America's Saddest Cities

By Christa Sgobba For Men's Health

If you want record-setting sunshine, St. Petersburg is your city -- it once soaked up a Guinness-certified 768 straight days of rays. But there's an asterisk: The people of St. Pete also have the darkest clouds hanging over their heads. Men's Health put America on the therapist's couch and discovered that not only is St. Petersburg the saddest city, but Florida in general seems to be a depressing place to live.

Of course, this diagnosis is more statistical than psychological. Men's Health calculated suicide rates (CDC) and unemployment rates (Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of June 2011), then tapped SimplyMap for the percentage of households that use antidepressants as well as the number of people who report feeling the blues all or most of the time.

Click over to Men's Health for the 10 happiest cities and the full 1 to 100 ranking.

Comments

[AM33701]

11:26 AM on 04/28/2012

I have lived in St Pete for 20 years. YES, this article is accurate. Nobody at this site wants to Admit it. St Pete is a death trap for Pedestrians, Bicyclists, and Motorcyclists. They drive like Criminals IGNORING the Speed Limit. At least once a week you will have a Hit and Run. There is a mindset of "If you hit someone, KEEP GOING. The people are Greedy and Selfish, but Very UNHAPPY. They are FRUSTRATED to no end.The people are PETTY down to the Penny. Racism is Prevalant here. They are still fighting the Civil War. So many people have come here and thought it would be a "Vacation" but have become disalusioned and therefore are the way they are. The pent up Anger within the people here is shameful. I am a disabled person and am now looking to move. It is my fault that it took so long to decide that but I kept trying to think positively. Now I know that ONLY thinking REALISTICALLY is the answer.

[Jenny M Derfler]

06:49 PM on 12/06/2011

I guess warm weather isn't all it's cracked up to be!! I knew there was a reason I loved cold weather! And according to Men's Health, the Top 10 Blues-Proof Cities are PREDOMINANTLY COLD!!!!

[Floridaholiday]

09:58 AM on 12/03/2011

Although MANY cities in Pennsylvania have more problems than any of the Florida cities mentioned, the author did not include any cities from Pennsylvania, which is her home state.

[Dima Karabetskyi]

07:13 AM on 12/03/2011

Dear Americans. I live in 3`rd World country in Western Europe. Wanna trade?

[thegrrrr8est]

08:12 PM on 12/02/2011

Just goes to show, beauty -- and joy -- is in the eye of the beholder. I've found Memphis to have the friendliest people in America. And Louisville is one of the most livable, lovely cities I've ever been to.

He's right about Detroit, though. It'd be hard to argue that. How did Newark, NJ miss this list? Or, anywhere in New Jersey?

[Chef Kane]

05:35 PM on 12/02/2011

This fool is terribly misinformed...Let's all step back and think about this for a second, shall we...Florida has been nicknamed as "Death's waiting room" and for good reason...All the wonderful "Snowbirds" that are retired and tired of living in cold, wintery locations head for the warmer weather...Now that you're all opening your eyes and your brains are processing, ask yourselves this:

What do retirees and older people do?!?

What happens when people relocate?!?

Florida's largest base of business is tourism...What happens when June, July, and August hits?!?

[Nurse Michelle]

04:36 PM on 12/02/2011

Now I'm depressed....I need a hug.. :(

[Samantha Knapp]

03:53 PM on 12/02/2011

I live in Reno, I see sadness everywhere, no huge surprise here.

[Samantabhadra]

03:10 PM on 12/02/2011

This article is terribly depressing. What was the point of writing this? To increase suicide rates? If there were happy people living in these cities, you just burst their bubble. Thanks for the "information". There doesn't seem to be a lot of compassion for these very serious issues of depression and suicide. You could have added some real depth to this article by giving real examples of the greater attractions in all of these cities, to give folks some actual hope. It's good to post facts and inform people about real statistics, but you should really try to offset a depressing article with something more uplifting.

[craig363b]

03:01 PM on 12/02/2011

st louis just WON the world series, not lost it. bad journalism! hahaha

[hornfolio]

02:34 PM on 12/02/2011

Ms. Sgobbta, your same article appeared on another site where it states that the St. Louis Cardinals lost the World Series this year. Please check your facts, ma'am, because it was the greatest World Series ever played, and the Redbirds came out on top.

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/depression/photos/saddest-cities-in-america#5

[charleshmcgill]

10:17 PM on 12/06/2011

Maybe he only watched the first 5 games and just assumed the Cards lost.

[RiverEast14]

01:56 PM on 12/02/2011

St Petersburg, FL has the only bridge high enough to fatally jump from in S Florida (Sunshine Skyway), hence the suicide rate.

[RuffyofLA]

12:32 PM on 12/02/2011

As usual this "list" is seriously flawed. Florida attracts old people who retire, get sick, spouses die then suicide or therapy. Jobless from Detroit & Chicago go there in desperation hoping for a job.

I would list Buffalo, Cleveland, Newark, Detroit, St Louis, New Orleans, Charleston W. Va, Dallas, Phoenix & Las Vegas as very likely REAL candidates.

[tazzytbirdlady]

01:29 PM on 12/03/2011

I agree. I'm from Florida and I found CLeveland to be depressing. When the industry left a lot of those places, the spirit of the city went to. How can you be depressed in Florid with so much sunshine. What about Alaska? I'm going to have to say this article is bogus.

[tazzytbirdlady]

01:30 PM on 12/03/2011

excuse the typos

[sturho]

10:58 AM on 12/02/2011

Please add Portland Oregon to that list. They claim to be a city but it is just a bunch of buildings on a handkerchief sized plot on the Willamette River. Downtown is essentially dead. Outside of the city we have a couple of moneymakers, Intel, for one, but the money goes elsewhere.

[ZacharyTB]

10:38 AM on 12/02/2011

Most of these cities has the same thing in common.. Great attractions which mean over populated. Especially Florida and I'm not bashing it, I like Florida but it's just to crowded for me and I would never buy a house there unless I was rich. It's a great vacation spot which brings Florida all it's money and soon there will be to many people moving there and not enough jobs.