These Are The 10 Most Miserable Cities In North Carolina

Do you live in one of the most miserable places in North Carolina?

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

But, we were curious – which North Carolina 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 Tar Heel State:

1. Selma (Photos)
2. Roxboro (Photos)
3. Wadesboro (Photos)
4. Siler City (Photos)
5. Lexington (Photos)
6. Warsaw
7. Benson (Photos)
8. Elizabeth City (Photos)
9. Edenton (Photos)
10. Pineville (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, Oak Ridge is the happiest place in North Carolina.

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 North Carolina

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

We then ranked each place from one to 188 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 North Carolina’.

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. Selma

Population: 6,172
People Who Own Their Home: 28.28%
Married Adults: 34.95%

2. Roxboro

Population: 8,330
People Who Own Their Home: 29.88%
Married Adults: 28.42%

3. Wadesboro

Population: 5,711
People Who Own Their Home: 47.64%
Married Adults: 33.14%

4. Siler City

Population: 8,109
People Who Own Their Home: 45.74%
Married Adults: 38.96%

5. Lexington

Population: 19,029
People Who Own Their Home: 35.69%
Married Adults: 41.09%

6. Warsaw

Population: 3,162
People Who Own Their Home: 32.04%
Married Adults: 28.36%

7. Benson

Population: 3,435
People Who Own Their Home: 38.29%
Married Adults: 37.15%

8. Elizabeth City

Population: 18,343
People Who Own Their Home: 35.07%
Married Adults: 32.57%

9. Edenton

Population: 4,979
People Who Own Their Home: 32.56%
Married Adults: 37.71%

10. Pineville

Population: 7,855
People Who Own Their Home: 30.7%
Married Adults: 30.37%

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 North Carolina reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Most Boring Places To Live In North Carolina
• These Are The 10 Worst Places To Live In North Carolina
• These Are The 10 Safest Cities in North Carolina

Detailed List Of Miserable Places In North Carolina

City	Rank	People Who Own Their Home
Selma	1	28.28%
Roxboro	2	29.88%
Wadesboro	3	47.64%
Siler City	4	45.74%
Lexington	5	35.69%
Warsaw	6	32.04%
Benson	7	38.29%
Elizabeth City	8	35.07%
Edenton	9	32.56%
Pineville	10	30.7%
Fairmont	11	42.61%
Henderson	12	36.82%
Louisburg	13	49.09%
Eden	14	48.43%
Lincolnton	15	42.78%
Ahoskie	16	36.77%
Beaufort	17	35.37%
Kinston	18	36.33%
Murphy	19	43.61%
Statesville	20	40.18%
Forest City	21	34.78%
Salisbury	22	42.77%
Whiteville	23	46.04%
Smithfield	24	44.3%
Dunn	25	46.63%
Laurinburg	26	45.6%
Troy	27	42.91%
Taylorsville	28	32.29%
Marion	29	46.2%
Plymouth	30	41.56%
Murfreesboro	31	47.26%
Oxford	32	41.7%
Boone	33	17.36%
Gastonia	34	48.34%
Sparta	35	45.05%
Greenville	36	31.9%
Shelby	37	44.48%
Monroe	38	52.11%
Washington	39	39.5%
Lumberton	40	42.27%
Madison	41	56.34%
Goldsboro	42	33.09%
Bessemer City	43	60.1%
Rocky Mount	44	45.61%
Franklin	45	43.3%
Carolina Beach	46	23.06%
Albemarle	47	49.17%
Asheboro	48	45.97%
Woodfin	49	41.09%
Sanford	50	47.48%
Lowell	51	55.87%
Hamlet	52	50.3%
Windsor	53	53.96%
Kings Mountain	54	49.48%
Kannapolis	55	49.57%
Thomasville	56	52.96%
Hendersonville	57	37.58%
Williamston	58	44.95%
Newton	59	50.38%
Wilmington	60	39.44%
Wilson	61	45.66%
Norwood	62	45.55%
Dallas	63	50.67%
Graham	64	50.62%
Clinton	65	43.68%
Morehead City	66	38.07%
Winston-Salem	67	49.14%
Oak Island	68	26.4%
Elon	69	43.53%
Greensboro	70	46.39%
Charlotte	71	50.43%
Morganton	72	50.07%
La Grange	73	56.41%
Lenoir	74	49.24%
New Bern	75	43.19%
High Point	76	50.12%
Tarboro	77	48.01%
Sawmills	78	54.98%
Spencer	79	50.58%
Spring Lake	80	17.47%
Erwin	81	56.93%
Silver Lake	82	63.67%
Kill Devil Hills	83	26.04%
Fayetteville	84	41.85%
Mocksville	85	58.69%
Durham	86	45.68%
Butner	87	61.18%
Burlington	88	49.76%
Rockingham	89	51.55%
Liberty	90	61.15%
Raleigh	91	48.44%
Half Moon	92	55.81%
Cherokee	93	55.72%
Chapel Hill	94	44.27%
Asheville	95	45.65%
Carrboro	96	34.82%
Brevard	97	46.7%
Piney Green	98	49.83%
Boiling Spring Lakes	99	73.03%
Concord	100	59.9%
Reidsville	101	45.91%
Hickory	102	45.76%
Waynesville	103	48.0%
Mount Holly	104	58.64%
Garner	105	58.9%
Jacksonville	106	31.73%
Fruitland	107	57.6%
Aberdeen	108	43.55%
Havelock	109	37.04%
Black Mountain	110	48.26%
Southern Pines	111	50.19%
Nashville	112	61.71%
Mount Airy	113	51.75%
Hope Mills	114	52.38%
Roanoke Rapids	115	48.63%
Canton	116	58.33%
Southport	117	40.82%
Fuquay-Varina	118	68.72%
Cherryville	119	60.6%
Carthage	120	54.92%
Mooresville	121	59.32%
Salem	122	64.35%
Boiling Springs	123	56.09%
Bethlehem	124	74.84%
Richlands	125	57.21%
Belmont	126	60.19%
Clayton	127	63.03%
Hillsborough	128	54.35%
Kings Grant	129	61.68%
Etowah	130	78.11%
Mebane	131	54.14%
Newport	132	55.54%
Knightdale	133	63.2%
Conover	134	58.08%
Wendell	135	62.47%
Cornelius	136	58.54%
Wrightsboro	137	71.16%
Welcome	138	72.51%
Midland	139	84.34%
Kernersville	140	50.46%
Indian Trail	141	80.23%
Stokesdale	142	74.56%
Leland	143	66.7%
James City	144	69.62%
Archdale	145	66.3%
Mountain Home	146	59.67%
Hampstead	147	75.34%
Waxhaw	148	81.32%
Mint Hill	149	76.68%
Ogden	150	84.09%
Fairview	151	69.7%
Lake Norman Of Catawba	152	61.17%
Matthews	153	71.34%
Wake Forest	154	68.87%
Stanley	155	67.76%
Hudson	156	62.82%
Huntersville	157	70.07%
Davidson	158	68.51%
Winterville	159	79.3%
Stallings	160	84.46%
Fairview	161	74.74%
Gibsonville	162	72.5%
Mountain View	163	84.09%
Wesley Chapel	164	94.13%
Morrisville	165	45.39%
Trinity	166	73.65%
King	167	71.57%
Weddington	168	92.17%
Murraysville	169	73.57%
Unionville	170	74.14%
Harrisburg	171	84.2%
Apex	172	67.46%
Lewisville	173	82.22%
Cary	174	65.18%
Westport	175	87.99%
Flat Rock	176	66.62%
Porters Neck	177	67.53%
Fletcher	178	72.68%
Myrtle Grove	179	79.69%
Marvin	180	93.31%
Mills River	181	74.9%
Clemmons	182	68.5%
Summerfield	183	82.92%
Holly Springs	184	82.17%
Seven Lakes	185	72.08%
Red Oak	186	85.55%
Pinehurst	187	67.2%
Oak Ridge	188	89.52%