OK, the 50 worst cities in America as decided upon by the Straight Dope Message board! Now only if we could get Ryan Seacrest to do the finale. I can just imagine it, people will all be in an arena in the home states of the two cities, just like the American Idol finale, people will be in the Tweeter Center (in Camden) if they make it to the Final Two, shouting stupid things like “We love you Camden” and wearing T-Shirts that say “Camden’s No.1 Fan” and “I heart Camden”. Anyway, here’s the list. Now we can start deciding the 25 that make the next cut.
Alabama: Birmingham
Alaska: Fairbanks
Arizona: Quartzsite
Arkansas: Harrison
California: Compton
Colorado: Pueblo
Connecticut: Bridgeport
Delaware: Wilmington
Florida: Yulee
Georgia: College Park
Hawaii: Waianae
Idaho: Nampa
Illinois: East St. Louis
Indiana: Gary
Iowa: Bettendorf
Kansas: Garden City
Kentucky: Campton
Louisiana: Lake Providence
Maine: Portland
Maryland: Baltimore
Massachusetts: Lawrence
Michigan: Flint
Minnesota: Minneapolis
Mississippi: Greenville
Missouri: Jefferson City
Montana: Butte
Nebraska: Kimball
Nevada: Wells
New Hampshire: Manchester
New Jersey: Camden
New Mexico: Las Vegas
New York: Buffalo
North Carolina: Lumberton
North Dakota: Bismarck (didn’t have a write-up in the book, but was mentioned, North Dakota rules!)
Ohio: Youngstown
Oklahoma: Okmulgee
Oregon: Biggs Junction
Pennsylvania: Chester
Rhode Island: Cranston
South Carolina:Bennetsville
South Dakota: Mitchell
Tennessee: Gatlinburg
Texas: Waco
Utah: Tooele
Vermont: Rutland
Virginia: Virginia Beach
Washington: Gray’s Harbor
West Virginia: Charleston
Wisconsin: Superior
Wyoming: Rock Springs
Votes for California and Arizona to make the next cut. Quartzite is remarkable (not in a good way), and so too is Compton, I guess. From the sounds of it, Hawaii and New Hampshire should drop out because even the worst places in them probably aren’t too far from really nice places.
…You don’t need votes from each of us for all fifty states, do you?
You… just don’t listen do you?
Take Manchester off the list! At least three people have told you this, nobody nominated it, and you have two more nominees to choose from. New Hampshire may very well be knocked out of contention early, but at least try to get this bit right.
Another vote here for Flint, Michigan! Yay, Flint! Or, rather, boo, Flint.
I was born in Flint in 1968. My mother’s family was from the Thumb area, and my dad’s family moved there from the deep South in the 50’s to work at the car plants.
At one time, our neighborhood consisted of young families and retired people- decent little homes, very little crime. We played outside without a care. By the time we left, in 1978, most of the houses were boarded up and abandoned, crime was rampant, and my little brother had been stolen out of our yard. (Found safe later that day.) My older brother had an especially hard time of it- he went to public school (Bunche) and was terrorized at school, on the way to school, and on the way home from school. I was fortunate enough to go to the gifted school.
I haven’t been back, but I wonder what that neighborhood is like today- Philadelphia and Dupont, I think it was.
As for Arizona, I’ve lived in Yuma and it does sucketh indeed, but I’d nominate Three Points- it’s a very rural community within a reservation on a public highway on the way to Mexico. Quite depressing place, indeed.
I asked for Tooele to be removed, and I don’t see Wendover or Grantsville on the list, and they have been mentioned.
Also - I think Minot should replace Bismarck for North Dakota…
Fine, fine,
Alabama: Birmingham
Alaska: Fairbanks
Arizona: Quartzsite
Arkansas: Harrison
California: Compton
Colorado: Pueblo
Connecticut: Bridgeport
Delaware: Wilmington
Florida: Yulee
Georgia: College Park
Hawaii: Waianae
Idaho: Nampa
Illinois: East St. Louis
Indiana: Gary
Iowa: Bettendorf
Kansas: Garden City
Kentucky: Campton
Louisiana: Lake Providence
Maine: Portland
Maryland: Baltimore
Massachusetts: Lawrence
Michigan: Flint
Minnesota: Minneapolis
Mississippi: Greenville
Missouri: Jefferson City
Montana: Butte
Nebraska: Kimball
Nevada: Wells
New Hampshire: **Berlin **
New Jersey: Camden
New Mexico: Las Vegas
New York: Buffalo
North Carolina: Lumberton
North Dakota: Bismarck (didn’t have a write-up in the book, but was mentioned, North Dakota rules!)
Ohio: Youngstown
Oklahoma: Okmulgee
Oregon: Biggs Junction
Pennsylvania: Chester
Rhode Island: Cranston
South Carolina:Bennetsville
South Dakota: Mitchell
Tennessee: Gatlinburg
Texas: Waco
Utah: Tooele
Vermont: Rutland
Virginia: Virginia Beach
Washington: Gray’s Harbor
West Virginia: Charleston
Wisconsin: Superior
Wyoming: Rock Springs
No, Minneapolis is not the worst city in Minnesota!!! It is perhaps the best city. The economy is good, great university, lovely parks with lakes throughout the city, lively culture, I could go on…
I once again nominate Duluth. Colder, longer winter, homogenous population, high unemployment, little to do …
I can’t believe that no one has challenged my assertion of Yulee as Florida’s worst town. Either all Floridians on the board are busy screwing their toothless cousins in their rusty pickup trucks up on blocks in the front lawn, or Yulee is truly the worst place in Florida.
And is College Park, GA worse than Brunswick? I nominate Brunswick for the smell alone.
Rhode Island should definitely be Woonsocket, not Cranston. There was a serial killer recently, drugs are rampant and it’s not even as good a commute into Providence as Cranston.
Worse than Providence?
The worst city in Wisconsin is Milwaukee.
It has it’s good points, but the violent crime rate is astronomical and the fact that they keep dumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of raw sewage into Lake Michigan every time it rains doesn’t help.
Alabama: Birmingham
Alaska: Fairbanks
Arizona: Quartzsite
Arkansas: Harrison
California: Compton
Colorado: Pueblo
Connecticut: Bridgeport
Delaware: Wilmington
Florida: Yulee
Georgia: College Park
Hawaii: Waianae
Idaho: Nampa
Illinois: East St. Louis
Indiana: Gary
Iowa: Bettendorf
Kansas: Garden City
Kentucky: Campton
Louisiana: Lake Providence
Maine: Portland
Maryland: Baltimore
Massachusetts: Lawrence
Michigan: Flint
Minnesota: Duluth
Mississippi: Greenville
Missouri: Jefferson City
Montana: Butte
Nebraska: Kimball
Nevada: Wells
New Hampshire: Manchester
New Jersey: Camden
New Mexico: Las Vegas
New York: Buffalo
North Carolina: Lumberton
North Dakota: Bismarck (didn’t have a write-up in the book, but was mentioned, North Dakota rules!)
Ohio: Youngstown
Oklahoma: Okmulgee
Oregon: Biggs Junction
Pennsylvania: Chester
Rhode Island: Cranston
South Carolina:Bennetsville
South Dakota: Mitchell
Tennessee: Gatlinburg
Texas: Waco
Utah: Tooele
Vermont: Rutland
Virginia: Virginia Beach
Washington: Gray’s Harbor
West Virginia: Charleston
Wisconsin: Milwaukee
Wyoming: Rock Springs
Now we really have to cut down to 25!!
Alabama: Birmingham
Alaska: Fairbanks
Arizona: Quartzsite
Arkansas: Harrison
California: Compton
Colorado: Pueblo
Connecticut: Bridgeport
Delaware: Wilmington
Florida: Yulee
Georgia: College Park
Hawaii: Waianae
Idaho: Nampa
Illinois: East St. Louis
Indiana: Gary
Iowa: Bettendorf
Kansas: Garden City
Kentucky: Campton
Louisiana: Lake Providence
Maine: Portland
Maryland: Baltimore
Massachusetts: Lawrence
Michigan: Flint
Minnesota: Duluth
Mississippi: Greenville
Missouri: Jefferson City
Montana: Butte
Nebraska: Kimball
Nevada: Wells
New Hampshire: Manchester
New Jersey: Camden
New Mexico: Las Vegas
New York: Buffalo
North Carolina: Lumberton
North Dakota: Bismarck (didn’t have a write-up in the book, but was mentioned, North Dakota rules!)
Ohio: Youngstown
Oklahoma: Okmulgee
Oregon: Biggs Junction
Pennsylvania: Chester
Rhode Island: Cranston
South Carolina:Bennetsville
South Dakota: Mitchell
Tennessee: Gatlinburg
Texas: Waco
Utah: Tooele
Vermont: Rutland
Virginia: Virginia Beach
Washington: Wait, Gray’s Harbor isn’t a city :smack: Aberdeen
West Virginia: Charleston
Wisconsin: Milwaukee
Wyoming: Rock Springs
Now we really have to cut down to 25!!
Remove Manchester. People have corrected you on this a number of times. And at any rate, there seems to be no place in NH that’s worse than Flint.
Take away Waco’s lake, the Balcones Escarpment and Dr. Pepper and you’re left with College Station… where everyone has rabies.
Of the listed places I’ve visited,
I can eliminate several from the first round of 25:
College Park, GA (for reasons stated)
Manchester, NH (as multiple posters have noted)
Birmingham, AL (puzzling choice to begin with; lots of worse places in Bama; your book is laughable)
Bismarck, ND (I was there last summer; seemed like a perfectly decent small city)
Duluth, MN (I’m sure it’s cold in winter, but from this summertime visitor’s perspective, also seemed like a perfectly decent small city)
Gatlinburg, TN (this town is a tourist trap, like similar places you’d find in most states; otherwise, it’s fine, and doesn’t deserve a spot on the list)
I can also spot several which should definitely make the final 25:
Flint, MI (a blighted hole, from what I could tell)
Gary IN (even worse)
East St. Louis, IL (worse yet)
Baltimore, MD (some parts are OK, but sections of it are seriously blighted, or were as recently as five years ago, when I last visited)
Milwaukee seems borderline. Some parts of it looked pretty rough. I was just passing through, though, and probably shouldn’t judge on that basis.
Bridgeport, CT looked pretty rough, but I didn’t see enough of it to judge.
Gatlinburg can’t count when Pigeon Forge is only a couple miles down the road. Pigeon Forge makes Gatlinburg look like the Champs Freakin Elysee.
Mitchell, South Dakota can safely be removed from contention. Granted, I’ve only been there in high (pheasant) season, but there are clean hotels, a nice Wal Mart (yes, there are nice Wal Marts and shitty Wal Marts), and a very nice Cabellas outdoor store (which they won’t just build anyplace). The weather sucks, of course, but the people seem happy and prosperous.
Mitchell is also home to one of the best restaurant I’ve ever dined in, and I’ve lived in Paris.
Totallly unrelated to the actual tourney, but I’ve heard a lot of bad things about Oildale, Calif.
For instance, there’s supposedly a sign that says something like “black go back” at the border between Oildale and wherever it’s next to. My sister’s ex-boyfriend is white but dark-complected white and nearly got the shit beaten out of him for “datin’ a white girl.”
Every time you see that e-mail forward with the Town Barbies about Bakersfield, the Oildale Barbie is the redneck Barbie. Sadly enough, that forward seems to hit the nail on the head everywhere it goes, so I’m inclined to believe it.
I’ve never been. My husband just traveled through there recently and he called it a mecca of trailer parks and Dukes of Hazzard reruns.
~Tasha
Yeah, whenever we make fun of someone we call them an 08er (the 'Dale’s zip is 93308).
Firstly, there is no “Oildale, CA”- like above, it’s not actually a city. It’s also not actually part of Bakersfield either. I don’t know what they are. They’re. . . over there, across the river.
I’m actually surprised that they saw that sign in Oildale. It’s not that Oildale isn’t a racist, icky place- it’s just I’ve been through there a bunch of times and never seen such a thing (of course, my dark skinned, Italian but Hispanic looking butt isn’t going there to wander any time soon). Taft, CA - on the other hand- has signs ALL OVER THE PLACE that say things like, “Niggers better not be 'round her after dark” with pictures of a nooses. It’s lovely.
I went to a predominately “ethnic” high school in South Bakersfield (Oildale is in the North)- our school was something like 50% hispanic, 30% black, 10% white, and 10% other. Anywho, on the tennis team I was the white girl (who really doesn’t look white), while the rest of the team was black and Mexican. We were playing a game at North High (Oildale’s Highschool) and cars kept slowing down and screaming , “GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM, YOU DIRTY WETBACKS/NIGGERS/etc.” At one point I turned around, pointed out my BMW to the stupid hick in some pick up from the 70s and said, “What? The GOOD PART OF TOWN, you hick ass mother fucker?” They just sorta stared at me in shock, then drove off. Good times.
Oh and the middle school in Oildale (Standard MS)- they have monthly Klan meetings in their theater. Seriously. Hoods and everything. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
I still contend that Taft is worse than Oildale though, just in my experience. Of course, they are both bad, bad places.
Oh, and they aren’t trailers! They’re “mobile homes.” 
(I’ve been corrected far too many times).
I will defend Bakersfield to my death though.