These Are The 10 Most Miserable Cities In New Jersey

Do you live in one of the most miserable places in New Jersey?

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

But, we were curious – which New Jersey 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 Garden State:

1. Newark (Photos)
2. West New York (Photos)
3. East Orange (Photos)
4. Guttenberg (Photos)
5. Union City (Photos)
6. Keansburg (Photos)
7. Jersey City (Photos)
8. Asbury Park (Photos)
9. Plainfield (Photos)
10. Bridgeton (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, Hamilton Square is the happiest place in New Jersey.

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 New Jersey

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

We then ranked each place from one to 257 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 New Jersey’.

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. Newark

Population: 278,750
People Who Own Their Home: 18.74%
Married Adults: 27.47%

2. West New York

Population: 51,511
People Who Own Their Home: 18.7%
Married Adults: 40.13%

3. East Orange

Population: 64,538
People Who Own Their Home: 22.35%
Married Adults: 25.65%

4. Guttenberg

Population: 11,397
People Who Own Their Home: 28.75%
Married Adults: 35.92%

5. Union City

Population: 68,001
People Who Own Their Home: 16.61%
Married Adults: 37.19%

6. Keansburg

Population: 10,011
People Who Own Their Home: 45.55%
Married Adults: 36.91%

7. Jersey City

Population: 255,861
People Who Own Their Home: 26.23%
Married Adults: 41.06%

8. Asbury Park

Population: 15,933
People Who Own Their Home: 16.26%
Married Adults: 21.9%

9. Plainfield

Population: 50,423
People Who Own Their Home: 43.5%
Married Adults: 32.67%

10. Bridgeton

Population: 25,252
People Who Own Their Home: 35.28%
Married Adults: 28.06%

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 New Jersey reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Best Places To Live In New Jersey
• These Are The 10 Most Ghetto Cities In New Jersey
• These Are The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In New Jersey

Detailed List Of Miserable Places In New Jersey