Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

The Worst Big Cities In The USA According To Americans

A map of the USA with green thumbtacks sticking in certain cities
Photo by Nico Smit on Unsplash

There are so many places to travel to and see in America.

That's one of our mottos.... "See America first!"

But as majestic as this land is, there are places to avoid; thanks to high crime rates, broken down cities, bad weather... to name a few.

So a list of the least popular places could be helpful.

People only have so much travel time in life.

You want to make it count.


Redditor jhffmn21 wanted everyone to detail which parts of America may not be worth the visit and why. So they asked:

"Americans of Reddit, what is the worst big city in the USA and why?"

I could skip a few places, but I'll be kind and stay quiet.

Hadestown

Over It Rose GIF by HULUGiphy

"Bakersfield or Fresno pretty sure the devil has part time vacation homes in both of them."

Ok-Trash-798

"Fresno's unofficial motto being 'At least we're not Bakersfield.'"

Kongo204

Wild

"I passed Camden NJ on a way to a concert - and we stopped at a light and a cop drove up and literally told us 'just run the reds and go do not stop' and as we turned you would just see groups of ppl on corners waiting for a stopped car. It was wild."

MarsReject

"I live an hour from Philly and had to explain this to my wife several times about Camden. She didn't believe me until I ran a red there in front of a cop and nothing happened. She didn't understand then how dangerous Camden can be."

StoryAccomplished938

Back to 55

"East St.Louis, stopped once for gas. Didn’t think I was going to make it back on 55."

Nature_Goulet

"Was both prepared and a bit saddened to see East St. Louis at the top. It really is that bad and there’s no debating it. Crazy amounts of crime, decrepit businesses, broken down neighborhoods. It’s rare to have a night without sirens and gunshots. Would rather take my chances in most war zones than in East St. Louis and I’m a native."

cbb88christian

Mr Trash Wheel

"I haven’t been to every city in the US. But Baltimore could use a little cleaning up since we’re on the subject."

carcinoma_kid

"Awh! Basically one of the only things I know about Baltimore is that it's the home of Mr Trash Wheel and family (the pride of the Baltimore harbor??) and I imagined it as a trash free oasis protected by the Trash Wheel clan... Bummer, I need to get out more."

julez007

"I think every city has great parts. But in my opinion worst parts of Baltimore is pretty... out there."

StewofPuppies

Bodyguard Needed

conan obrien bodyguard GIF by Team CocoGiphy

"Springfield."

canadianzonkey**ck

"I did a wine tasting event in Springfield, when it was over the bar owner insisted on walking me to my car, which I could see from the venue, I told him it wasn't really necessary and he just looked me dead in the face and said 'this is Springfield, yes, it is very necessary.'"

RUfuqingkiddingme

Places you can't walk to your car? That's a no.

So Bland

Over It Wow GIF by The Comeback HBOGiphy

"The worst cities are the most boring cities- the most devoid of personality. So I'm going to say Jacksonville, Florida."

seanofkelley

Poor Places

"Jackson, Mississippi. Very high murder rate, low education, failing infrastructure."

"EDIT: yes I know Jackson isn't a very big city. It just sticks out as being in bad shape."

Cute-King5456

"Jackson was eye opening for me. Where I’m from being ‘poor’ means you don’t have a car or the latest phone and your apartment has roaches. In Jackson if you’re poor you don’t have shoes or running water. It’s like a banana republic that can’t grow bananas."

scumbagstaceysEx

Different Sizes

"I hesitate to answer this because the worst cities in America aren’t big cities. It’s medium and small sized cities that have been hit the hardest by economic changes."

"Places like Gary, IN; Pontiac, MI; Bridgeport, CT; and Lowell, MA. Industrial cities that lost all their jobs and experienced depopulation and rising crime."

"But I don’t know, maybe Hartford. There’s just nothing there. It’s insurance companies and street gangs. That’s it."

simplepleashures

So Hot!

"In my opinion, of the ones I've been to... Miami."

"Anywhere outside of the nightlife scene is absolutely dangerous."

"For example, Wynwood, the art district, is LITERALLY in the middle of one of the worst possible neighborhoods. You enter or exit Wynwood from the wrong direction, don't stop and wait at red lights."

EmployeeRadiant

What Happened?

Is Awesome New York GIF by FriendsGiphy

"Charleston WV, used to be so vibrant and bustling was supposed to become NYC in the mountains is now a dead zone with a struggling infrastructure and an economy that can't keep itself afloat add on the homeless problem which makes all of downtown look like a giant skid row."

_elbon_22

That's a long list of travel... to skip.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Katie Couric; Melania Trump
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for The Michael J. Fox Foundation; Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images

Katie Couric Has Hilariously Shady 1-Word Response To Clip Of Melania Singing In Her Documentary

Finding great moments from the Melania Trump vanity project, her self-titled documentary, may prove difficult. Largely described as a $75 million dollar bribe—$45 million to make and $30 million to market—from Amazon's Jeff Bezos to MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, the film was a bomb at the box office and savaged by critics.

This was despite suspicious bulk ticket purchases during Melania's opening weekend and review bombing by Trump's MAGA minions to try to prop up the film that followed Melania Trump around as she tried to pick out clothes in the 20 days leading up to Trump's second inauguration.

Keep ReadingShow less
Person with MAGA hat
Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images

An Older MAGA Voter's Rant About How Prices Are Going Up Due To Trump Is Getting Epically Skewered

Keith Pedersen, a senior Trump voter, went viral after sharing on Facebook his complaints about how prices for gas, groceries and other essentials are going up under President Trump—and has received some very unsympathetic responses.

In January, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins claimed that food prices were coming down, even as the Consumer Price Index shows grocery costs rose 0.7% in December. Beef, which Rollins elevated near the top of the food pyramid in the dietary guidelines she recently unveiled, increased 1% over the month and was up 16.4% compared with a year earlier.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Brooks Potteiger and Joshua Haymes; James Talarico
@RightWingWatch/X (left and center); Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images (right)

Pete Hegseth's Pastor Prays With MAGA Podcaster That 'God Kills' James Talarico In Bonkers Video

MAGA podcaster Joshua Haymes and pastor Brooks Potteiger—who counts Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth among his congregants—sparked anger after they prayed that "God kills" Texas Senate nominee James Talarico.

Earlier this month, Talarico pulled off an upset against Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett, who has urged Democrats to support his candidacy as the 2026 midterm season kicks off.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from video of crosswalk playing anti-Trump messages
@imfromdenver/Instagram

Someone Hacked Crosswalks In Denver To Play Hilariously NSFW Anti-Trump Messages—And It's Brilliant

Hackers changed the messages on some newly-installed crosswalks in Denver, Colorado, to play messages criticizing President Donald Trump—to the delight of anti-Trumpers.

The crosswalk push-buttons were newly installed and “still bagged,” operating on factory settings that included a default password easily found online, according to Nancy Kuhn of the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. She said the password has now been changed and officials “don’t expect a repeat situation" at these locations.

Keep ReadingShow less
The real cast of "Friends": Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, and David Schwimmer.
Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

An AI Video About Who Would Star In 'Friends' If It Was Cast Today Has Everyone Completely Puzzled

“I’ll be there for you”… except, wait—why is that person playing Chandler Bing? That’s the question viewers kept asking after an AI fan video of Friends began circulating online with some very questionable casting choices.

In a repost by @SweetTexanRose, the user summed up the confusion:

Keep ReadingShow less