[adrotate banner=’4′]
Do you live in one of the most miserable places in Washington?
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 Washington – don’t really have it too bad, in the grand scheme of things.
But, we were curious – which Washington 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 Evergreen State:
- Moses Lake North
- White Center
- Seatac (Photos)
- Newport (Photos)
- Parkland
- Tukwila (Photos)
- Hoquiam (Photos)
- Bremerton (Photos)
- Shelton (Photos)
- Kelso
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, Medina is the happiest place in Washington.
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.
[adrotate banner=’5′]
How We Measured The Most Miserable Cities In Washington
In order to rank the unhappiest places in Washington, 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 Washington with over 2,000 people.
We then ranked each place from one to 205 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 Washington’.
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.
[adrotate banner=’7′]
1. Moses Lake North
Population: 4,583
People Who Own Their Home: 26.08%
Married Adults: 32.19%
