5 Most Miserable Cities To Live In The United States Of America
It is all backed by data.
The United States Of America is a wealthy and highly developed country, a country with the world’s largest GDP which accounts for almost a quarter of the global GDP.
However, when it comes to the cities of the United States some are not so great to live in, or in other words, they are rather miserable.
One can’t tag any city as miserable randomly, but many factors are taken into account before placing something into an unfortunate category.
The miserable cities have few things in common: high addiction, high crime rate, few opportunities and devastation, and some abandoned homes and natural disasters.
I have picked some of the most uninviting cities in the US by collecting information from census data and other well-recognized sources for your spirit of inquiry.
Considering average household income, population changes, healthcare, commute, and people who are living in poverty, below is the assembled list.
1. San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino is a city with over two hundred thousand residents, located 60 miles from Los Angeles. It has an exciting history, where two infamous biker gangs commenced from this place, Hell’s Angels and The Macdonalds.
The problems with San Bernardino began when the city’s two biggest job providers Air Force Base and the Steel mill shut down their operations in the town, leading to low vacancy rates and poverty.
This groundless housing situation affected all, including the elderly and the young ones.
Furthermore young ones additionally faced issues related to technology and wages. This affected everyone in the city, and it had a trickle-down effect that affected the rock-solid housing market in the town.
2. Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city with a vibrant history — known for its rich culture, dazzling art, and Rock and Roll birthplace.
The Cuyahoga River, which runs through the entire city, provides the residents with amazing views and evening strolls. But we can only wish things were this good.
When it comes to the most miserable cities in the US, Cleveland has been at the top. Its high unemployment rate and lousy weather are significant factors for it to be on the top in the miserable cities ranking.
Cleveland has been through many ups and downs throughout its history due to the city’s problems, from its polluted rivers and fires to corruption by the officials and trashy sports teams.
The city has had the highest poverty rates among America’s large cities and other problems, including burdensome taxes, high crime rate, and very harsh weather.
Another major problem the place is the growing population of senior individuals in poverty. In 2010, the number of people over the age of 65 who were living in poverty grew by more than 22 percent.
Owing to the serious concern, more than 70,000 people have migrated to other cities in search of better living.
3. Putnam, Texas
Putnam is a city born by the arrival of the Texas & Pacific Railroad in the late 1800s. This city was known as Catlaw before the name was changed to Putnam.
Putnam, a small city with a population of just over 70,000, has experienced a series of hurricanes in the recent year, causing more than billion-dollar destruction, leading to massive migration and poverty for the residents.
Studies show that if people continue to leave the city at the same rate. Soon, the city will have a population below the 50,000 mark, and this will lead to more significant problems such as the city will no longer be eligible for grants.
4. Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is better known as the Motor City. It’s the birthplace of modern automobiles, a place visitors come upon to immerse themselves into the infamous Henry Ford experience, but it is much more than that, or at least it was.
Detroit has a population of more than 670,000 people. Why so low?
Well, the city lost a big part of its population in the second half of the 1900s, owing to the collapse of the manufacturing industry — an industry which served as the primary source of jobs for the city’s population.
The city struggles with blight and has more than 40,000 abandoned houses. Only 54 percent of the city’s population work and a massive 38 percent of its population lives in poverty, making the city suffer with extremely high crime rates.
Detroit is also one of the most dangerous cities of the USA — it was the mecca of modern industry of its time but this is no longer the case.
5. Gary, Indiana
To begin with, Gary is an exceptionally diverse city. It has a population of slightly more than 69,000. The city is known for its Steel Mills and the Jackson family.
In the 1970’s most of the white people left the city. After this massive resettling, the town was struck with another blow of migration from 2010 to 2018, forcing over 6 percent of its population to leave the city.
Fifty percent of the city’s population have jobs, but over 36 percent of its population lives in poverty.
The city, once a lodestone of the industry, is now struggling, and those days are long gone.
Furthermore, over 84 percent of the city’s population consists of African Americans, and the things on the ground are not good either.
A city with high levels of crime is now much peaceful, and it is not because of the law enforcement forces but because of sheer poverty.
The people involved in these kinds of criminal activities confesses how there exist hardly anyone in the city to kill. Unavailability of jobs mean many don’t have money that can be stolen.
The city is working on many sectors which will help the city grow in the future, and one of their plans was to sell abandoned houses in the town for 1 USD.
Final Words
The cities mentioned above have problems leading to poverty, migration, and crime. For some cities, problems were artificial, and for others, it was natural disasters.
We can just hope that nothing worst strikes in the future.
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