These Are The 10 Most Miserable Cities In Louisiana

Do you live in one of the most miserable places in Louisiana?

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 Louisiana – don’t really have it too bad, in the grand scheme of things.

But, we were curious – which Louisiana 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 Pelican State:

1. Homer (Photos)
2. Arcadia (Photos)
3. Bastrop (Photos)
4. Hammond (Photos)
5. Tallulah (Photos)
6. Ville Platte
7. Bridge City (Photos)
8. Baldwin
9. Natchitoches (Photos)
10. Monroe (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, Prien is the happiest place in Louisiana.

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 Louisiana

In order to rank the unhappiest places in Louisiana, 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 Louisiana with over 2,000 people.

We then ranked each place from one to 127 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 Louisiana’.

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. Homer

Population: 3,129
People Who Own Their Home: 43.48%
Married Adults: 23.67%

2. Arcadia

Population: 2,939
People Who Own Their Home: 46.71%
Married Adults: 28.29%

3. Bastrop

Population: 11,075
People Who Own Their Home: 43.1%
Married Adults: 30.49%

4. Hammond

Population: 20,207
People Who Own Their Home: 37.28%
Married Adults: 31.42%

5. Tallulah

Population: 7,267
People Who Own Their Home: 43.27%
Married Adults: 27.34%

6. Ville Platte

Population: 7,336
People Who Own Their Home: 32.71%
Married Adults: 32.85%

7. Bridge City

Population: 7,163
People Who Own Their Home: 48.93%
Married Adults: 36.53%

8. Baldwin

Population: 2,087
People Who Own Their Home: 72.09%
Married Adults: 37.68%

9. Natchitoches

Population: 18,460
People Who Own Their Home: 37.75%
Married Adults: 28.91%

10. Monroe

Population: 49,455
People Who Own Their Home: 39.58%
Married Adults: 29.4%

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 Louisiana reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Most Dangerous Places In Louisiana
• These Are The 10 Most Ghetto Cities In Louisiana
• These Are The 10 Snobbiest Places In Louisiana

Detailed List Of Miserable Places In Louisiana

City	Rank	People Who Own Their Home
Homer	1	43.48%
Arcadia	2	46.71%
Bastrop	3	43.1%
Hammond	4	37.28%
Tallulah	5	43.27%
Ville Platte	6	32.71%
Bridge City	7	48.93%
Baldwin	8	72.09%
Natchitoches	9	37.75%
Monroe	10	39.58%
New Orleans	11	36.84%
Jeanerette	12	59.8%
Bogalusa	13	47.38%
Kentwood	14	55.44%
Crowley	15	43.6%
Opelousas	16	40.55%
Gardere	17	25.96%
Jonesboro	18	43.99%
Brownsville	19	44.71%
Ruston	20	32.72%
Mansfield	21	49.67%
Franklin	22	50.23%
Abbeville	23	44.3%
Gretna	24	42.77%
Springhill	25	48.5%
Terrytown	26	45.31%
Minden	27	50.82%
Denham Springs	28	54.8%
Marksville	29	38.77%
Jackson	30	52.56%
Jennings	31	53.83%
Rayne	32	51.32%
Baton Rouge	33	43.84%
Vinton	34	48.17%
Eunice	35	46.75%
Avondale	36	67.12%
Alexandria	37	45.25%
Westwego	38	48.27%
West Monroe	39	37.46%
Walker	40	67.5%
Delhi	41	44.1%
Vidalia	42	53.32%
Baker	43	58.45%
Lake Charles	44	46.87%
Donaldsonville	45	53.76%
Jefferson	46	48.62%
Shreveport	47	49.14%
Leesville	48	36.94%
New Iberia	49	51.79%
Gonzales	50	60.54%
Pearl River	51	64.4%
Amelia	52	60.54%
Chalmette	53	49.2%
Waggaman	54	63.24%
Oakdale	55	50.75%
Harvey	56	50.24%
Kenner	57	51.24%
Lacombe	58	68.96%
Pineville	59	43.45%
Deridder	60	49.67%
Carencro	61	59.5%
Port Allen	62	57.04%
Marrero	63	57.79%
Morgan City	64	50.88%
Breaux Bridge	65	59.85%
Patterson	66	55.78%
Lafayette	67	50.45%
Reserve	68	68.59%
Thibodaux	69	50.79%
Woodmere	70	72.62%
Galliano	71	67.83%
Slidell	72	62.43%
Violet	73	67.48%
Covington	74	54.65%
Merrydale	75	66.84%
Sunset	76	55.89%
Schriever	77	72.18%
Ponchatoula	78	50.39%
Houma	79	57.65%
Westlake	80	64.3%
Laplace	81	67.66%
Mandeville	82	56.63%
Larose	83	73.42%
Bayou Blue	84	72.83%
Raceland	85	76.35%
Timberlane	86	63.69%
Chackbay	87	85.6%
Cut Off	88	70.77%
Oberlin	89	53.43%
Brownfields	90	70.59%
Metairie	91	56.3%
Berwick	92	69.16%
Sulphur	93	62.99%
Bossier City	94	50.13%
Plaquemine	95	60.65%
Meraux	96	75.17%
Bayou Cane	97	55.36%
Lockport	98	60.68%
Fort Polk South	99	0.62%
Destrehan	100	74.89%
Luling	101	77.94%
Scott	102	72.43%
Zachary	103	71.72%
Claiborne	104	62.04%
Central	105	81.18%
Norco	106	75.72%
Belle Chasse	107	51.32%
Inniswold	108	54.57%
Old Jefferson	109	71.33%
Eden Isle	110	69.59%
Moss Bluff	111	77.91%
Eastwood	112	76.85%
Monticello	113	92.8%
Broussard	114	67.02%
Harahan	115	69.75%
Prairieville	116	83.61%
Westminster	117	59.57%
Estelle	118	77.2%
Red Chute	119	84.25%
Greenwood	120	72.86%
River Ridge	121	67.44%
Milton	122	81.78%
Oak Hills Place	123	61.34%
Youngsville	124	83.08%
Shenandoah	125	75.95%
Blanchard	126	71.56%
Prien	127	85.95%