These Are The 10 Most Miserable Cities In Virginia

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

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

But, we were curious – which Virginia 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 Old Dominion:

1. Bensley
2. Petersburg (Photos)
3. Dumbarton
4. Emporia (Photos)
5. Franklin (Photos)
6. Richmond (Photos)
7. Orange
8. Dumfries (Photos)
9. Ettrick (Photos)
10. Bailey’S Crossroads

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, Wyndham is the happiest place in Virginia.

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 Virginia

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

We then ranked each place from one to 194 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 Virginia’.

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. Bensley

Population: 5,865
People Who Own Their Home: 35.58%
Married Adults: 35.83%

2. Petersburg

Population: 32,439
People Who Own Their Home: 33.89%
Married Adults: 29.9%

3. Dumbarton

Population: 8,346
People Who Own Their Home: 23.52%
Married Adults: 29.07%

4. Emporia

Population: 5,682
People Who Own Their Home: 34.94%
Married Adults: 36.16%

5. Franklin

Population: 8,534
People Who Own Their Home: 40.2%
Married Adults: 40.45%

6. Richmond

Population: 211,063
People Who Own Their Home: 37.03%
Married Adults: 26.06%

7. Orange

Population: 4,808
People Who Own Their Home: 41.74%
Married Adults: 41.55%

8. Dumfries

Population: 5,122
People Who Own Their Home: 51.26%
Married Adults: 46.08%

9. Ettrick

Population: 5,660
People Who Own Their Home: 47.49%
Married Adults: 20.57%

10. Bailey’S Crossroads

Population: 24,947
People Who Own Their Home: 34.56%
Married Adults: 42.94%

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 Virginia reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Most Boring Places In Virginia
• These Are The 10 Safest Places In Virginia
• These Are The 10 Dumbest Cities In Virginia

Detailed List Of Miserable Places In Virginia

City	Rank	People Who Own Their Home
Bensley	1	35.58%
Petersburg	2	33.89%
Dumbarton	3	23.52%
Emporia	4	34.94%
Franklin	5	40.2%
Richmond	6	37.03%
Orange	7	41.74%
Dumfries	8	51.26%
Ettrick	9	47.49%
Bailey’S Crossroads	10	34.56%
Norfolk	11	39.43%
Bellwood	12	49.01%
Fredericksburg	13	32.26%
Dublin	14	42.66%
Martinsville	15	45.71%
Danville	16	44.74%
Highland Springs	17	54.4%
Marumsco	18	50.03%
South Boston	19	51.11%
Hopewell	20	45.5%
Montrose	21	36.79%
Hybla Valley	22	37.98%
Bull Run	23	30.38%
Seven Corners	24	31.17%
Harrisonburg	25	31.86%
Front Royal	26	51.6%
Triangle	27	46.14%
Sudley	28	54.77%
Yorkshire	29	53.68%
Pulaski	30	48.81%
Winchester	31	42.77%
Portsmouth	32	50.22%
Newport News	33	45.42%
Big Stone Gap	34	50.33%
Roanoke	35	49.03%
Lynchburg	36	46.01%
Radford	37	38.91%
Sandston	38	53.89%
Blacksburg	39	25.31%
Wytheville	40	50.81%
Galax	41	49.37%
Manassas	42	59.98%
Louisa	43	39.56%
Collinsville	44	55.87%
Rocky Mount	45	48.9%
Marion	46	45.22%
Laurel	47	49.5%
Groveton	48	49.97%
Cherry Hill	49	52.02%
Lincolnia	50	51.37%
Woodstock	51	48.05%
Shenandoah	52	62.04%
Norton	53	47.46%
Bristol	54	48.61%
Annandale	55	56.04%
Hampton	56	51.58%
Charlottesville	57	37.39%
Woodbridge	58	65.82%
Amherst	59	56.53%
Alexandria	60	38.29%
Lakeside	61	55.06%
Abingdon	62	46.16%
Williamsburg	63	40.86%
Strasburg	64	52.36%
Dale City	65	69.87%
Dulles Town Center	66	30.74%
Richlands	67	57.57%
Manassas Park	68	59.1%
Chester	69	62.51%
Waynesboro	70	52.04%
Staunton	71	51.75%
Ashland	72	51.86%
Buena Vista	73	59.99%
East Highland Park	74	67.54%
Idylwood	75	49.79%
Lorton	76	51.17%
Vinton	77	50.67%
Manchester	78	58.88%
Lebanon	79	45.52%
Berryville	80	54.63%
Fair Oaks	81	44.85%
Lexington	82	48.15%
West Point	83	63.79%
Covington	84	60.73%
Windsor	85	68.16%
Lake Of The Woods	86	73.75%
Arlington	87	39.95%
Springfield	88	60.56%
Warrenton	89	54.82%
Meadowbrook	90	67.94%
Verona	91	71.88%
Sugarland Run	92	72.93%
Timberlake	93	59.78%
Huntington	94	39.91%
Herndon	95	55.93%
Falmouth	96	62.91%
Potomac Mills	97	71.14%
Suffolk	98	65.1%
South Hill	99	44.33%
Bluefield	100	66.44%
Fairfax	101	67.97%
Merrifield	102	47.84%
Colonial Heights	103	58.1%
Tysons Corner	104	39.49%
Sterling	105	69.57%
Madison Heights	106	63.21%
Smithfield	107	66.81%
North Springfield	108	74.48%
Centreville	109	69.53%
Bon Air	110	70.84%
Chantilly	111	79.15%
Salem	112	61.85%
Elkton	113	62.95%
Virginia Beach	114	58.94%
Stuarts Draft	115	66.52%
Tuckahoe	116	60.77%
Quantico Base	117	2.4%
Chesapeake	118	67.39%
Lake Ridge	119	70.7%
Fairlawn	120	78.45%
Fort Lee	121	1.68%
Woodburn	122	61.89%
Oakton	123	58.97%
Reston	124	57.77%
Neabsco	125	74.99%
Gloucester Point	126	62.86%
Chamberlayne	127	87.82%
Fair Lakes	128	56.08%
Mantua	129	64.51%
Rockwood	130	85.34%
Kings Park West	131	85.32%
Glen Allen	132	67.04%
Leesburg	133	64.41%
Newington	134	74.58%
Mount Vernon	135	75.58%
Pimmit Hills	136	60.9%
Buckhall	137	88.77%
Hollins	138	67.72%
Mcnair	139	24.23%
Franconia	140	72.71%
Belle Haven	141	71.92%
Burke Centre	142	71.58%
Bridgewater	143	58.2%
Christiansburg	144	57.52%
Newington Forest	145	83.06%
West Springfield	146	78.75%
Brandermill	147	58.74%
Innsbrook	148	63.67%
New Baltimore	149	86.7%
Lake Barcroft	150	69.58%
Aquia Harbour	151	82.1%
Kingstowne	152	61.26%
Lansdowne	153	66.36%
Gainesville	154	73.93%
Cave Spring	155	63.89%
Long Branch	156	82.7%
Greenbriar	157	68.11%
Crosspointe	158	95.42%
Purcellville	159	73.68%
South Riding	160	80.97%
Ashburn	161	70.46%
Montclair	162	84.29%
Laurel Hill	163	78.2%
Mechanicsville	164	76.07%
Burke	165	84.17%
Dunn Loring	166	86.53%
Lake Monticello	167	78.75%
Poquoson	168	79.42%
Carrollton	169	61.86%
Vienna	170	78.51%
Independent Hill	171	86.04%
Cascades	172	76.12%
Wakefield	173	92.12%
Short Pump	174	60.48%
Linton Hall	175	85.75%
Countryside	176	70.51%
Kings Park	177	89.93%
Lowes Island	178	87.72%
Mclean	179	83.12%
Franklin Farm	180	92.27%
South Run	181	92.15%
Great Falls	182	89.89%
Belmont	183	91.86%
Stone Ridge	184	86.48%
Dranesville	185	89.7%
Forest	186	79.02%
Brambleton	187	84.77%
Broadlands	188	83.96%
Cloverdale	189	85.69%
Woodlake	190	81.44%
Wolf Trap	191	92.93%
Floris	192	91.35%
Fort Hunt	193	89.59%
Wyndham	194	83.24%