Detroit, Michigan holds the dubious title of being the country’s worst city to live in, according to a new report ranking America’s 50 most unappealing places to call home.
Detroit has just the right combination of poverty, unemployment, crime and other factors to hold its first-place position, followed by Flint, Michigan and St. Louis, Missouri.
The rest of the cities that made the list span from New England to the Pacific Ocean and everywhere in between, 24/7 Wall Street reported.
A study weighing nine factors, including unemployment and crime ranks Detroit the worst city in America to live in
The site compiled the list using U.S. Census data on the roughly 600 cities that had populations of more than 50,000 in 2016, the most recent year available.
Each city was given a rating based on nine categories: crime, demography, economy, education, environment, health, housing, infrastructure, and leisure.
Other factors included property prices, poverty and unemployment rates, availability of public transportation and air quality.
The statistics were given points and weighted, and final scores handed out to each of the cities to establish the final ranking.
Below are the top ten worst cities. The full list can be found at the bottom of the page.
Detroit, Michigan is the number one worst place to live in America
1. Detroit, Michigan
Population: 672,829
Median home value: $43,500
Poverty rate: 35.7 percent
Population with at least a bachelor’s degree: 14.9 percent
With its shrinking population and highly impoverished citizens, Detroit, Michigan was ranked worst city in the country to live in.
At its peak in the 1950s, the city was home to 1.8 million residents, but now that has dwindled to fewer than 700,000.
With one in every three Detroit residents living below the poverty line, low incomes and a nearly 11 percent unemployment rate factored highly in this city’s placement on the list.
The city is also famously dangerous, with more than 2,000 violent crimes for every 100,000 residents in 2016.
Flint, Michigan is the second-worst place to live in America, according to a new study
2. Flint, Michigan
Population: 97,379
Median home value: $28,200
Poverty rate: 44.5 percent
Population with at least a bachelor’s degree: 10.5 percent
Flint is ranked second worst city to live in in the U.S., based largely on the profound poverty of the area.
Nearly 45 percent of the population lives below the poverty line – the highest rate of any city in the country.
Flint also has an unemployment rate of roughly 10 percent. High crime rates make it a difficult place to run a business, and only 10.5 percent of city residents have a bachelor’s degree, making for an under-educated job force.
Rounding out the grim picture is the violent crime rate of 1,587 incidents per 100,000 residents in 2016.
St. Louis, Missouri ranks third on the list of worst places to live in America
3. St. Louis, Missouri
Population: 311,404
Median home value: $125,800
Poverty rate: 23.8 percent
Population with at least a bachelor’s degree: 34.1 percent
St. Louis came in third nationwide for worst places to live, with violent crime being a major factor in the city’s ranking.
The city had 1,932 violent crimes for every 100,000 residents in 2016, the third-highest of any city in the country – and five times the national crime rate.
The city is also very poor, with nearly 24 percent of residents living below the poverty line.
St. Louis is also seeing a major decline in its population, with a decrease of 11.2 percent over the past decade.
Las Vegas comes in fourth place on the list of worst places to live in America
4. Las Vegas, Nevada
Population: 632,916
Median home value: $228,300
Poverty rate: 15.6 percent
Population with at least a bachelor’s degree: 23.0 percent
With 2,136 violent crimes for every 100,000 residents, Las Vegas is the most dangerous city in the U.S. – a major indicator that placed the city in fourth on the list of worst places to live in America.
Another major factor for Sin City’s ranking was property crimes – including larceny, burglary and motor vehicle theft. The city had 7,268 property crimes for every 100,000 residents in 2016.
If Las Vegas had lower crime rates, other factors would likely elevate the city off of the list of worst places to live.
A new study ranks Memphis the fifth-worst place to live in America
5. Memphis, Tennessee
Population: 652,752
Median home value: $96,800
Poverty rate: 26.9 percent
Population with at least a bachelor’s degree: 25.6 percent
Quality of life in Memphis is dramatically impacted by high poverty levels and crime rates, all elements that placed this city fifth on the list of worst cities in America.
Nearly 27 percent of residents are living below the poverty line – more than in any other city in the state.
Memphis also has a crime problem, with 1,830 violent crimes in the city for every 100,000 residents in 2016 – nearly five times the U.S. violent crime rate.
Cleveland, Ohio is the sixth-worst place to live in America, according to new study
6. Cleveland, Ohio
Population: 385,810
Median home value: $66,800
Poverty rate: 35.0%
Population with at least a bachelor’s degree: 16.3 percent
Cleveland’s mix of poverty, crime and unemployment helped land the city in sixth place on the list of worst places to live in America.
The city has a poverty rate of 35 percent – more than double the national rate. And the city’s unemployment rate of nearly 7 percent contributes to that problem, with the second-highest unemployment rate of any city in the state.
Cleveland is also losing its population, with a decline of 2.4 percent in the last decade.
Violent crime is another problem, with 1,633 reported in the city for every 100,000 residents in 2016.
Wilmington, Delaware ranks seventh on the list of worst places to live in America
7. Wilmington, Delaware
Population: 71,455
Median home value: $145,600
Poverty rate: 27.7 percent
Population with at least a bachelor’s degree: 25.6 percent
Delaware’s low income levels, coupled with a high cost of living contributed to the city place seventh on the list of America’s worst cities to live in.
The average household earns just $36,435 a year — significantly below the median income of $57,617 nationwide. In addition, nearly 28 percent of the city lives below the poverty line, nearly double the national rate.
Despite that, the cost of living in Wilmington is about 17 percent more expensive than the the national average.
Crime is a factor, too: Wilmington had 1,798 violent crimes for every 100,000 residents in 2016.
Albany, Georgia ranks eighth on the list of worst places to live in America
8. Albany, Georgia
Population: 74,904
Median home value: $88,800
Poverty rate: 32.5 percent
Population with at least a bachelor’s degree: 20.1 percent
Albany, Georgia is losing residents faster than most other cities on this list – its population declined nearly 5 percent over the past five years.
The hoards of people moving away is likely due, in part, to the limited economic opportunities in the region.
Nearly a third (32.5 percent) live in poverty, and 7 percent of workers are unemployed – one of the highest rates of any city in Georgia.
Springfield, Missouri ranks 9th place on the list of worst places to live in America
9. Springfield, Missouri
Population: 167,313
Median home value: $115,900
Poverty rate: 24.6 percent
Population with at least a bachelor’s degree: 25.7 percent
Springfield is a dangerous city, with violent crime a key factor placing it in ninth place on the list of worst places to live.
The city had 1,345 violent crimes for every 100,000 city residents in 2016, more than triple the nationwide rate. Springfield residents are also plagued by property crimes, with 8,518 for every 100,000 people in 2016, the third highest property crime rate in the country.
Solidifying Springfield’s place on the list is the fact that one in every four residents live below the poverty line – more than any other city in the state of Missouri.
Baltimore ranks 10th place on the list of worst places to live in America
10. Baltimore, Maryland
Population: 614,664
Median home value: $153,500
Poverty rate: 21.9 percent
Population with at least a bachelor’s degree: 30.8 percent
Poverty coupled with cost of living helped land Baltimore on the list of worst places to live in America.
The city has a median household income of $47,350, and Baltimore residents pay 12 percent more for goods and services than the nationwide average.
Baltimore is also home to some of the most congested roadways in the country, contributing to a diminished quality of life. The average commute is more than 30 minutes, longer than in most other parts of the country.