The Top 10 'Unhappiest' Cities in the United States Revealed in New Study

Is your city one of the unhappiest in the U.S.? Scientists have conducted new research that identifies the most miserable places to live.

The study was released just last week by the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research. It relies on data from a large survey that asked respondents about their satisfaction with life. This measure, which is often interpreted as a measure of happiness, indicated that individuals may willingly endure less happiness in exchange for higher incomes or lower housing costs.

"Our research indicates that people care about more than happiness alone, so other factors may encourage them to stay in a city despite their unhappiness," said Joshua Gottlieb, one of the researchers, in a news release. "This means that researchers and policy-makers should not consider an increase in reported happiness as an overriding objective."

The researchers found that residents of declining cities seem to be less happy than those who live in other regions of the U.S. In addition, long-term residents of these cities seem to be equally as unhappy as newer residents; this suggests that the city's unhappiness persists over time.

So which are the unhappiest cities in the U.S.? That's a good question. The 10 unhappiest metropolitan areas with a population greater than one million are New York City, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Milwaukee, Detroit, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Buffalo and Philadelphia. The least happy American regions, in contrast, are: Scranton, PA, St. Joseph, MO, Erie, PA, South Bend, IN, Jersey City, NJ, Johnston, PA, Non-metropolitan West Virginia, Springfield, MA, New York, NY, and Evansville-Henderson, IN-KY.

The findings could help policymakers target unhappy areas for reform. By knowing where problems are located, it's possible to enact change in order to make these regions happier in general.

The working paper is published online here.