesto, California. The city scored a 0 on the book's 100-point scale for its high cost of living, high unemployment rate, lack of activities, and the highest car theft rate in the United States.

The article above was reprinted with permission from Uncle John's Triumphant 20th Anniversary Bathroom Reader.

Proving that some things do get better with age, the latest Bathroom Reader is jam-packed with 600 pages of fascinating trivia, forgotten history, strange lawsuits and other neat articles.

Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts.

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COMMENT

79 comments to "The Worst Cities in America"

  1. Sofar
    May 13th, 2008 at 1:37 am

    Lordy, I can tell you about the roads in Seattle. Part of our problem is it's difficult to pave on a twenty per cent grade, asphalt roads change back to concrete, brick, or even cobblestone when it comes time to mount a steep hill. A lot of downtown was built on landfill--we had to raise the streets a good ten to thirty feet in the 1890s to help with drainage--the roads in Pioneer Square sit on century-old sawdust and brick vaults. They undulate wildly, in some places the street dips a foot and a half below the level of the sidewalk. In other parts of the city, when pot holes develop in asphalt roads you can see that they just paved over the original bricks, which themselves were laid over the cobblestones with which the street was paved eighty years prior.

    Strangely our brick streets are in much better condition than our concrete or asphalt streets.

  2. Britt
    May 13th, 2008 at 1:44 am

    Seattle has some pretty crummy roads, I'll give it that.

  3. Sofar
    May 13th, 2008 at 4:42 am

    Seattle, however, lacks pollution, crime, and fat people. And we have electric buses.

  4. Evilbeagle
    May 13th, 2008 at 5:31 am

    Having had to live in Miami for a few very long years, I can verify that this is where not only the rudest drivers live, but the rudest people overall. I hate that place. I only go back there now because I have family there, but if I didn't, I wouldn't set foot in that town again.

  5. DanO
    May 13th, 2008 at 5:54 am

    I agree about the rats in Baltimore. It's hard to overlook the problem when there's rat roadkill covering the streets.

  6. MoonCake
    May 13th, 2008 at 6:14 am

    how about ohio- the most BORING state? i've lived here my entire life and wow it's boring... but of course, i know the grass is always greener on the other side, but holyCRAP it's boring here. funny thing is, it's in a constant state of renewal and construction.. you would think that they would build something relatively entertaining besides barnes n noble and F-ing starbucks.

  7. hooper
    May 13th, 2008 at 6:33 am

    I used to work in Miami. It is a pukehole. They didn't mention that it also has one of the worst airports in the world.

  8. nick
    May 13th, 2008 at 6:59 am

    i used to live in seattle, and yes the roads are bad, i now live in south louisiana and holy smokes, every road is crap. i'd say even worse than seattle.

  9. Viola
    May 13th, 2008 at 8:54 am

    Driving in Boston is dangerous, so I can only imagine how scary it is on a bike.

  10. februarymakeup
    May 13th, 2008 at 9:54 am

    Aw, c'mon Mooncake. It's not so bad north of Columbus! Granted, Dayton is (and this is a scientific fact) the most boring place on Earth, but we're certainly not Kansas!

    Show some pride! Our state doesn't border a Boring Lake, it borders a GREAT Lake, son!

    Seriously though--we're not Kansas. Or Indiana.

  11. Dave
    May 13th, 2008 at 9:58 am

    Cool! The Dakotas get some love; Fargo is the best place "to raise children based on the quality of healthcare, education, public safety, transportation, the job market, and the natural environment." But with that ranking coming from Zero, is that good or bad?

  12. Fritz
    May 13th, 2008 at 10:18 am

    I will second the sentiment about Baltimore Rats. They are legendary.
    There is a girl from Baltimore who Blogs about Rats there.. she calls them Alley Bunnies

    good post

    http://angerhangover.wordpress.com/?s=alley+bunnies

  13. PaulVI
    May 13th, 2008 at 10:22 am

    I'm a transplant to Flint, MI. Where's Flint on this list? It's got to be the worst at something. Worst place to live? And by "live", I mean "stay alive". It's been a leader in murder rate for some years running. Or at least, several top 3 finishes or highest rate for it's size (pop.) has got to count for something. Job market recession? Emigration rate?

  14. Cindy
    May 13th, 2008 at 10:34 am

    im glad my city did not make the list

  15. Thomas
    May 13th, 2008 at 10:38 am

    I'm kind of upset that Macon, Ga didn't make the list. Highest teen pregnancy and AIDS rates in a state that has problems with both.

  16. hokku
    May 13th, 2008 at 11:59 am

    I live in Modesto and I gotta say, as ominous as the title of "worst city in America" is it really depends on how you look at it as far as how bad living here can be. I mean, the lack of activities isn't so bad if you have active friends and the hobos around here are some of the coolest people I've met.

    Yeah, it's bad I guess, but it does it so well.

  17. bean
    May 13th, 2008 at 12:52 pm

    Zero, a group who claims their goal is slowing population growth, is handing out advice on how to raise more crotch goblins? That's hypocritical.

  18. A Mexican
    May 13th, 2008 at 1:32 pm

    It should read worst cities in the U.S.

    There are much worse cities in America (especially Mexico)

  19. snarky1
    May 13th, 2008 at 2:47 pm

    Modesto is not that bad--really! House prices ARE high because all the Bay Area people move here and have driven costs way up. (Houses cost a lot less here and the Baysters seem to be okay with commuting.) Car theft IS bad here, I'll grant you that. But really, Modesto is close to some fabulous, beautiful places - 1.5+/- hours away from the beach, San Francisco, Yosemite, etc.! How many of you mid-westerners can top that? We HAVE grown too fast for our infrastructure but we are trying to improve things. And, even with the downsides I still have no desire to move away from here to somewhere boring and land-locked.

  20. no rats in baltimore
    May 13th, 2008 at 5:16 pm

    I have to disagree about the rats in Baltimore. I see many more rats in Washington, D.C., the literal and the figurative, and New York is even worse. I don't think I've ever seen a rat in Baltimore City, and friends from Italy comment on how clean the streets are. However, I live in an especially nice neighborhood. Probably the nicest. Nicer than yours. So there.

  21. badgirl
    May 13th, 2008 at 6:54 pm

    Can't believe Fayetteville, NC didn't make this list. Better known as
    "Fayette-nam" for being a military town) or "Fayette-hell" it certainly fits the criteria. It's the ugliest town I've ever breezed through and being in the sandhills of NC doesn't help either. BTW, the only rats in Baltimore are two-legged.

  22. renderanything
    May 13th, 2008 at 6:55 pm

    I thought that L.A. was now the second worst city as far as air pollution goes.

  23. Louisa
    May 13th, 2008 at 7:23 pm

    Zero (population slowing group) has their best and worst reversed.

    This list is not complete without St. Louis.

  24. Jim Steward
    May 13th, 2008 at 7:30 pm

    Calling this photo downtown Modesto is technically correct, but pretty deceiving. If I could go to any city and find the raunchiest corner and take a picture and represent that as downtown, that would be the equivalent. I've lived in Modesto for more than 30 years and I would much rather be here than hundreds of other places. It's a great place to live.

  25. Fritz
    May 13th, 2008 at 9:30 pm

    No rats in Baltimore . You need to spend more time there maybe even a day? because you are clueless.

  26. Michelle
    May 14th, 2008 at 9:29 am

    I live right outside Scranton (which I am kind of surprised made the list) and I don't know anyone that has asthma to be able to confirm or deny that. However, I will say that the pollen in the city is terrible this year. My sister's suffering more than the rest of us since she's attending the U of Scranton in the heart of downtown.

  27. Sise
    May 15th, 2008 at 7:31 am

    I used to go to Modesto all the time... all I can think of when I hear Modesto is SCOTT PETTERSON!!!

    *sad*

  28. Nomone
    May 15th, 2008 at 12:28 pm

    Toledo Ohio should be in there somewhere. The current Mayor "hizzoner" "Fink"-beiner is a tyrant who acts like a spoiled baby when he can't get his way or something upsets him. The streets are pothole after pothole, nothing to do (yeah, they'll laud the museum of art, the zoo,...) downtown rolls up and goes to sleep after 5, the center of science and industry closed, the schools...thats another story. THE absolute worst!

  29. SPLIFFS MOMMY
    May 15th, 2008 at 3:14 pm

    They forgot portland oregon,nastiest homeless population on earth.

  30. Solstafir
    May 19th, 2008 at 5:49 am

    Modesto, man, every town in the Central Valley is like that. Downtown Fresno is littered with bail bonds everywhere, and for a town with nearly 500,000 people living here, there isn't a whole lot to do, aside from join gangs and do meth. Seriously

  31. Jason
    May 23rd, 2008 at 2:27 pm

    i live in memphis, tn and i thought that we were the fattest city. (well we were last year). now its las vegas. im glad that we're no longer #1 on the list.

  32. Dianne
    May 24th, 2008 at 5:05 pm

    What's That Smell???? Oh, yea Terre Haute, Indiana. I'm a Hoosier but wouldn't live in Terre Haute if somebody gave me a house, car and perfect family to go with it.

  33. Carolyn
    May 26th, 2008 at 11:10 pm

    I was also surprised that Flint, MI did not make the list. I have not visited there personally, but from what I have heard about it from my husband who lived there for a short while, it is an awful place.

  34. Deana
    May 27th, 2008 at 4:51 pm

    Okay, so now we know the worst cities. Are the best ones a secret? Maybe the best ones are just trying to keep all the freaks out.

  35. Anne
    June 5th, 2008 at 6:04 pm

    I just now today got my email to function and this is a favorite website.

  36. big red
    June 20th, 2008 at 9:09 pm

    ashland ky , nasty , dirty people , dont care about themselves or anyone els .....

  37. Katie
    June 25th, 2008 at 12:09 am

    Yes! Baltimore and Pittsburgh were mentioned, but no Cleveland!

  38. JA
    July 4th, 2008 at 11:32 pm

    Baltimore is definitely rat infested. The second city that might be worse than BodyMore on rats is New Orleans. 5 Years ago I saw a rat there that would have made a large dog scared.

    Despite what they keep saying about Washington D.C. and it gentrification taking place. I must say they are full of $***!!! The Anacostia river itself looks like something out of the Amazon, Almost all of southeast across the river looks like war torn Africa or some gentrification you could say (Nice houses Ghetto'd out with drug dealers) Cops don't know what to do because there's a robbery every 10 seconds. Northeast D.C. is complete a $h*thole excp. on benning road going into trinidad ect. Last week there were 7 murders and 4 shooting in 12 hours. And everywhere in Northwest there are nice houses that run into complete open air drug ghetto's. Southwest has allot of new businesses and hoods. Everybody is mean as hell. All the good clubs they keep destroying year after year for some stupid crap. I have lived here almost all my life and loved it but hated it just as much. Jesus Christ, this is our Nations Capital? What the hell is going on here?

    They say D.C. is getting better but every year we are on the worst cities of America list. As of 2008 from wikipedia we are #7. It won’t be long before we are once again, the murder capital of the united states.

  39. kyle
    July 10th, 2008 at 7:09 pm

    I gotta say that all this makes me feel better about living in southern california. Plus I knew about ten people from modesto that I met in college and each one said that it's the worst place on earth to live, and on earth means they're comparing it with Uganda and northern Mexico.

  40. S.R
    July 13th, 2008 at 7:05 pm

    Stinking Miami, Florida is crummy in too many ways to count, but its rude drivers takes the cake! Driving in Miami is a nightmare. People are so inconsiderate and dirty.

  41. Gil
    July 16th, 2008 at 12:38 pm

    I will say York, Pa. Crime ridden, dirty, lots of backwards, anti-social and provincial people

  42. hated"it"
    September 12th, 2008 at 3:29 pm

    Oh my gosh, I can't believe Philadelphia didn't make it on this list. It is by far, the filthiest, rudest, wish they had class and sense to think outside of Eagles or Phillies. Don't get me started on the traffic and crime. By far this place sucks and I am glad I got the heck out of there. Oh yeah, those that live there think it the best place to live. Why don't they go on vacation or visit other places maybe they could see how horrible it really is.

  43. sonja
    September 21st, 2008 at 1:40 pm

    I was not surprised to see anything bad about New Orleans. I have lived in north central Louisiana all my life and am familiar with the crime and filthiness in that city. Have not visited there but would like to just for the historical points and before that last great hurricane comes thru and fills that big bowl full of water, its all a matter of time. Those people down there are to busy living the life to realize its a dangerous place to live. Don't believe everything you hear from the media about how bad those people had it when the hurricane hit 3 years ago,,it ain't true. I have relatives that live down there and believe me they know the truth..
    Shreveport and Baton Rouge are ok to visit but I wouldnt want to live there..I have relatives in Shreveport and they love it.
    Louisiana is a beautiful place and I don't think I would want to live any other place,,The folks here are friendly and hospitible.
    Its somewhat fall time and the mornings are nice and cool but by the time noon gets here it feels like we ought to be swimming at the lake. This kind of weather lasts till around the middle or end of october. Some winters we can wear shorts and short sleeves.
    I've seen a couple of January/Februarys were the flowers had bloomed and we thought summer was here then all of a sudden the air turned cold and we woke up to see snow on those flowers. Of course they died and had to start over in a month or so.
    Some roads are good some are terrible,, there are new ones being constructed..
    This is a great place to have a family,,its safe and we know everyone....Its a little short on family oriented activities and baseball & basketball are the biggest activities we got going on here,,the big cities have more.....
    Visit in the spring or fall and if you like the hot amazon weather then visit in the summer..Winters aren't bad either...hardly ever snows...

  44. Vicky
    September 25th, 2008 at 10:19 am

    Modesto is my hometown, and i think its the best place to live. Its a different point of view for everyone, and all the people i know would never move from Modesto cause they love it =]

    Modesto Forever =]

  45. Kentucky Hometowner
    October 19th, 2008 at 10:50 am

    I grew up in Kentucky and because it is not mentioned here i am happy, however i now live in norfolk virginia and this place is the worst place i have ever been. Murders, Thefts from your yard, Horrible drivers, crazy laws and fines and not to mention the overall jackass mindset of the people here. This place could use an upgrade in hospitality. I just wish it would happen faster

  46. sonya
    October 22nd, 2008 at 8:42 pm

    some of the worst i've been in are baraboo, wisconsin and the general area around san marcos, texas. san marcos itself was ok.

  47. sonya
    October 22nd, 2008 at 8:43 pm

    i'm glad chicago wasn't on the list :) .

  48. yo bo
    October 24th, 2008 at 1:39 pm

    If I remember correctly, that picture of modesto is taking across the street from THE POLICE STATION. Of course there are a ton of bail bond places...

  49. hellgrl
    October 26th, 2008 at 9:01 pm

    try living in memphis. we got fat people, crimes, a stupid economy, racism. i can't even get out of my house alone without being jumped.

  50. Ali
    November 1st, 2008 at 12:40 am

    Norfolk, Va is definitely the worst city in the state. I went to collage there a few years ago and the city is very boring, simply there is nothing for fun, and people there are very unhappy people.

  51. Robert
    November 11th, 2008 at 2:55 pm

    While its murder/crime rates haven't been comparable to those of Detroit or Baltimore for awhile, Philadelphia is extraordinarily dirty and its residents are incomparably trashy. I've visited wretched cities around the world, and I know of few other places (and none in the States) that are so filthy.

  52. Jamie
    November 25th, 2008 at 10:49 am

    What about Youngstown Ohio? Thats got to be a pretty shit ass city too. I live outside of youngstown and its pretty trashy and was once murder capitol of the world, and now its 15th. Theres absolutely nothing good there.

  53. Pierre
    November 25th, 2008 at 2:55 pm

    I wasn't surprised to see New Orleans either. New Orleans has gotten pretty bad-and a lot of them went to Baton Rouge. Baton Rouge is just nasty and full of rednecks. Lafayette is charming, but I'd say Shreveport is probably the most promising large city in Louisiana.

  54. BIG E
    December 3rd, 2008 at 9:30 am

    AIN'T DIZ DAT BULLSHYT I'M FROM BALTIMORE N DAMN WE DO HAVE ALOTA RATS N YES THERE IZ RAT ROAD KILL BUT ITS FUN AS SHYT

  55. modesto sucks
    December 7th, 2008 at 6:59 am

    I've lived in modesto for 25+ years and i'm 25 years old. I am goin to so-cal as soon as I can It deserves the top worst city to live. I hate that people defend this shit hole. They only defend it cause they can't leave and that they will not accept that they live in the worst city in the country. I've been saying this for years and finally I have some evidence to back me up. Theres nothing to do, no jobs, no money, no future If you have to relocate to modesto cause your job or your family you have two options quit your job or quit your family for reals lol

  56. bobtobroberta
    December 28th, 2008 at 2:02 am

    How about......Richmond, Virginia? All this talk about Norfolk. Go to Richmond......The stench along 95 entering city limits in indescribable.....New Jersey doesn’t have sh*t of the horrific smells of Richmond. Every other building on the north end or south end is boarded up. Crime seems to be a problem.....Ranked 5th for 2005 and in the top 20 for 10 years by Morgan Quitno Press. Be happy you have a Food Lion if you do; here we have Lion Mart's!!

  57. Jimmy
    December 28th, 2008 at 3:04 am

    I think Lawrence, MA is the worst, it's the filthiest and most corrupt city I've ever seen. 90% of the people are on welfare and half the city was burned in the 1990's due to arson. It gets more money from the state than any other and all they have to show for it is a high school that looks like a penitentiary. Nobody cares about anything and your car would get broken into or stolen at least once a month. I heard it's getting a little better, but it is still the laughing stock of Massachusetts.

  58. Davanya Detros
    January 1st, 2009 at 7:07 pm

    the world city to live in by far has got to be

    EAST ST LOUIS. IL

    THE BEST DESCRIPTION OF THIS PLACE IS:

    BOTTOM OF THE URBAN HEAP!

  59. gunfumbler
    January 5th, 2009 at 3:49 pm

    Lived in California for many, many years, in various cities. Never Modesto, but I can say for sure that Modesto is the butt of every joke when people (from CA) want to cite an awful place. That whole stretch of the San Joaquin Valley, from Stockton to Bakersfield, is typically called "Calabama," and Modesto is right in the middle. It is truly a dump.

  60. mikemike
    January 15th, 2009 at 9:28 am

    As far as New York State is concerned, ive been to every city there, I live in NYC and would have to say Schenectady and Albany Ny are the worst small citys in the state as far as ghetto and crime. The citys are small but Very dangerous as far as what ive driven through and have family there. They even beat Newburgh as far as run down and Ghetto.

  61. Broxy
    January 17th, 2009 at 10:09 am

    Portland,OR or Vancouver,WA ..just over the bridge. The worst place to live. moving from the rocky mountain area over a year ago, I can tell you that Portland should be near the top of any list of a city to avoid. The weather being a big one, 8 months of darkness, summer is beautiful. Kids don't play outside in Portland, they can't it's a mud-fest, at least where I am from when it snows the ground is nice and frozen and kids can still play. Let's not forget about the unemployment rate, one of the nations highest, why? this is an "artsy" community. there is no major business, except Nike. it's all arts and restaurants. How do I know this? According to my realtor, I have lost all of my equity in my home if not more from the house i sold in the west. my old house? ...has INCREASED in value!! ...can't wait to get out of here. what a nightmare.

  62. black from S.E. D.C.
    January 31st, 2009 at 2:31 am

    D.C. Is fuck up people go downtown D.C. And think its all good the
    Hole D.c. Is won big shit hole.New York naggs came on down back in 80's-mid 90's naggs like Alpo and got fuck up.
    Won thing win lorton prison got closed they ship naggs all over the map I just came home from the FEDS and we run the FEDS D.C. Blacks Barry Farms stand up Cuz.

  63. timbo slice
    February 11th, 2009 at 11:44 am

    whoever wrote this article has forgotten about a city quite close to modesto called stockton. forbes magazine has rated it the worst place to live in the usa. ill have to agree. i grew up in stockton and it doesnt get much worse.

  64. christine padilla
    February 15th, 2009 at 6:36 pm

    we moved from ceres to modesto for the simple reason that we could not afford a home in ceres,we bought a house for 27,600.It might not be the best neighborhood but the neighbors are very nice.I believe its what you make of it.Modesto is really not all that bad.

  65. dan in C town
    February 22nd, 2009 at 9:53 am

    What have we learned here... If you live in or near a large city, there is gonna be some ghetto.. I live in the Cleveland area , and we have always been the butt of so many jokes and so on. Yes, there are places here that you just dont hang out at after dark, but I love CLeveland and there are plenty of nice things about the area. The weather could be better , but on the whole the people are decent, hard working folks.

  66. Saul
    February 25th, 2009 at 2:30 pm

    Ok modesto has got to be the worst city in all of california. The people are stingy racist and theres no jobs no money and no where to hang out. And people say te word "hecka" for everything. Its getting on my nerves. Im moving back to los angeles where theres life. Lol

  67. christ
    April 13th, 2009 at 11:17 pm

    new england in general,ive had a bad back for years (nothing major,just a constant mild pain)i went to florida 2 weeks ago,and all the pain was gone like it never happened,now im back in this tundra called connecticut,and so is the pain,until our winter ends in late june.

  68. Michigander
    April 17th, 2009 at 10:08 pm

    No Detroit? A city where even the ex mayor himself can't throw a party without some strippers ending up dead. Damn pity it is.

    Heres a joke:

    Why do birds fly upside down when going over Flint, MI?

    Answer- Cuz it ain't worth shitting on!!

  69. juakine
    April 20th, 2009 at 8:11 pm

    the worst city???Modesto??? NAhh that cant be right... Stockton is way worse..although my friends chevy tahoe got stolen out in front of fuddruckers and the new wall mart... although the only thing i can think of why it is bad is because of the air quality... there is a lot of things to do for a teenager you just have to know where to go... I have lived here for 14 years.. and its not that badd. i would rather live here than compton or stockton. or san jose

  70. jim
    April 24th, 2009 at 5:10 pm

    I lived in the central valley of CA for 20+ years and I must agree with the negative comments.Once one goes south of Lodi,you enter the "armpit" region of CA.No recreation,except for gangbanging and tweeking.Heck,the cops even refer to Manteca as "Mantweeka" because of the meth problem.I once was fishing in an irrigation canal when I noticed a beater pickup truck pull up and dump chems into the water!I could smell the strong chemical odor,probably used meth chems.I reeled in my line and left.Those that claim its a great place to live,I must ask,compared to what?They will never eliminate the gangbangers or the drug problem in Ca. but it sure creates lots of jobs trying!Trust me,U would'nt want 2 live there!

  71. Mindy
    May 9th, 2009 at 12:38 am

    St. Louis Missouri.... I've been driving a cross the country, out of all the 16 states I've been to I was SHOCKED by St. Louis Missouri. Why is it so run down? I've never seen anything like it except in bad parts of Mexico. Even New York was cleaner. It's SO weird, because there was all this nature, lots of trees and green grass and lakes, but SO many nasty houses and graffiti and burned out buildings, it truly looks like zombies took over the city and burned buildings, kicked in windows, threw lawn furniture and trash all over peoples lawns, graffitti'd the place up and made everything look dangerous and nasty and left. Why is Missouri's legislation allowing their city to be so run down??

  72. antitexas
    August 3rd, 2009 at 9:38 am

    Pleas stay out of Texass hot and humid with a bunch of bug so do not even go there... yuck

  73. atmodesto
    August 19th, 2009 at 2:38 am

    Well, it explains it all - Modesto.

  74. Azar
    August 26th, 2009 at 6:27 pm

    Let me think..one aspect of cities spills into the countryside when full up to the detritus level. The Phoenix area has got to be in the tough 3..where the fallout moves form back east. Then there are the "police towns" like Sedona where you work for nothing and are expected to gather your 2 cents and give it to the next wealthy person passing. Costs up there are prohibitive...paid by a wondersome bunch of cheapskates that will luck out with a penny on a dollar. Housing is impossible. The situation deplorable how much one has to pay for a place to live and how much one can earn....Of course one will say its the vortex...lifted upside down, its the vortex of a pocketbook being turned over...this is living on the edge no matter what education level you have you are treated like...well, the words go beyond me.

  75. Richard
    September 13th, 2009 at 10:09 am

    Living in Sioux Falls, SD had its ups and downs. May be a good city to live in (economically wise), but people are backwards when it comes to equality rights. They have no idea what advocacy means when it comes to gay rights. Yet gays and lesbians will sit there in a bar and stab you behind your back because you're gay. Stupid.

  76. Shady Packs
    September 29th, 2009 at 9:05 am

    FLINT MICHIGAN IS THE WORST OF THE WORST CITIES IN AMERICA. I LOST 2 HIGH SCHOOL FRIENDS JUST THIS PAST WEEKEND FROM JUST SENSELESS VIOLENCE.

  77. Henry Mc
    October 27th, 2009 at 4:56 pm

    go pittsburgh(except for the weather).

    p.s. it's not that bad for single people.

  78. Chicagorilla
    October 31st, 2009 at 3:23 pm

    I'm glad chicago wasnt on there, but i wasnt suprised every body kno we da realist city, n get it crackin!!!

  79. Laurel
    November 13th, 2009 at 11:06 pm

    Some have said Johnstown Pa. was voted by glamour magazine a few years back to be the "most depressing city in america" but i have yet to find that article... id love if some one could find it cause i cant... help...... ( and well... i think it is depressing... i just want verification)


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