These Are The 10 Most Miserable Cities In Missouri

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

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

But, we were curious – which Missouri 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 Show Me State:

1. Wellston
2. Glasgow Village
3. Normandy
4. Jennings (Photos)
5. Riverview
6. Spanish Lake
7. Berkeley (Photos)
8. Piedmont
9. Ferguson (Photos)
10. Versailles

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, Ladue is the happiest place in Missouri.

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 Missouri

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

We then ranked each place from one to 180 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 Missouri’.

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. Wellston

Population: 2,010
People Who Own Their Home: 20.61%
Married Adults: 12.09%

2. Glasgow Village

Population: 4,895
People Who Own Their Home: 38.47%
Married Adults: 23.96%

3. Normandy

Population: 4,990
People Who Own Their Home: 30.71%
Married Adults: 26.75%

4. Jennings

Population: 14,730
People Who Own Their Home: 45.4%
Married Adults: 25.08%

5. Riverview

Population: 2,854
People Who Own Their Home: 42.25%
Married Adults: 34.37%

6. Spanish Lake

Population: 19,652
People Who Own Their Home: 42.92%
Married Adults: 34.86%

7. Berkeley

Population: 9,120
People Who Own Their Home: 44.42%
Married Adults: 26.81%

8. Piedmont

Population: 2,230
People Who Own Their Home: 50.38%
Married Adults: 35.1%

9. Ferguson

Population: 21,151
People Who Own Their Home: 49.04%
Married Adults: 33.48%

10. Versailles

Population: 2,496
People Who Own Their Home: 44.2%
Married Adults: 32.9%

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 Missouri reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Dumbest Cities In Missouri
• These Are The 10 Most Boring Places In Missouri
• These Are The 10 Worst Places To Live In Missouri

Detailed List Of Miserable Places In Missouri

City	Rank	People Who Own Their Home
Wellston	1	20.61%
Glasgow Village	2	38.47%
Normandy	3	30.71%
Jennings	4	45.4%
Riverview	5	42.25%
Spanish Lake	6	42.92%
Berkeley	7	44.42%
Piedmont	8	50.38%
Ferguson	9	49.04%
Versailles	10	44.2%
Sullivan	11	46.17%
Buffalo	12	49.48%
Butler	13	47.39%
Charleston	14	54.69%
De Soto	15	48.94%
Bonne Terre	16	49.15%
Cameron	17	41.56%
Caruthersville	18	43.34%
Maplewood	19	35.92%
Hollister	20	40.54%
Malden	21	48.88%
Branson	22	20.2%
Springfield	23	42.61%
Pevely	24	57.95%
Riverside	25	26.18%
Mountain View	26	43.36%
Dellwood	27	67.07%
Kansas City	28	47.42%
Carthage	29	47.91%
Marlborough	30	11.38%
Bellefontaine Neighbors	31	63.86%
Lebanon	32	47.34%
Grandview	33	50.12%
Harrisonville	34	54.75%
Maryville	35	35.34%
Willow Springs	36	42.56%
Salem	37	45.64%
Poplar Bluff	38	41.19%
Houston	39	41.58%
Marshfield	40	46.58%
Rolla	41	35.09%
Bolivar	42	39.5%
Vandalia	43	58.3%
Kennett	44	49.08%
Moberly	45	50.58%
Warrenton	46	62.12%
Desloge	47	55.74%
Fulton	48	47.94%
Black Jack	49	60.7%
Pacific	50	51.1%
Warrensburg	51	38.36%
Nevada	52	40.97%
Kirksville	53	40.21%
Warsaw	54	43.78%
Richmond	55	45.73%
Joplin	56	50.4%
Carrollton	57	49.95%
Independence	58	57.93%
Cape Girardeau	59	48.28%
Aurora	60	54.51%
Hazelwood	61	60.02%
University City	62	50.03%
Hillsboro	63	58.82%
Dexter	64	52.53%
Overland	65	59.32%
Farmington	66	51.78%
Boonville	67	53.33%
Hannibal	68	52.32%
Clinton	69	53.11%
Buckner	70	60.38%
Monett	71	54.68%
Belton	72	58.46%
Adrian	73	58.26%
Sedalia	74	50.45%
Bridgeton	75	59.66%
Columbia	76	44.44%
Excelsior Springs	77	59.15%
Macon	78	55.93%
Lemay	79	66.75%
Brookfield	80	52.84%
West Plains	81	45.38%
California	82	53.61%
Park Hills	83	46.4%
Webb City	84	54.33%
Lathrop	85	55.08%
Milan	86	47.51%
Lexington	87	68.25%
Mehlville	88	61.7%
Mexico	89	54.3%
Windsor	90	66.0%
Festus	91	63.41%
Troy	92	60.95%
Scott City	93	65.31%
Union	94	59.54%
Palmyra	95	64.63%
Mount Vernon	96	45.16%
Murphy	97	72.3%
Neosho	98	56.25%
Sikeston	99	52.01%
Oak Grove	100	57.02%
Raytown	101	62.5%
Maryland Heights	102	54.66%
Marshall	103	53.59%
Trenton	104	50.02%
Anderson	105	49.09%
Barnhart	106	89.7%
Florissant	107	64.6%
Fort Leonard Wood	108	0.31%
Ozark	109	58.81%
Canton	110	51.33%
Tipton	111	64.63%
Waynesville	112	55.74%
Gladstone	113	63.04%
Imperial	114	78.58%
Bowling Green	115	57.3%
Valley Park	116	57.29%
Jefferson City	117	52.95%
Pleasant Hill	118	63.96%
Odessa	119	59.14%
Chillicothe	120	52.65%
Nixa	121	59.14%
Savannah	122	56.58%
Albany	123	67.46%
Concordia	124	61.25%
Shrewsbury	125	58.43%
Liberty	126	70.5%
Arnold	127	71.77%
Grain Valley	128	59.26%
Republic	129	56.47%
Rock Hill	130	74.84%
Willard	131	61.11%
Centralia	132	59.76%
Blue Springs	133	65.42%
New Haven	134	61.85%
Affton	135	74.71%
Seneca	136	58.6%
Old Jamestown	137	89.25%
Jackson	138	62.25%
Richmond Heights	139	49.82%
Bethany	140	54.75%
Eureka	141	78.76%
Sappington	142	66.48%
Ashland	143	65.96%
Clayton	144	50.08%
Washington	145	65.99%
Greenwood	146	87.7%
Carl Junction	147	74.27%
Parkville	148	66.78%
Perryville	149	59.85%
Brentwood	150	57.58%
Olivette	151	73.54%
Country Club	152	70.93%
Lee’S Summit	153	71.59%
Smithville	154	78.66%
Crestwood	155	82.58%
Kearney	156	66.93%
Lamar	157	63.86%
Ellisville	158	79.36%
Manchester	159	74.49%
O’Fallon	160	77.58%
Ballwin	161	77.64%
Concord	162	85.74%
Raymore	163	78.42%
Oakville	164	83.84%
Wentzville	165	80.69%
Dardenne Prairie	166	97.0%
Fenton	167	83.04%
Wildwood	168	86.9%
Sunset Hills	169	73.57%
Chesterfield	170	72.83%
Kirkwood	171	71.96%
Creve Coeur	172	66.44%
Battlefield	173	81.28%
Webster Groves	174	78.38%
Weldon Spring	175	84.81%
Des Peres	176	89.54%
Town And Country	177	89.74%
Glendale	178	94.28%
Frontenac	179	80.05%
Ladue	180	92.16%