12 Worst Cities to Live in America
I’m not about to say America is a bad place, after all. However, we have shadowy places in America that lack the real American spirit. If people knew those places existed in the US, they won’t be queueing for visas at their country’s US embassies. Some cities are very bad in the US. We list here the 12 worst cities to live in America. And you know what, these cities were shinning glories of America several decades ago.
Please note: The listing here represents just my personal opinion formed out of my own careful. I do not intend to ridicule those who love these American cities. And I’ll not be surprised if some people don’t agree with the listing or the inclusion and exclusion of some places.
Washington DC
Can a nation’s capital ever be one of the worst cities to live in the country? The situation of things in Washington DC answers yes. Despite the visible presence of government and powerful security apparatus, Washington is one of the most dangerous cities in America with a crime rate about 147 percent above the national average.
Most of the politicians in government hardly spend their nights and weekends in the city. Just as it is everywhere, nations’ capital city is always expensive, and Washington DC is no exception. The cost of living is exceptionally bad. Services, including education and medical, are far from being adequate. Behind all those glossy skyscrapers is the agony of the poor trapped amid affluence.
Portland, Oregon
Can someone bring Portland back to what it used to be in 2010 when young ones were finding their delight on Portland’s streets? Homelessness and crime are now the order of the day. Alas, Portland has now become one of the 12 worst cities to live in America, in my opinion. Modern young people now have reasons to protests and riot.
The crime rate here is 131 percent over the national average. Poverty and unemployment are on the high side here in Portland, Oregon.
Huntington Park, California
Huntington Park is the “most miserable” city in California, according to census data compiled by the Business Insider. It ranks 10th on the list of 1,000 worst cities in America. It’s an illustration of how bad life can be in California. It has a crime rate 89% higher than the national average. The 60,000 residents of this city dare not sleep with the two eyes closed as 1 in 28 persons in Huntington Park will be a victim of violent crime.
Newark, New Jersey
Newark airport in New Jersey is like the worst airport in the country. It reminds me of those terrible airports in third-world countries. However, we won’t count Newark among the 12 worst cities to live in America just because of those airports. Only 60 percent of over 280,000 residents are employed. If you dare live in Newark and get a job, be prepared to lose hours daily in traffic.
The poverty state of Newark is compounded by the high lead content of the water which makes it one of the worst places to live in America. The murder rate here is the 10th highest in the country.
Flint, Michigan
Flint is yet to resolve the lead contamination. A massive loss of automobile jobs also turned the place into a crime scene. With high unemployment rate and poverty, most people are poor, making only about $60,000 annually. It’s such a bad place to live.
Over 6% percent of the population left within a short time; roads are filled with potholes, and about 20,000 homes are abandoned in north and south. Though this forced home prices terribly down, yet poverty is not allowing people access to them. Since it’s likely going to remain abandoned for long, Flint is one of the worst cities to live in the US.
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
No one wants to be left alone in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, as all hopes of getting a decent living there are lost. In the last decade, over 16% of the population left, leaving some parts of Pine Bluff as ghost towns. The ominous sign first flashed with the loss of many manufacturing jobs. Then, when the River Arkansas overflew its boundary, many more left. The disastrous situation was compounded when a tornado ravaged the city.
Pine Bluff, that has largely been deserted, is one of the worst cities. The population is continually dwindling with only 45,000 residents left there. It may soon reduce to a town. The fact that there are about 9 prisons in the city indicates it’s one of the dangerous small cities. The presence of about 90 churches in the city has had no positive effect.
Douglas, Arizona
The 17,000 residents of the small city of Douglas, Arizona will be happy that their city is included in this list. It’s is a getaway for poor people looking for a low-cost place. Even then, though the population of Douglas is still shrinking because it’s one of the cities with the worst economies. Some 30% of the residents live below poverty level and 14% of families live on less than $10,000 a year.
While violent crime is low, if you are safe, your house is not as the property crime is 80% higher than the national average.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles is the second-largest city and metropolitan area in the US. The astronomical cost of living is enough to add it to the list of the 12 worst cities to live in America. If that’s not convincing enough, the high level of pollution and too many hours being spent in traffic are. Yet, the unemployment rate here is 18%.
While people rush here with the hope of making it big, they end up being cramped in an apartment and live from hand to mouth. Most of them can’t afford to pay about $2,000 a month for just a two-bedroom apartment. Taxes are also prohibitive.
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is certainly a dark shadowy place in the US. The city last peaked in 1950 and since then, it’s now a shadow of its past. It keeps declining such that the population here is what it was in 1915. Some 43,000 homes have been abandoned in Detroit. Okay, consider this: just over half of the population here can hold down a job and 4 in 10 residents live in poverty. Detroit is suffering the same things like other places in Michigan. The city is just the definition of tragedy.
San Francisco, California
It shouldn’t be on this list because of certain good things about the city’s economy, culture, and history among others. However, if you care about the cost of living, San Francisco is one of the 12 worst cities to live in. It’s damn too expensive. 1.5 million dollars is the average home value in this most expensive city. A two-bedroom apartment costs an average of 1.5 million dollars. The homes are too small and many are even homeless.
People literally sleep in the street. This explains why the city is littered. The crime rate is far higher than the national average. High traffic makes it tough to find parking here. All sorts of natural disasters occur too frequently here.
Jackson Mississippi
What do you think Jackson has to offer? The majority of over 160,000 residents of this city wished they live somewhere else. Jackson is not an ideal state capital considering the staggering number of abandoned homes in some of its neighborhoods. If you too had your way, what would you be doing in a state capital with an unemployment rate 70% above the national average?
The neighborhood is overgrown. It doesn’t have enough money to fix its streets and potholes. The school system is bad and crime has gone out of hand.
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Gary, Indiana
From what I have seen, Gary in northwest Indiana is the worst city to live in America. No offense to the residents, my pet will suffer there. The previously proud building of the past in Indiana have lost their glory. It’s as if they’re about to fall. It once competed as the world’s drug headquarters, and crime had no better place to be hatched. But there’s nothing more to steal in Gary and there’s no more money to buy drugs.
It’s the poorest place in America you can imagine and a place with the highest number of jobless people. There are virtually empty neighborhoods and whole tracks have to be demolished to make way for redeveloping. Even when you give people money to live here, many Americans will not oblige.
