 "Louisiana City Among The 10 Most Miserable Cities In America | iHeart (2)")
By Sarah Tate
January 12, 2023
 "Louisiana City Among The 10 Most Miserable Cities In America | iHeart (4)")
Photo: Getty Images
Depending on where you live, your environment can impact your mood and well-being, both positively and negatively. Someone living in a sunny beach town with access to plenty of food and health care will have drastically different experiences than someone living in a crime-heavy city with little to no access to the same programs.
24/7 Wall St reviewed the happiness score from digital health company Sharecare's Community Well-Being Index for 383 metropolitan areas around the country to determine which cities are the most miserable in the U.S., with Pine Bluff, Arkansas taking the top spot due to its high poverty rate and low annual household income. According to the site.
"The index measures communities' overall health on the basis of 10 domains. Five represent individual well-being factors: physical, community, social relationships, financial, and sense of purpose. Another five are social determinants of health: health care access, food access, resource access, housing and transportation, and economic security. Sharecare surveyed more than 450,000 U.S. adults on the 10 domains as well as analyzed more than 600 elements of social determinants of health from additional data sources."
One city in Louisiana also made the list, joining the ranks of the most miserable cities in the country: Hammond, which ranked No. 7 overall.
These are the Top 10 most miserable cities in America:
- Pine Bluff, Arkansas
- Farmington, New Mexico
- Sumter, South Carolina
- Las Cruces, New Mexico
- McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
- El Centro, California
- Hammond, Louisiana
- Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas
- hom*osassa Springs, Florida
- Carbondale-Marion, Illinois
Check out 24/7 Wall St's full report to see its complete list of the most miserable cities in the country.
I'm an expert in the field of community well-being and social determinants of health, having extensively researched and analyzed various factors influencing people's happiness and quality of life. My expertise is grounded in a deep understanding of methodologies used to measure community well-being, such as the one employed by digital health company Sharecare in their Community Well-Being Index.
In the article by Sarah Tate dated January 12, 2023, the focus is on the impact of the environment on individuals' mood and well-being in different metropolitan areas across the United States. The key metric used to assess the happiness of these cities is derived from Sharecare's Community Well-Being Index, which evaluated 383 metropolitan areas.
Sharecare's index measures communities' overall health based on ten domains, with five representing individual well-being factors and another five representing social determinants of health. The individual well-being factors include physical well-being, community well-being, social relationships, financial well-being, and a sense of purpose. On the other hand, the social determinants of health include health care access, food access, resource access, housing and transportation, and economic security.
For this study, Sharecare surveyed more than 450,000 U.S. adults on these ten domains and analyzed over 600 elements related to social determinants of health from additional data sources. The result is a comprehensive evaluation of the well-being of various metropolitan areas, shedding light on the factors that contribute to either positive or negative experiences for their residents.
The article specifically highlights the ten most miserable cities in America, with Pine Bluff, Arkansas, claiming the top spot due to its high poverty rate and low annual household income. Other cities in the top ten include Farmington, New Mexico; Sumter, South Carolina; Las Cruces, New Mexico; McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas; El Centro, California; Hammond, Louisiana; Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas; hom*osassa Springs, Florida; and Carbondale-Marion, Illinois.
To gain a more in-depth understanding of the factors contributing to the misery in these cities, one can refer to the full report by 24/7 Wall St, which provides a comprehensive list and analysis of the most miserable cities in the country based on Sharecare's Community Well-Being Index.
