Markets

The Most Miserable Cities In America

By Gus Lubin and Linette Lopez
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las vegas
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bass_nroll/2196887381/

Combine high unemployment, a stagnant economy and basement-level housing prices, and what have you got?

The most miserable cities in America, according to Brookings, of course! The think tank combined every major U.S. city's unemployment rate, level of employment, gross metropolitan product and housing prices to create an index of utter wretchedness.

Nationwide economic progress in the second quarter was "uneven and unsure" and some by measures we're back in recession. The worst cities are clustered in former housing bubble areas like Florida and California.

#20 New Orleans

new orleans
Imfrogmation via flickr

Unemployment: up 3.2%

Employment: down 14.7%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 13.7%

Home prices: down 19.5%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#19 Orlando

obsceneorlando.jpg
Oh, so not that Happiest place on earth? Okay.

Unemployment: up 4.8%

Employment: down 7.2%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 2.6%

Home prices: down 52.5%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#18 San Francisco

San Francisco
See those employment numbers? Obviously Silicon Valley can't carry this city. El Frito via Flickr

Unemployment: up 4.4%

Employment: down 7.4%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 6.1%

Home prices: down 38.6%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#17 Los Angeles

los angeles
Smog, traffic jams... and worst of all aspiring actors. Kevitivity via flickr

Unemployment: up 4.8%

Employment: down 8.5%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 3.1%

Home prices: down 40.8%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#16 Lakeland, Florida

lakeland florida

Unemployment: down 5.4% since 2008

Employment: down 8.7%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 2.1%

Home prices: down 50%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#15 Modesto, California

Modesto California
Flickr / Dotdoubledot

Unemployment: up 6.7%

Employment: down 8.4%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 0.8%

Home prices: down 65%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#14 Bakersfield, California

bakersfield
Wikimedia Commons

Unemployment: up 6.1%

Employment: down 6.6%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 5.0%

Home prices: down 56.8%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#13 Boise, Idaho

Boise
Corbett Bottles Real Estate Marketing LLC

Unemployment: up 5.2%

Employment: down 8.9%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 5.1%

Home prices: down 46.6%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#12 Detroit

Detroit
Courtesy of The Ruins of Detroit (modified)

Unemployment: up 3.7%

Employment: down 15.0%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 13.3%

Home prices: down 46.8%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#11 Phoenix

Phoenix

Unemployment: up 3.8%

Employment: down 11.3%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 7.3%

Home prices: down 56.5%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#10 Tampa, Florida

tampa, buccaneers, cheerleaders

Unemployment: up 4.8%

Employment: down 9.9%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 6.6%

Home prices: down 48.1%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#9 Fresno, California

fresno california
AP

Unemployment: up 7.2%

Employment: down 8.9%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 3.5%

Home prices: down 53.2%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#8 Miami

Miami, Florida
Wikipedia

Unemployment: up 5.8%

Employment: down 8.9%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 6.2%

Home prices: down 52.5%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#7 Palm Bay, Florida

palm bay hurricane

Unemployment: up 5.2%

Employment: down 12.3%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 5.0%

Home prices: down 55.3%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#6 Sarasota, Florida

sarasota storm
flickr

Unemployment: up 4.2%

Employment: down 15.3%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 9.1%

Home prices: down 55.4%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#5 Cape Coral, Florida

Cape Coral, FL
Lee County Times

Unemployment: up 3.9%

Employment: down 16.9%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 15.5%

Home prices: down 59.5%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#4 Stockton, California

Stockton

Unemployment: up 7.2%

Employment: down 10.4%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 4.9%

Home prices: down 63.9%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#3 Sacramento

sacramento

Unemployment: up 5.6%

Employment: down 11.2%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 7.3%

Home prices: down 53.4%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#2 Riverside, California

riverside tornado

Unemployment: up 6.2%

Employment: down 12.7%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 7.3%

Home prices: down 54.6%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

#1 Las Vegas

Las Vegas Show

Unemployment: up 7.5%

Employment: down 13.4%

Gross Metropolitan Product: down 12.8%

Home prices: down 64.5%

Employment, GMP and home prices measured from peak through Q2 2011. Unemployment measured from Q2 2008 through Q2 2011. Data provided by Brookings MetroMonitor.

Guess what! There is even more misery across the pond

greece far-right fascists
AP

The 15 Most Miserable Countries In The World >

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gus lubin
Gus Lubin
Gus worked at Business Insider from 2009 to 2017. Starting as an intern, he did a bit of everything, launching sections covering lifestyle, science, personal finance, military, and more, eventually serving as executive editor of Business Insider and editor-in-chief of Tech Insider.As a writer, some of his favorite stories looked facial bias, the philosophy of Peter Thiel, Chinese ghost cities, self-driving car ethics, the average family on earth, Wikipedia hoax-hunters, income inequality, bleak futurism, global communication patterns, and the worst hotel in New York.As an editor and executive producer, some of his favorite stories include photo essays from the Canadian tar sands to the streets of Cairo, features about Vine stardom and dog cloning, and a documentary on hacking the grid.Gus graduated from Dartmouth College. He interned at Boston Review, 826 Boston, and Yes! Weekly.
Linette Lopez
Linette Lopez
Linette was a senior correspondent at Business Insider who focused her writing on tech, finance and economics as well as international relations. She also conducted investigations into controversial companies, like Tesla.She joined BI in the summer of 2011 after graduating from Columbia University's School of Journalism and holds a BA from Columbia University, where she finished her undergraduate education in 2008.In 2017 she won the Folio 'Rising Star' award for top women in media. In 2020 she won the 'Excellence in Financial Journalism' Award in opinion writing from NYSSCPA for a piece on US-China relations, 'The Huawei indictment marks the end of US and China's cycle of trust.' In 2023 she won the New York Press Club award for commentary in digital journalism for a series of stories about the stock market's decline in 2022.She contributes to "Marketplace," a radio show from American Public Media, and can be seen on MSNBC and CNN.Some stories by Linette:
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