WalletHub has released its 2024 list of the most “sinful” cities in America — and one city stands above the rest in Florida.
“Las Vegas isn’t the only ‘Sin City’ in America. In other cities, bad things happen and stay there, too,” the study reads. “From beer-loving Milwaukee to decadent New Orleans, the U.S. is filled with people behaving illicitly.”
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To determine which of the 182 cities in the ranking suffered the most from vice, WalletHub used the following methodology:
- ANGER/HATRED: Rates of violent crime, sex offenders, bullying, aggravated assault, hate crimes, hate groups, firearm deaths, mass shootings and terrorist attacks
- JEALOUSY: Rates of theft, identity theft, fraud
- EXCESSES: Rates of obesity, fast-food establishments, excessive drinking, DUI-related deaths, smokers, coffee drinkers, marijuana users, retail opioid prescriptions, drug overdose deaths, and debt-to-income ratio
- GREED: Rates of casinos, charitable donations, gambling disorders
- LUST: Number of adult entertainment establishments, Google search interest index for “XXX Entertainment,” Google search traffic for the term “Tinder,” teen birth rates
- VANITY: Tanning salons per capita, Google search interest index for “Top 5 plastic surgeries”
- LAZINESS: Rate of adults not exercising, average weekly hours worked, volunteer rate, average daily time spent watching TV, high school dropout rate, disconnected youth rate
When all of those metrics were tallied up, the study found that Las Vegas was (fittingly) the No. 1 city on the list, followed by Houston (No. 2) and Los Angeles (No. 3).
Meanwhile, the highest-scoring city in the Sunshine State was Miami at No. 8. The Magic City ranked highly in terms of jealousy, lust and vanity.
Closer to Central Florida, Orlando came in at No. 13, with high scores for anger and jealousy in particular.
Other Florida cities to make the ranking include Tampa, (No. 27), Fort Lauderdale (No. 29), Jacksonville (No. 49), St. Petersburg (No. 87), Hialeah (No. 109), Pembroke Pines (No. 139), Tallahassee (No. 140), Cape Coral (No. 177) and Port St. Lucie (No. 180).
Details for the top 30 cities on the ranking are as follows:
| Rank | City | Vice Index | Anger Rank | Jealousy Rank | Excesses Rank | Greed Rank | Lust Rank | Vanity Rank | Laziness Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Las Vegas, NV | 60.82 | 28 | 8 | 90 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| 2 | Houston, TX | 54.43 | 50 | 5 | 110 | 49 | 1 | 7 | 114 |
| 3 | Los Angeles, CA | 53.79 | 19 | 35 | 164 | 92 | 4 | 1 | 82 |
| 4 | Atlanta, GA | 53.56 | 9 | 1 | 104 | 169 | 2 | 10 | 64 |
| 5 | Philadelphia, PA | 52.55 | 2 | 3 | 52 | 87 | 11 | 21 | 31 |
| 6 | Denver, CO | 52.39 | 14 | 18 | 33 | 41 | 8 | 15 | 86 |
| 7 | Phoenix, AZ | 51.81 | 59 | 66 | 59 | 69 | 5 | 4 | 32 |
| 8 | Miami, FL | 51.18 | 102 | 7 | 152 | 99 | 9 | 5 | 14 |
| 9 | Dallas, TX | 51.16 | 32 | 10 | 89 | 110 | 6 | 9 | 94 |
| 10 | St. Louis, MO | 49.56 | 8 | 22 | 1 | 63 | 34 | 45 | 42 |
| 11 | Cleveland, OH | 48.28 | 4 | 12 | 13 | 152 | 20 | 35 | 26 |
| 12 | New York, NY | 48.05 | 33 | 100 | 175 | 113 | 7 | 3 | 29 |
| 13 | Orlando, FL | 48.04 | 11 | 6 | 85 | 168 | 15 | 14 | 118 |
| 14 | North Las Vegas, NV | 47.78 | 144 | 16 | 49 | 1 | 98 | 22 | 5 |
| 15 | Memphis, TN | 47.43 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 118 | 29 | 126 | 23 |
| 16 | Chicago, IL | 47.39 | 46 | 50 | 138 | 83 | 16 | 8 | 80 |
| 17 | Baton Rouge, LA | 47.23 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 96 | 111 | 38 | 20 |
| 18 | New Orleans, LA | 45.92 | 21 | 19 | 7 | 62 | 39 | 90 | 34 |
| 19 | Baltimore, MD | 45.22 | 15 | 44 | 16 | 148 | 13 | 65 | 53 |
| 20 | Birmingham, AL | 44.81 | 1 | 38 | 4 | 149 | 65 | 85 | 47 |
| 21 | Detroit, MI | 44.69 | 12 | 28 | 9 | 156 | 21 | 157 | 4 |
| 22 | Richmond, VA | 44.67 | 10 | 55 | 10 | 79 | 59 | 47 | 71 |
| 23 | San Antonio, TX | 44.61 | 85 | 34 | 81 | 39 | 19 | 27 | 62 |
| 24 | Portland, OR | 43.93 | 43 | 37 | 97 | 22 | 14 | 41 | 179 |
| 25 | Pittsburgh, PA | 43.79 | 36 | 99 | 38 | 58 | 81 | 11 | 147 |
| 26 | Austin, TX | 43.64 | 71 | 57 | 129 | 67 | 17 | 13 | 173 |
| 27 | Tampa, FL | 43.63 | 71 | 57 | 129 | 67 | 17 | 13 | 173 |
| 28 | Nashville, TN | 43.44 | 38 | 80 | 11 | 105 | 33 | 26 | 79 |
| 29 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 43.14 | 41 | 2 | 102 | 93 | 113 | 52 | 57 |
| 30 | San Diego, CA | 42.62 | 136 | 128 | 161 | 71 | 32 | 2 | 133 |