These Are The 10 Most Miserable Cities In Massachusetts

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

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

But, we were curious – which Massachusetts 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 Bay State:

1. Chelsea (Photos)
2. Brockton (Photos)
3. Bridgewater (Photos)
4. Malden (Photos)
5. Boston (Photos)
6. Lawrence (Photos)
7. Everett (Photos)
8. Revere (Photos)
9. Fall River (Photos)
10. Lowell (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, Longmeadow is the happiest place in Massachusetts.

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 Massachusetts

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

We then ranked each place from one to 128 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 Massachusetts’.

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. Chelsea

Population: 37,084
People Who Own Their Home: 25.93%
Married Adults: 33.06%

2. Brockton

Population: 94,267
People Who Own Their Home: 50.66%
Married Adults: 37.92%

3. Bridgewater

Population: 8,374
People Who Own Their Home: 36.7%
Married Adults: 22.16%

4. Malden

Population: 60,309
People Who Own Their Home: 39.28%
Married Adults: 44.81%

5. Boston

Population: 639,594
People Who Own Their Home: 31.36%
Married Adults: 28.64%

6. Lawrence

Population: 77,364
People Who Own Their Home: 26.4%
Married Adults: 34.83%

7. Everett

Population: 42,758
People Who Own Their Home: 36.46%
Married Adults: 40.98%

8. Revere

Population: 53,258
People Who Own Their Home: 46.49%
Married Adults: 40.26%

9. Fall River

Population: 88,756
People Who Own Their Home: 31.52%
Married Adults: 38.07%

10. Lowell

Population: 108,491
People Who Own Their Home: 41.02%
Married Adults: 38.39%

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 Massachusetts reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Snobbiest Places In Massachusetts
• These Are The 10 Dumbest Cities In Massachusetts
• These Are The 10 Worst Places To Live In Massachusetts

Detailed List Of Miserable Places In Massachusetts

City	Rank	People Who Own Their Home
Chelsea	1	25.93%
Brockton	2	50.66%
Bridgewater	3	36.7%
Malden	4	39.28%
Boston	5	31.36%
Lawrence	6	26.4%
Everett	7	36.46%
Revere	8	46.49%
Fall River	9	31.52%
Lowell	10	41.02%
Lynn	11	42.67%
Springfield	12	43.46%
New Bedford	13	38.26%
Spencer	14	39.4%
Athol	15	54.18%
Webster	16	37.25%
Salisbury	17	42.24%
Holyoke	18	37.37%
Worcester	19	39.76%
Fitchburg	20	47.05%
Salem	21	45.72%
Middleborough Center	22	43.47%
Quincy	23	44.99%
North Adams	24	43.57%
Clinton	25	40.73%
Somerville	26	32.97%
Amherst Center	27	34.31%
Plymouth	28	39.85%
North Amherst	29	25.68%
Southbridge Town	30	39.68%
Mansfield Center	31	53.14%
Orange	32	53.76%
Leominster	33	51.23%
Ware	34	49.77%
Randolph	35	65.33%
Gardner	36	46.12%
Palmer Town	37	61.7%
Taunton	38	58.48%
Haverhill	39	57.55%
Hull	40	60.88%
Cambridge	41	33.23%
South Yarmouth	42	48.07%
Waltham	43	45.77%
East Falmouth	44	42.54%
Upton	45	63.62%
Greenfield Town	46	52.34%
Framingham	47	53.84%
Falmouth	48	30.65%
Barnstable Town	49	53.67%
Chicopee	50	52.58%
Winthrop Town	51	51.08%
Pittsfield	52	55.46%
Milford	53	58.99%
Nantucket	54	25.68%
Attleboro	55	59.32%
Whitinsville	56	53.26%
West Springfield Town	57	56.97%
Northampton	58	54.09%
Andover	59	53.32%
Weymouth Town	60	64.03%
Marlborough	61	52.37%
Gloucester	62	54.63%
Medford	63	54.68%
Westfield	64	62.98%
Marshfield	65	62.17%
Watertown Town	66	49.35%
Rockport	67	44.34%
Brookline	68	45.21%
Adams	69	54.82%
Newburyport	70	66.78%
Amesbury Town	71	65.17%
Beverly	72	57.9%
Maynard	73	65.26%
Norwood	74	55.09%
Easthampton Town	75	55.66%
Foxborough	76	44.22%
West Yarmouth	77	35.39%
Bellingham	78	74.0%
Woburn	79	58.01%
Holbrook	80	77.13%
Methuen Town	81	68.0%
Braintree Town	82	68.57%
Somerset	83	77.36%
Kingston	84	69.9%
West Concord	85	64.91%
Hudson	86	66.9%
Saugus	87	73.44%
Peabody	88	61.16%
Agawam Town	89	71.8%
Williamstown	90	50.2%
Medfield	91	76.48%
Dedham	92	66.37%
North Scituate	93	78.58%
Abington	94	67.87%
Rutland	95	73.27%
Danvers	96	64.66%
Sandwich	97	64.12%
Burlington	98	65.87%
Arlington	99	58.59%
Scituate	100	67.19%
Stoneham	101	63.87%
Milton	102	76.73%
Franklin Town	103	76.76%
Oxford	104	71.7%
Smith Mills	105	67.01%
Wakefield	106	70.14%
Belmont	107	57.85%
Cochituate	108	80.91%
Pinehurst	109	95.62%
Melrose	110	64.83%
Walpole	111	77.83%
Swampscott	112	74.63%
Lexington	113	77.63%
Newton	114	66.71%
Hingham	115	76.59%
Bliss Corner	116	60.53%
Forestdale	117	71.89%
Marblehead	118	73.6%
Dover	119	87.96%
Wilmington	120	83.81%
Northborough	121	73.17%
Wellesley	122	77.99%
Sharon	123	81.44%
Reading	124	75.46%
Lynnfield	125	80.6%
Needham	126	80.23%
Winchester	127	80.39%
Longmeadow	128	86.63%