Do you live in one of the most miserable places in Arizona?
According to a Harris Poll taken in October of 2015, only a third of Americans say they are truly happy. That’s too bad, considering that Americans – especially folks in Arizona – don’t really have it too bad, in the grand scheme of things.
But, we were curious – which Arizona cities might be the most miserable? We’re about to find out, using science and data.
After analyzing the largest cities, we sadly present the most miserable cities in the Grand Canyon State:
- Tolleson
- Eloy (Photos)
- South Tucson
- San Carlos
- Tucson (Photos)
- Summit
- New Kingman-Butler
- Nogales (Photos)
- Glendale (Photos)
- Phoenix (Photos)
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked. If you have a smile on your face, you probably don’t live in one of these cities.
Oh, and by the way, Paradise Valley is the happiest place in Arizona.
Or check out the Most Miserable Cities In America.
If you’re looking for something more positive, check out the best states in America or the best places to live in America.
How We Measured The Most Miserable Cities In Arizona
In order to rank the unhappiest places in Arizona, we had to determine what criteria makes people happy. It isn’t a stretch to assume that happy people earn great salaries, are relatively stress free, and have a stable home life.
So we went to the Census’s American Community Survey 2010-2014 report for the criteria, flipped the list, and it spit out the answer. Like magic.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:
- Percentage of residents with a college degree
- Average commute times
- Unemployment rates
- Cost of living
- % of married couples
- % of home owners
- Poverty rate
After we decided on the criteria, we gathered the data for the 108 places in Arizona with over 2,000 people.
We then ranked each place from one to 104 for each of the seven criteria with a score of one being the most miserable (Any ties were given to the larger place).
Next, we averaged the seven rankings into a Miserable Index for each place with the lowest overall Miserable Index ‘earning’ the title ‘Most Miserable City In Arizona’.
If you’d like to see the complete list of states, most miserable to happiest, scroll to the bottom of this post to see the unabridged chart.
1. Tolleson
Population: 6,707
People Who Own Their Home: 37.45%
Married Adults: 41.03%
2. Eloy
Population: 17,062
People Who Own Their Home: 50.85%
Married Adults: 30.37%
3. South Tucson
Population: 5,675
People Who Own Their Home: 23.21%
Married Adults: 30.79%
4. San Carlos
Population: 4,365
People Who Own Their Home: 34.82%
Married Adults: 35.04%
5. Tucson
Population: 525,031
People Who Own Their Home: 43.63%
Married Adults: 36.33%
6. Summit
Population: 4,628
People Who Own Their Home: 54.97%
Married Adults: 54.37%
7. New Kingman-Butler
Population: 11,892
People Who Own Their Home: 53.15%
Married Adults: 41.74%
8. Nogales
Population: 20,699
People Who Own Their Home: 44.51%
Married Adults: 45.11%
9. Glendale
Population: 231,978
People Who Own Their Home: 48.96%
Married Adults: 44.0%
10. Phoenix
Population: 1,490,758
People Who Own Their Home: 47.02%
Married Adults: 42.33%
There You Have It
Like we said earlier, trying to determine the most miserable cities in {state} is usually a subjective matter. But if you’re analyzing cities where people are not stable, where you’re stuck in traffic, and no one spent the time to go to college, then this is an accurate list.
If you’re curious enough, here are the happiest cities in {state}, according to science:
For more Arizona reading , check out:
- These Are The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Arizona
- These Are The 10 Safest Places In Arizona
- These Are The 10 Dumbest Cities In Arizona
Detailed List Of Miserable Places In Arizona
City | Rank |
---|---|
Tolleson | 1 |
Eloy | 2 |
South Tucson | 3 |
San Carlos | 4 |
Tucson | 5 |
Summit | 6 |
New Kingman-Butler | 7 |
Nogales | 8 |
Glendale | 9 |
Phoenix | 10 |
Apache Junction | 11 |
Guadalupe | 12 |
Douglas | 13 |
Winslow | 14 |
Coolidge | 15 |
Golden Valley | 16 |
Tempe | 17 |
Cottonwood | 18 |
Camp Verde | 19 |
San Luis | 20 |
Bullhead City | 21 |
Avondale | 22 |
Somerton | 23 |
Flagstaff | 24 |
Superior | 25 |
Arizona City | 26 |
Holbrook | 27 |
Show Low | 28 |
Tucson Estates | 29 |
El Mirage | 30 |
Tuba City | 31 |
Drexel Heights | 32 |
Mesa | 33 |
Flowing Wells | 34 |
Bisbee | 35 |
Avra Valley | 36 |
Yuma | 37 |
Buckeye | 38 |
Lake Of The Woods | 39 |
Kingman | 40 |
Benson | 41 |
Williams | 42 |
Casa Grande | 43 |
Village Of Oak Creek (Big Park) | 44 |
Prescott Valley | 45 |
Fort Mohave | 46 |
Clifton | 47 |
Picture Rocks | 48 |
Prescott | 49 |
San Tan Valley | 50 |
Verde Village | 51 |
Florence | 52 |
Wickenburg | 53 |
Valencia West | 54 |
Payson | 55 |
Lake Havasu City | 56 |
Lake Montezuma | 57 |
Globe | 58 |
Chino Valley | 59 |
Page | 60 |
Valle Vista | 61 |
Safford | 62 |
Linden | 63 |
Rio Rico | 64 |
Parker | 65 |
Taylor | 66 |
Kearny | 67 |
Surprise | 68 |
Sun City | 69 |
Casas Adobes | 70 |
Peoria | 71 |
Sedona | 72 |
Gold Canyon | 73 |
Maricopa | 74 |
Sierra Vista | 75 |
Citrus Park | 76 |
Fortuna Foothills | 77 |
Goodyear | 78 |
Chandler | 79 |
Catalina | 80 |
Scottsdale | 81 |
Williamson | 82 |
Doney Park | 83 |
Snowflake | 84 |
Sierra Vista Southeast | 85 |
Gilbert | 86 |
Anthem | 87 |
Cave Creek | 88 |
Saddlebrooke | 89 |
Fountain Hills | 90 |
New River | 91 |
Catalina Foothills | 92 |
Marana | 93 |
Litchfield Park | 94 |
Oro Valley | 95 |
Sun City West | 96 |
Queen Creek | 97 |
Tanque Verde | 98 |
Green Valley | 99 |
Sahuarita | 100 |
Sun Lakes | 101 |
Vail | 102 |
Corona De Tucson | 103 |
Paradise Valley | 104 |