Men's Health's Happiest and Saddest Cities in America

[Bloodshot Scott]

Happy to say mine is at #8, thank you very much. Five of the top 10 are surrounding me. And we're the coldest major metropolitan area in America. I know, I'm cooler than you. :1orglaugh (ironically enough my uncle's ****** lives in St. Pete)

If you want record-setting sunshine, St. Petersburg is your city—it once soaked up a Guinness-certified 768 straight days of rays. But there's an asterisk: The people of St. Pete also have the darkest clouds hanging over their heads. We put America on the therapist's couch and discovered that not only is St. Petersburg our Saddest City, but Florida in general seems to be a depressing place to live.

Of course, we aren't shrinks, so our diagnosis is more statistical than psychological. We calculated suicide rates (CDC) and unemployment rates (Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of June 2011). Then we tapped SimplyMap for the percentage of households that use antidepressants as well as the number of people who report feeling the blues all or most of the time.

100. St. Petersburg, FL F
99. Detroit, MI F
98. Memphis, TN F
97. Tampa, FL F
96. Louisville, KY F
95. St. Louis, MO F
94. Birmingham, AL F
93. Miami, FL F
92. Reno, NV F
91. Las Vegas, NV F

90. Toledo, OH F
89. Bakersfield, CA F
88. Jacksonville, FL F
87. Atlanta, GA F
86. Winston-Salem, NC F
85. Sacramento, CA F
84. Cincinnati, OH D-
83. Phoenix, AZ D-
82. Orlando, FL D-
81. Washington, DC D-

80. Wilmington, DE D-
79. Greensboro, NC D-
78. Jackson, MS D-
77. Columbia, SC D
76. Newark, NJ D
75. Fresno, CA D
74. Cleveland, OH D
73. Kansas City, MO D
72. Chicago, IL D
71. Riverside, CA D

70. Albuquerque, NM D
69. Portland, OR D
68. Richmond, VA D
67. Tucson, AZ D
66. Milwaukee, WI D
65. Los Angeles, CA D+
64. Denver, CO D+
63. Colorado Springs, CO D+
62. Providence, RI D+
61. Oakland, CA D+

60. Philadelphia, PA D+
59. Nashville, TN D+
58. El Paso, TX D+
57. Charlotte, NC D+
56. Aurora, CO D+
55. Little Rock, AR D+
54. Charleston, WV D+
53. Stockton, CA C-
52. Baltimore, MD C-
51. Baton Rouge, LA C-

50. Indianapolis, IN C-
49. Houston, TX C-
48. Dallas, TX C-
47. Seattle, WA C-
46. Fort Wayne, IN C-
45. Boise City, ID C-
44. New Orleans, LA C-
43. Fort Worth, TX C-
42. Norfolk, VA C
41. Tulsa, OK C


40. Pittsburgh, PA C
39. New York, NY C
38. Bridgeport, CT C
37. Buffalo, NY C
36. Columbus, OH C
35. Corpus Christi, TX C
34. San Diego, CA C
33. San Antonio, TX C+
32. Wichita, KS C+
31. Santa Ana, CA C+

30. Cheyenne, WY C+
29. Lubbock, TX C+
28. Billings, MT C+
27. Oklahoma City, OK B-
26. Anchorage, AK B-
25. Laredo, TX B-
24. Durham, NC B-
23. Salt Lake City, UT B-
22. Lexington, KY B-
21. Raleigh, NC B-

20. San Francisco, CA B
19. Austin, TX B
18. Jersey City, NJ B
17. Des Moines, IA B
16. Portland, ME B
15. San Jose, CA B
14. Minneapolis, MN B+
13. Chesapeake, VA B+
12. Virginia Beach, VA A-
11. Lincoln, NE A-

Blues-proof towns


10. Plano, TX A-
9. Burlington, VT A-
8. St. Paul, MN A-
7. Sioux Falls, SD A-
6. Madison, WI A-
5. Boston, MA A-
4. Omaha, NE A
3. Fargo, ND A
2. Manchester, NH A
1. Honolulu, HI A+

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