America's Most Miserable Cities of 2009

Are you miserable where you live? How does your city rank in misery as compared to others in the nation?

Forbes has come out with their annual list of the most miserable cities in America.  This list is based on several indexes including  violent crime, unemployment, and taxes.  Last year's number 1, Detroit, fell to number 7.  This year's unenviable "winner": Stockton, California.

Stockton ranks in the bottom seven in four of the nine categories we looked at: commute times, income tax rates, unemployment and violent crime. Only New York City has a higher income tax rate than what Stockton, and all California residents, are forced to pay.

Stockton was ground zero for the housing boom and now the subsequent bust. Home prices more than tripled between 1998 and 2005 and then came crashing down last year. Stockton had the country's highest foreclosure rate last year at 9.5%, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed property. Things are not looking much brighter in 2009 as housing prices are expected to fall another 36% on the heels of a 39% drop in 2008. Also, unemployment is expected to jump to 13.3% from 10.4%, according to economic research firm Moody's Economy.com.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.


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Being from Sacramento might make be biased, but Stockton is a pretty horrible place. If you're not holed up in UoP (Which is a major university now? News to me!), and you get anywhere near Hammer Lane you'll run into more car-jackings, gang violence, teen homeless, and other shit that'd make Oakland or The Bronx blush. I have no idea what an earlier poster's idea of "best weather on earth" is, but that usually doesn't entail WEEK-LONG 100+ Degree days combined with the dryness that the delta somehow fails to quench, not to mention miserable rainfall and wind during the winter. Stockton, and the 209 Area Code in general, is a pretty shit place to be.
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I live in Stockton, too. I mean sure sometimes it has it's crime and violence and gangs. But I'm sure so does every other city. I really don't tthink that Stockton is that bad of a place to live in. Yes, we have homeless people, but who doesn't in these times of unemployment? I don't know. Maybe the data is messed up. Who knows. Maybe Stockton IS the worst place ever. Haha.
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I've lived in Stockton for the past 15 years, and actually it is one of the nicest places I've lived, compared to half a dozen cities on the east coast including Manhattan, Bronx, DC, New Haven, Boston. Best weather on earth, fresh vegs, 10 minute commute, affordable housing! Why don't they factor in these things? As well as diversity?!
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You need to get the truth out anout the US. You also should work to pulish the jobs that are avalable free to employers and employees, so people can work there way out of there bad situations. make it easyer for the country to comunicate.
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I also live in Stockton. I know the high foreclosure rate and high auto theft rate hurts our ranking but the city isn't that bad. We have a major university (univ of the pacific). We also have minor league hockey (which is very popular) that plays in an awesome venue. They are cleaning up downtown. This list is very bias. I think we should move up 10 spots just for the fact that I don't have to walk to my car after work in 10 feet of snow. Also, how about some points for proximity to major points of interest. Just over an hour to SF. Just over an hour to Skiing/Snowboarding.
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