These Are The 10 Most Miserable Cities In Tennessee

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

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

But, we were curious – which Tennessee 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 Volunteer State:

1. Somerville (Photos)
2. Henderson (Photos)
3. La Follette (Photos)
4. Pikeville (Photos)
5. Ripley (Photos)
6. Woodbury (Photos)
7. Whiteville
8. Covington (Photos)
9. Harriman (Photos)
10. Mount Pleasant

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 Hill is the happiest place in Tennessee.

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 Tennessee

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

We then ranked each place from one to 141 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 Tennessee’.

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. Somerville

Population: 3,113
People Who Own Their Home: 33.81%
Married Adults: 33.35%

2. Henderson

Population: 6,429
People Who Own Their Home: 43.2%
Married Adults: 30.08%

3. La Follette

Population: 7,304
People Who Own Their Home: 36.35%
Married Adults: 39.58%

4. Pikeville

Population: 2,047
People Who Own Their Home: 36.97%
Married Adults: 32.97%

5. Ripley

Population: 8,350
People Who Own Their Home: 37.33%
Married Adults: 32.74%

6. Woodbury

Population: 2,701
People Who Own Their Home: 45.13%
Married Adults: 31.16%

7. Whiteville

Population: 4,593
People Who Own Their Home: 41.46%
Married Adults: 18.92%

8. Covington

Population: 9,033
People Who Own Their Home: 44.11%
Married Adults: 27.57%

9. Harriman

Population: 6,296
People Who Own Their Home: 37.58%
Married Adults: 40.98%

10. Mount Pleasant

Population: 4,604
People Who Own Their Home: 51.48%
Married Adults: 46.82%

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 Tennessee reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Safest Places In Tennessee
• These Are The 10 Snobbiest Places In Tennessee
• These Are The 10 Best Places To Live In Tennessee

Detailed List Of Miserable Places In Tennessee

City	Rank	People Who Own Their Home
Somerville	1	33.81%
Henderson	2	43.2%
La Follette	3	36.35%
Pikeville	4	36.97%
Ripley	5	37.33%
Woodbury	6	45.13%
Whiteville	7	41.46%
Covington	8	44.11%
Harriman	9	37.58%
Mount Pleasant	10	51.48%
Smithville	11	41.21%
Memphis	12	41.76%
Cookeville	13	38.76%
Monterey	14	42.6%
Newport	15	43.83%
Lenoir City	16	54.46%
Morristown	17	45.72%
Jefferson City	18	38.64%
Oneida	19	50.87%
Lawrenceburg	20	45.52%
Savannah	21	48.74%
Martin	22	39.15%
Brownsville	23	41.62%
Clifton	24	53.08%
Shelbyville	25	44.56%
Lewisburg	26	50.17%
Alamo	27	49.09%
Dyer	28	64.13%
Carthage	29	40.08%
Waynesboro	30	61.9%
Livingston	31	50.67%
Columbia	32	51.77%
Union City	33	43.36%
Bolivar	34	50.68%
Pigeon Forge	35	21.06%
Camden	36	54.03%
Cleveland	37	43.35%
Trenton	38	45.2%
Sevierville	39	36.84%
Dayton	40	43.44%
Paris	41	47.22%
Springfield	42	54.53%
Fayetteville	43	48.85%
Manchester	44	42.84%
Nashville	45	48.27%
Centerville	46	64.7%
Parsons	47	54.23%
Madisonville	48	43.54%
Athens	49	46.66%
Knoxville	50	43.62%
Sparta	51	50.45%
Chattanooga	52	46.24%
Humboldt	53	52.18%
Red Bank	54	44.88%
Lafayette	55	46.59%
Pulaski	56	39.58%
Greeneville	57	46.0%
Portland	58	53.67%
Mcminnville	59	46.12%
Jackson	60	47.28%
Rockwood	61	40.33%
Lebanon	62	51.49%
Murfreesboro	63	47.94%
Central	64	57.71%
Dunlap	65	54.7%
Huntingdon	66	60.55%
Crossville	67	42.25%
Milan	68	52.5%
La Vergne	69	70.78%
Mckenzie	70	51.73%
Elizabethton	71	54.53%
Lexington	72	52.62%
Alcoa	73	57.69%
Sweetwater	74	56.29%
Millersville	75	62.25%
Millington	76	50.76%
Clarksville	77	47.82%
Plainview	78	71.99%
Greenfield	79	62.88%
Loudon	80	44.68%
Goodlettsville	81	51.53%
Bloomingdale	82	63.57%
Bristol	83	61.29%
Johnson City	84	49.42%
Dyersburg	85	44.09%
Brighton	86	66.25%
Erwin	87	58.78%
Gallatin	88	50.71%
East Ridge	89	47.95%
Dickson	90	52.7%
Smyrna	91	61.13%
Munford	92	56.01%
Collegedale	93	56.5%
Tullahoma	94	53.48%
Etowah	95	57.46%
Jasper	96	50.56%
Greenbrier	97	74.93%
Colonial Heights	98	80.32%
Clinton	99	59.54%
Waverly	100	63.42%
Oak Ridge	101	51.86%
Kingsport	102	57.67%
Soddy-Daisy	103	64.5%
Winchester	104	56.13%
Seymour	105	70.18%
Atoka	106	80.96%
Kingston	107	59.38%
Oakland	108	84.91%
Church Hill	109	64.79%
Fairview	110	75.27%
South Cleveland	111	77.98%
Mount Juliet	112	74.02%
Maryville	113	58.89%
Hendersonville	114	66.65%
Jonesborough	115	63.0%
Louisville	116	71.49%
Middle Valley	117	81.45%
Walden	118	75.59%
Pleasant View	119	85.2%
White House	120	82.43%
Franklin	121	65.52%
Bartlett	122	79.17%
Medina	123	77.96%
Mount Carmel	124	81.45%
Harrison	125	78.04%
Spring Hill	126	77.12%
Fairmount	127	79.72%
Fairfield Glade	128	73.04%
Lakeland	129	76.66%
Tellico Village	130	88.74%
Green Hill	131	93.99%
Collierville	132	81.41%
Park City	133	82.33%
Nolensville	134	91.12%
Arlington	135	85.63%
Farragut	136	83.81%
Signal Mountain	137	78.24%
Brentwood	138	89.47%
Germantown	139	82.05%
Forest Hills	140	93.24%
Oak Hill	141	85.79%