Posted by: Adam McCann

Las Vegas isn’t the only “Sin City” in America. In other cities, bad things happen and stay there, too. From beer-loving Milwaukee to hedonistic New Orleans, the U.S. is filled with people behaving illicitly. No place is innocent. We all have demons.

But at some point, we all have to pay for our vices. Gambling addiction, for instance, leads to $100 billion in losses for U.S. consumers every year. In 2017, identity theft and fraud took a toll of $16 billion. And every year, smoking burns a $300 billion hole in Uncle Sam’s wallet.

Luckily for the saints among us, all American sins are not created, or distributed, equally. In order to identify the darkest corners of America, WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 37 key indicators of evil deeds. Our data set ranges from violent crimes per capita to excessive drinking to adult entertainment establishments per capita. Read on to see the baddest of the bad cities, the full ranking, and additional insight from a panel of experts.

1. Main Findings
2. Ask the Experts
3. Methodology

Main Findings Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/29846/geochart.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="https://ift.tt/2PWIjnW>

Most Sinful Cities in America

Overall Rank*	City	WalletHub Vice Index	‘Anger & Hatred’ Rank	‘Jealousy’ Rank	‘Excesses & Vices’ Rank	‘Greed’ Rank	‘Lust’ Rank	‘Vanity’ Rank	‘Laziness’ Rank
1	Las Vegas, NV	61.32	16	35	33	5	12	4	3
2	Los Angeles, CA	55.04	25	59	155	103	1	1	86
3	New York, NY	52.91	34	153	159	101	3	2	20
4	Houston, TX	52.69	57	42	88	51	2	8	77
5	St. Louis, MO	52.34	1	44	1	69	29	30	44
6	Atlanta, GA	52.27	31	2	83	167	4	7	47
7	Miami, FL	51.58	94	4	151	85	17	5	4
8	Philadelphia, PA	51.23	7	53	15	40	13	26	27
9	Chicago, IL	50.98	41	57	75	84	6	6	83
10	Orlando, FL	50.58	5	5	52	164	22	9	66
11	Denver, CO	49.54	38	71	17	48	5	16	114
12	Detroit, MI	49.47	2	3	6	136	25	130	7
13	Dallas, TX	48.82	35	11	85	134	7	12	119
14	North Las Vegas, NV	48.14	115	45	34	5	74	56	1
15	Phoenix, AZ	47.93	51	46	45	123	8	17	58
16	Tampa, FL	47.44	109	32	39	93	9	14	54
17	Baltimore, MD	46.42	14	56	11	114	14	65	28
18	Portland, OR	46.30	98	52	56	18	15	24	111
19	New Orleans, LA	45.98	17	92	4	80	18	87	39
20	Cleveland, OH	45.88	23	36	40	115	31	40	15
21	Reno, NV	45.85	105	110	26	2	63	73	32
22	Cincinnati, OH	45.77	26	75	2	92	85	25	35
23	Washington, DC	45.29	4	86	66	11	11	53	160
24	Henderson, NV	45.05	128	58	105	5	69	74	9
25	Pittsburgh, PA	44.83	15	134	19	49	108	15	110
26	San Francisco, CA	44.52	63	7	163	99	19	13	165
27	Charleston, WV	44.20	13	31	16	53	67	122	33
28	San Antonio, TX	44.14	110	66	55	78	10	19	85
29	Gulfport, MS	43.94	85	108	72	1	33	150	14
30	Columbia, SC	43.85	48	33	5	53	131	50	17
31	San Diego, CA	43.82	154	122	135	86	20	3	166
32	Knoxville, TN	43.75	12	82	7	133	134	21	67
33	Jacksonville, FL	43.70	60	19	3	173	26	31	53
34	Fort Lauderdale, FL	43.58	42	1	154	160	78	33	22
35	Baton Rouge, LA	43.53	3	102	32	138	109	45	21
36	Tucson, AZ	43.52	20	34	50	119	57	41	48
37	Little Rock, AR	43.35	6	22	44	153	71	106	11
38	Minneapolis, MN	43.25	65	104	134	16	30	27	146
39	Sacramento, CA	43.21	88	51	106	25	82	18	90
40	Austin, TX	42.67	67	87	110	45	49	11	163
41	Albuquerque, NM	42.61	76	9	9	124	64	51	80
42	Memphis, TN	42.54	10	10	70	178	28	111	18
43	Kansas City, MO	42.43	8	72	24	97	38	97	126
44	Mobile, AL	42.39	64	41	20	140	73	62	8
45	Indianapolis, IN	42.19	50	78	10	165	24	35	60
46	Louisville, KY	42.11	78	85	8	131	45	34	59
47	Seattle, WA	42.10	21	43	161	52	48	20	164
48	Columbus, OH	42.06	19	116	28	146	44	38	74
49	Scottsdale, AZ	42.03	133	91	142	32	83	10	121
50	Wichita, KS	41.69	29	72	59	46	47	55	127
51	Nashville, TN	41.44	71	88	14	143	36	43	64
52	Bakersfield, CA	41.13	111	65	18	112	40	44	57
53	Richmond, VA	41.12	54	135	30	106	51	36	62
54	Birmingham, AL	40.71	27	48	22	162	79	61	29
55	Charleston, SC	40.60	11	133	43	53	93	46	105
56	Toledo, OH	40.25	43	129	23	127	61	121	10
57	Chattanooga, TN	40.23	24	40	47	159	119	85	38
58	Charlotte, NC	40.05	123	38	46	125	42	23	140
59	Tempe, AZ	40.00	124	39	101	71	97	42	43
60	Springfield, MO	39.89	62	23	21	157	87	48	89
61	Billings, MT	39.61	53	126	42	3	88	98	169
62	Fort Worth, TX	39.45	118	14	97	149	41	32	134
63	San Bernardino, CA	39.36	32	83	118	36	120	136	19
64	Oklahoma City, OK	39.28	33	143	78	152	27	54	73
65	Akron, OH	39.19	95	105	29	130	62	77	31
66	Milwaukee, WI	39.18	40	112	31	128	68	76	79
67	Fort Smith, AR	39.08	72	157	58	53	21	114	13
68	Spokane, WA	39.07	107	18	57	50	132	75	130
69	Colorado Springs, CO	38.88	37	103	38	111	91	63	109
70	Fayetteville, NC	38.41	83	74	12	142	56	88	104
71	Augusta, GA	38.41	47	50	93	172	60	127	5
72	St. Petersburg, FL	38.37	117	8	77	156	126	99	40
73	Jackson, MS	38.22	56	106	132	24	104	161	12
74	Missoula, MT	38.19	44	69	27	3	165	148	173
75	Rapid City, SD	38.12	9	156	117	17	54	142	155
76	Boston, MA	38.07	44	161	128	23	59	69	97
77	Providence, RI	38.07	165	124	61	8	70	153	24
78	Fresno, CA	37.92	116	95	89	108	35	68	76
79	Tacoma, WA	37.91	132	37	54	47	141	64	123
80	Stockton, CA	37.86	92	55	100	68	103	135	51
81	Shreveport, LA	37.79	49	63	64	166	65	113	26
82	Tulsa, OK	37.49	108	81	36	161	55	52	75
83	Wilmington, DE	37.43	28	20	37	168	148	128	113
84	Newark, NJ	37.38	82	125	160	9	123	168	6
85	Garland, TX	37.21	73	16	143	129	46	166	98
86	Salt Lake City, UT	37.07	79	27	147	177	52	22	143
87	Irving, TX	36.93	126	17	144	74	58	147	102
88	Glendale, AZ	36.91	145	29	73	122	105	86	50
89	Vancouver, WA	36.85	121	119	108	94	138	37	101
90	Montgomery, AL	36.78	68	25	74	174	84	125	16
91	Huntington, WV	36.68	39	164	25	53	89	129	34
92	Aurora, CO	36.60	113	90	51	13	144	131	87
93	Buffalo, NY	36.41	96	140	71	109	133	83	30
94	Arlington, TX	36.41	137	15	140	74	95	110	118
95	Mesa, AZ	36.35	134	89	84	71	114	90	55
96	Grand Prairie, TX	36.34	147	21	125	74	34	170	100
97	Riverside, CA	36.29	143	114	79	36	128	60	68
98	Anchorage, AK	36.16	22	101	95	79	124	109	171
99	El Paso, TX	35.97	167	159	114	88	16	105	52
100	Gilbert, AZ	35.95	131	109	48	139	72	71	96
101	Modesto, CA	35.93	102	117	126	35	66	112	94
102	Hialeah, FL	35.88	166	12	165	145	146	154	2
103	Omaha, NE	35.84	97	145	49	98	81	49	158
104	Salem, OR	35.70	127	152	68	19	101	79	72
105	Chandler, AZ	35.64	141	84	87	90	113	80	88
106	Raleigh, NC	35.49	84	26	136	126	127	47	142
107	Lexington-Fayette, KY	35.35	30	141	13	171	96	81	137
108	Rochester, NY	35.22	106	127	116	144	147	39	65
109	Huntsville, AL	35.17	120	70	96	116	117	102	69
110	Ontario, CA	35.05	135	123	102	36	94	157	41
111	Columbus, GA	34.97	90	30	103	182	43	133	84
112	Oakland, CA	34.96	86	6	173	95	167	101	144
113	Amarillo, TX	34.86	75	132	122	150	39	92	145
114	Corpus Christi, TX	34.61	119	128	127	77	32	155	124
115	Peoria, AZ	34.60	136	93	82	137	77	141	81
116	St. Paul, MN	34.60	170	142	153	20	118	66	149
117	Grand Rapids, MI	34.54	54	96	67	181	98	59	108
118	Pembroke Pines, FL	34.48	180	13	167	110	149	149	23
119	Lubbock, TX	34.41	36	130	35	163	86	108	138
120	Santa Clarita, CA	34.30	138	100	164	26	116	78	122
121	Cheyenne, WY	34.15	46	98	112	151	100	139	107
122	Juneau, AK	34.06	18	94	65	53	159	163	131
123	Greensboro, NC	34.00	104	111	63	158	115	84	112
124	San Jose, CA	33.90	155	76	179	102	76	28	156
125	Tallahassee, FL	33.82	103	24	53	169	175	82	132
126	Dover, DE	33.67	80	47	60	148	143	126	153
127	Long Beach, CA	33.43	148	54	168	118	130	57	91
128	Laredo, TX	33.20	175	173	92	34	37	177	49
129	Honolulu, HI	33.16	157	170	172	70	53	70	117
130	New Haven, CT	33.06	59	61	120	179	157	173	45
131	Santa Ana, CA	33.03	156	77	141	26	139	138	99
132	Fontana, CA	33.00	163	148	90	36	111	172	46
133	Winston-Salem, NC	32.90	146	79	80	96	112	146	82
134	Nampa, ID	32.86	61	150	107	53	99	156	128
135	Rancho Cucamonga, CA	32.80	158	137	156	117	75	96	78
136	Anaheim, CA	32.75	160	60	157	26	121	123	135
137	Worcester, MA	32.69	151	169	109	12	161	132	70
138	Glendale, CA	32.42	176	99	174	26	125	100	103
139	Sioux Falls, SD	32.35	66	175	130	21	152	115	178
140	Overland Park, KS	32.27	74	154	169	15	171	93	177
141	Casper, WY	32.23	52	171	98	53	92	143	95
142	Fort Wayne, IN	32.21	125	131	62	170	90	67	120
143	Cape Coral, FL	32.20	179	49	149	155	102	151	36
144	Huntington Beach, CA	32.15	153	80	178	113	162	29	167
145	Des Moines, IA	32.14	100	144	121	82	122	124	151
146	Lincoln, NE	31.74	58	162	124	73	155	103	162
147	Durham, NC	31.68	139	68	139	33	164	140	152
148	Jersey City, NJ	31.63	150	147	175	9	135	171	56
149	Warwick, RI	31.39	181	160	76	53	173	118	63
150	Moreno Valley, CA	31.28	159	113	86	121	151	178	61
151	Manchester, NH	30.75	91	149	81	154	168	116	154
152	Oceanside, CA	30.72	140	115	150	100	158	104	159
153	Madison, WI	30.69	77	165	91	104	169	91	179
154	West Valley City, UT	30.68	114	118	148	53	110	176	136
155	Aurora, IL	30.68	164	121	115	87	166	174	93
156	Boise, ID	30.64	81	155	133	135	154	94	174
157	Norfolk, VA	30.63	112	179	41	41	80	137	133
158	Chula Vista, CA	30.50	169	139	138	88	129	144	148
158	Oxnard, CA	30.50	142	120	129	91	140	162	147
160	Garden Grove, CA	30.47	171	67	170	26	160	159	115
161	Brownsville, TX	30.40	162	166	166	107	50	180	25
162	Port St. Lucie, FL	30.31	178	136	99	141	145	165	37
163	Las Cruces, NM	30.15	129	97	146	175	23	167	141
164	Fargo, ND	30.08	87	172	152	14	174	117	176
165	Santa Rosa, CA	30.00	161	146	162	81	176	72	139
166	Bismarck, ND	29.97	92	176	137	83	137	107	157
167	Plano, TX	29.54	172	28	171	147	156	89	180
168	Lewiston, ME	29.28	70	178	69	53	106	169	150
169	Nashua, NH	28.82	99	167	94	120	172	160	161
170	Irvine, CA	28.44	182	107	182	26	150	120	168
171	Yonkers, NY	28.39	152	158	177	132	178	119	42
172	Newport News, VA	28.35	122	180	119	41	107	145	116
173	Fremont, CA	27.91	173	62	180	22	170	164	170
174	Virginia Beach, VA	27.67	168	182	123	41	142	58	125
175	Bridgeport, CT	27.60	101	138	158	179	177	175	71
176	Cedar Rapids, IA	26.86	130	163	145	175	153	95	172
177	Portland, ME	26.63	69	168	111	53	179	152	181
178	Chesapeake, VA	26.50	149	181	104	41	163	134	92
179	Burlington, VT	25.77	89	174	113	53	181	179	175
180	Columbia, MD	25.35	177	64	181	105	180	158	106
181	Pearl City, HI	24.50	174	151	176	53	136	181	129
182	South Burlington, VT	21.19	144	177	131	53	182	182	182

*No. 1 = Most Sinful

Ask the Experts

The sins people commit every day lead many to wonder what incites them, whether certain evil acts are worse than others and how people can conquer their inner demons. We posed these questions to a panel of experts. Below, you can read their bios and thoughts on the following key questions:

1. To what extent is sinful behavior innate versus influenced by your surroundings?
2. What makes some cities more sinful than others? Laws? Culture?
3. Is cheating within marriage becoming more or less common over time?
4. Should government play a role in trying to reduce greed and consumerism?
5. What are some effective strategies for combating addiction and domestic violence?

< >

• Suzanne Bartle-Haring Ph.D. – Professor, Program Director, Couple and Family Therapy, College of Education and Human Ecology Human Sciences, Ohio State University
• Bryce J. Christensen Assistant Professor, Southern Utah University
• Luke Tse Chair, Professor of Psychology, Cedarville University
• Nicholas H. Wolfinger Professor, Department of Family and Consumer Studies, Adjunct Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Utah

Methodology

In order to determine the most sinful cities in America, WalletHub compared 182 cities — including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state — across seven key dimensions: 1) Anger & Hatred, 2) Jealousy, 3) Excesses & Vices, 4) Greed, 5) Lust, 6) Vanity and 7) Laziness.

We examined those dimensions using 37 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of sinfulness. Please note that data for metrics marked with an asterisk (*) were available at the state level only. For metrics marked with two asterisks (**), the square root of the population was used to calculate the population size in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across cities.

Finally, we calculated the overall score, or WalletHub Vice Index, for each city based on its weighted average across all metrics and used the resulting scores to rank-order the cities.

Anger & Hatred – Total Points: 14.3

• Violent Crimes per Capita: Full Weight (~1.79 Points)
• Sex Offenders per Capita: Full Weight (~1.79 Points)
• Bullying Rate*: Full Weight (~1.79 Points)
• Hate-Crime Incidents per Capita: Full Weight (~1.79 Points)
• Hate Groups per Capita: Full Weight (~1.79 Points)
• Deaths due to Firearms per 100,000 Population: Full Weight (~1.79 Points)
• Number of Mass Shootings: Full Weight (~1.79 Points)
• Presence of Terrorist Attacks: Full Weight (~1.79 Points)Note: Binary metric:
  1 – There was a terrorist attack or related incident in the city
  0 – There wasn’t a terrorist attack or related incident in the city

Jealousy – Total Points: 14.3

• Thefts per Capita: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)
• Identity-Theft Complaints per Capita: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)
• Fraud & Other Complaints per Capita: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)

Excesses & Vices – Total Points: 14.3

• Share of Obese Adults: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Fast-Food Establishments per Capita**: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Excessive Drinking: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)Note: This metric measures the age-adjusted prevalence of binge and heavy drinking among the adult population.
• DUI-Related Fatalities per Capita: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Share of Adult Smokers: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Share of Adult Coffee Drinkers: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)Note: This metric measures the percentage of adults who drank ready-to-drink coffee in the past six months.
• Share of Population Using Marijuana: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)Note: This metric measures the percentage of residents aged 12 and older who used marijuana in the past month.
• Retail Opioid Prescriptions Dispensed per 100 Persons: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Drug Overdose Deaths: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)Note: This metric measures the number of deaths due to drug poisoning per 100,000 residents.
• Debt-to-Income Ratio: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)

Greed – Total Points: 14.3

• Casinos per Capita**: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)
• Charitable Donations as Share of Income: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)
• Share of Adults with Gambling Disorders*: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)

Lust – Total Points: 14.3

• Adult Entertainment Establishments per Capita**: Full Weight (~3.58 Points)
• Google Search Interest Index for “XXX Entertainment”: Full Weight (~3.58 Points)Note: This metric measures search interest for “XXX”, “Gentlemen's Club”, “Striptease”, “Red Light District”, “call escort”, “porn”, “pornhub.com”, “xvideos.com” and “livejasmin.com”, “Youporn.com”, “Ashley Madison”, “married dating” and “affairs”.
• “Most Active Tinder Users” Ranking: Full Weight (~3.58 Points)
• Teen Birth Rate: Full Weight (~3.58 Points)Note: This metric measures the number of births per 1,000 female residents aged 15 to 19.

Vanity – Total Points: 14.3

• Beauty Salons per Capita**: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)
• Tanning Salons per Capita**: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)
• Google Search Interest Index for “Top 5 Plastic Surgeries”: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)Note: This metric measures search interest for the five most common plastic surgery procedures (breast augmentation, liposuction, rhinoplasty, blepharoplasty and facelift) as a share of the national average.

Laziness – Total Points: 14.3

• Share of Adults Not Exercising: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
• Average Weekly Hours Worked: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
• Volunteer Rate: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
• Average Daily Time Spent Watching TV*: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
• High School Dropout Rate: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)Note: This metric was adjusted by the poverty rate.
• Disconnected Youth (16-24) Rate: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)Note: Disconnected youth are teenagers and young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 who are neither in school nor working.

 Videos for News Use:

• YouTube (for web embedding National)
• YouTube (for web embedding Las Vegas, NV)
• Raw files (for editing into clips)

 Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Advameg, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Trade Commission, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, County Health Rankings, TransUnion, Yelp, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, National Council on Problem Gambling, Corporation for National and Community Service, Esri's Updated Demographics (2018 estimates), The Southern Poverty Law Center, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Wm. Robert Johnston, Gun Violence Archive, Google and Tinder.

Image: Karramba Production / Shutterstock.com

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