These Are The 10 Most Miserable Cities In Arizona

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:

1. Tolleson
2. Eloy (Photos)
3. South Tucson
4. San Carlos
5. Tucson (Photos)
6. Summit
7. New Kingman-Butler
8. Nogales (Photos)
9. Glendale (Photos)
10. 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	People Who Own Their Home
Tolleson	1	37.45%
Eloy	2	50.85%
South Tucson	3	23.21%
San Carlos	4	34.82%
Tucson	5	43.63%
Summit	6	54.97%
New Kingman-Butler	7	53.15%
Nogales	8	44.51%
Glendale	9	48.96%
Phoenix	10	47.02%
Apache Junction	11	53.47%
Guadalupe	12	49.22%
Douglas	13	49.93%
Winslow	14	47.85%
Coolidge	15	51.98%
Golden Valley	16	68.36%
Tempe	17	37.83%
Cottonwood	18	51.29%
Camp Verde	19	59.7%
San Luis	20	68.55%
Bullhead City	21	41.87%
Avondale	22	50.38%
Somerton	23	62.86%
Flagstaff	24	39.33%
Superior	25	47.64%
Arizona City	26	46.19%
Holbrook	27	58.54%
Show Low	28	35.02%
Tucson Estates	29	69.34%
El Mirage	30	55.28%
Tuba City	31	50.46%
Drexel Heights	32	68.38%
Mesa	33	50.68%
Flowing Wells	34	61.41%
Bisbee	35	46.64%
Avra Valley	36	67.71%
Yuma	37	49.45%
Buckeye	38	53.98%
Lake Of The Woods	39	37.33%
Kingman	40	54.48%
Benson	41	53.28%
Williams	42	49.0%
Casa Grande	43	54.74%
Village Of Oak Creek (Big Park)	44	53.35%
Prescott Valley	45	53.97%
Fort Mohave	46	56.27%
Clifton	47	19.86%
Picture Rocks	48	65.7%
Prescott	49	55.51%
San Tan Valley	50	56.75%
Verde Village	51	64.89%
Florence	52	52.05%
Wickenburg	53	53.97%
Valencia West	54	79.1%
Payson	55	52.49%
Lake Havasu City	56	47.49%
Lake Montezuma	57	60.53%
Globe	58	50.8%
Chino Valley	59	64.15%
Page	60	62.11%
Valle Vista	61	76.56%
Safford	62	59.14%
Linden	63	60.34%
Rio Rico	64	72.37%
Parker	65	60.36%
Taylor	66	60.9%
Kearny	67	66.74%
Surprise	68	60.93%
Sun City	69	65.43%
Casas Adobes	70	58.41%
Peoria	71	61.05%
Sedona	72	53.77%
Gold Canyon	73	59.11%
Maricopa	74	62.7%
Sierra Vista	75	45.99%
Citrus Park	76	79.33%
Fortuna Foothills	77	54.42%
Goodyear	78	59.07%
Chandler	79	57.26%
Catalina	80	73.08%
Scottsdale	81	53.43%
Williamson	82	77.05%
Doney Park	83	71.19%
Snowflake	84	67.54%
Sierra Vista Southeast	85	76.85%
Gilbert	86	66.06%
Anthem	87	63.78%
Cave Creek	88	67.37%
Saddlebrooke	89	80.15%
Fountain Hills	90	62.75%
New River	91	77.27%
Catalina Foothills	92	61.36%
Marana	93	70.04%
Litchfield Park	94	65.73%
Oro Valley	95	65.03%
Sun City West	96	69.57%
Queen Creek	97	70.09%
Tanque Verde	98	82.41%
Green Valley	99	61.46%
Sahuarita	100	68.87%
Sun Lakes	101	71.71%
Vail	102	76.46%
Corona De Tucson	103	77.45%
Paradise Valley	104	79.44%