These Are The 10 Most Miserable Cities In Wisconsin

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

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

But, we were curious – which Wisconsin 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 Badger State:

1. Milwaukee (Photos)
2. Kenosha (Photos)
3. Racine (Photos)
4. Beloit (Photos)
5. Cudahy (Photos)
6. Lake Geneva (Photos)
7. Whitewater (Photos)
8. Burlington (Photos)
9. Twin Lakes
10. River Falls (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, Elm Grove is the happiest place in Wisconsin.

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 Wisconsin

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

We then ranked each place from one to 169 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 Wisconsin’.

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. Milwaukee

Population: 598,078
People Who Own Their Home: 38.39%
Married Adults: 30.62%

2. Kenosha

Population: 99,709
People Who Own Their Home: 52.91%
Married Adults: 42.84%

3. Racine

Population: 78,347
People Who Own Their Home: 49.32%
Married Adults: 39.68%

4. Beloit

Population: 36,876
People Who Own Their Home: 53.45%
Married Adults: 40.45%

5. Cudahy

Population: 18,321
People Who Own Their Home: 54.64%
Married Adults: 45.18%

6. Lake Geneva

Population: 7,693
People Who Own Their Home: 37.6%
Married Adults: 49.14%

7. Whitewater

Population: 14,801
People Who Own Their Home: 31.49%
Married Adults: 24.83%

8. Burlington

Population: 10,528
People Who Own Their Home: 51.77%
Married Adults: 44.49%

9. Twin Lakes

Population: 6,033
People Who Own Their Home: 51.94%
Married Adults: 49.08%

10. River Falls

Population: 15,050
People Who Own Their Home: 47.4%
Married Adults: 35.24%

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 Wisconsin reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Most Boring Places In Wisconsin
• These Are The 10 Most Ghetto Cities In Wisconsin
• These Are The 10 Worst Places To Live In Wisconsin

Detailed List Of Miserable Places In Wisconsin

City	Rank	People Who Own Their Home
Milwaukee	1	38.39%
Kenosha	2	52.91%
Racine	3	49.32%
Beloit	4	53.45%
Cudahy	5	54.64%
Lake Geneva	6	37.6%
Whitewater	7	31.49%
Burlington	8	51.77%
Twin Lakes	9	51.94%
River Falls	10	47.4%
Sparta	11	49.3%
Portage	12	47.95%
Stanley	13	44.14%
Menomonie	14	37.06%
Rhinelander	15	50.37%
Rice Lake	16	48.32%
Stevens Point	17	45.86%
Green Bay	18	53.67%
Somerset	19	55.44%
Superior	20	51.37%
West Allis	21	51.42%
Marshall	22	70.64%
Antigo	23	53.12%
New Richmond	24	58.18%
Ashland	25	54.04%
Chippewa Falls	26	49.93%
Wausau	27	53.21%
South Milwaukee	28	58.63%
Fond Du Lac	29	53.67%
La Crosse	30	46.89%
Oshkosh	31	50.46%
Delavan	32	52.52%
Madison	33	46.41%
Osceola	34	51.84%
Washburn	35	64.36%
Fitchburg	36	48.18%
Baraboo	37	55.1%
Marinette	38	56.47%
Seymour	39	50.95%
Elkhorn	40	59.65%
Sheboygan	41	55.92%
Eau Claire	42	50.75%
Richland Center	43	52.3%
New London	44	56.19%
Edgerton	45	62.46%
Greenfield	46	54.31%
Janesville	47	63.05%
Merrill	48	54.31%
Shawano	49	50.68%
Bloomfield	50	62.45%
Platteville	51	43.81%
Arcadia	52	51.73%
Prairie Du Chien	53	53.93%
Ellsworth	54	56.47%
Wisconsin Rapids	55	59.65%
Medford	56	55.57%
Beaver Dam	57	53.21%
Berlin	58	55.63%
Silver Lake	59	52.36%
Shorewood	60	46.68%
Baldwin	61	51.14%
Cumberland	62	52.09%
Waukesha	63	56.6%
Lake Mills	64	53.91%
Watertown	65	58.92%
Ripon	66	56.13%
Brown Deer	67	63.88%
Jefferson	68	57.39%
Monona	69	52.49%
Fort Atkinson	70	62.64%
Mayville	71	60.07%
Waupaca	72	41.87%
Sturgeon Bay	73	56.19%
Tomah	74	45.37%
Columbus	75	60.9%
Menasha	76	59.03%
West Bend	77	62.74%
Milton	78	64.23%
Manitowoc	79	60.98%
Weston	80	58.11%
Monroe	81	56.39%
Plover	82	57.85%
Middleton	83	52.5%
Evansville	84	60.72%
Oak Creek	85	58.85%
Pulaski	86	54.76%
Ashwaubenon	87	58.64%
Bristol	88	80.07%
Pleasant Prairie	89	74.45%
Reedsburg	90	56.61%
Darlington	91	63.7%
Waterloo	92	65.08%
De Pere	93	59.16%
Altoona	94	63.79%
Appleton	95	64.08%
Glendale	96	63.05%
Waterford	97	67.53%
Sturtevant	98	69.42%
Two Rivers	99	62.34%
Bellevue	100	56.81%
Sun Prairie	101	55.37%
Waupun	102	65.19%
Hudson	103	60.02%
Mount Horeb	104	59.41%
Pewaukee	105	56.64%
Port Washington	106	60.86%
Stoughton	107	64.07%
Jackson	108	71.72%
Marshfield	109	58.81%
Kaukauna	110	66.45%
Hartland	111	59.44%
Mount Pleasant	112	72.37%
Greendale	113	63.69%
Deerfield	114	75.24%
Lodi	115	65.95%
Caledonia	116	79.92%
Plymouth	117	58.31%
Hartford	118	63.61%
Cedarburg	119	66.46%
Neenah	120	64.31%
Hales Corners	121	60.72%
Howard	122	63.25%
Delafield	123	59.96%
Sheboygan Falls	124	61.47%
Mukwonago	125	66.19%
Windsor	126	62.05%
Franklin	127	73.85%
Tichigan	128	86.33%
Oregon	129	65.31%
Rochester	130	86.57%
Oconomowoc	131	66.68%
Fredonia	132	71.75%
Prescott	133	68.14%
Wauwatosa	134	61.62%
Holmen	135	68.11%
Verona	136	60.73%
Slinger	137	69.77%
Rothschild	138	68.13%
Grafton	139	64.68%
Onalaska	140	61.72%
Lancaster	141	62.21%
Sussex	142	64.75%
Allouez	143	79.04%
Little Chute	144	63.75%
Wright	145	74.0%
New Berlin	146	73.38%
Kimberly	147	68.47%
Kronenwetter	148	73.05%
Cottage Grove	149	74.74%
Hobart	150	83.22%
Belleville	151	72.55%
Wind Lake	152	80.89%
Lake Hallie	153	67.28%
Deforest	154	71.27%
Summit	155	80.07%
Richfield	156	92.47%
Muskego	157	80.4%
Menomonee Falls	158	72.23%
Mequon	159	81.73%
Suamico	160	87.43%
Pewaukee	161	78.11%
Whitefish Bay	162	78.63%
Brookfield	163	85.13%
Sherwood	164	90.86%
Fox Point	165	79.42%
Waunakee	166	74.72%
Mcfarland	167	72.44%
Rib Mountain	168	78.71%
Elm Grove	169	84.56%