How Angry Is Your City?

[Jimcs50]

How Angry Is Your City?


By Matt Marion; Illustration by Luba Lukova


The last time an entire U.S. city got monumentally mad was back in 1864, when a guy named Sherman paid a little visit to Atlanta. This isn't to say that it takes 100,000 invading troops to make a town lose its temper—Orlando has never been a strategic military target, and yet the folks there are furious. Yes, Orlando, home of the Magic Kingdom and mandated happiness. Who knows? Maybe living in Goofyville wears thin after 35 years.

Our search for evidence of urban anger began with the percentage of men with high blood pressure, from the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (as calculated by Sperling's BestPlaces). We then factored in FBI rates of aggravated assaults and Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers on workplace deaths from assaults and other violence. And because rage and the road often go hand in hand, we also included traffic-congestion data from the Texas Transportation Institute, as well as speeding citations per state from the Governors Highway Safety Association.

Does your city's rank rankle you? We kind of figured it would.

(From most to least angry cities)

1. Orlando, FL 26. Denver, CO 51. Newark, NJ 76. Hartford, CT
2. St. Petersburg, FL 27. Philadelphia, PA 52. Las Vegas, NV 77. Minneapolis, MN
3. Detroit, MI 28. Baton Rouge, LA 53. Columbus, OH 78. Boise, ID
4. Baltimore, MD 29. Fort Worth, TX 54. St. Paul, MN 79. Anaheim, CA
5. Nashville, TN 30. Phoenix, AZ 55. Charleston, WV 80. Norfolk, VA
6. Wilmington, DE 31. Lubbock, TX 56. Kansas City, MO 81. Austin, TX
7. Miami, FL 32. Cleveland, OH 57. New York, NY 82. Fremont, CA
8. Memphis, TN 33. Greensboro, NC 58. Oklahoma, OK 83. Fresno, CA
9. Jacksonville, FL 34. Cincinnati, OH 59. Toledo, OH 84. Anchorage, AK
10. St. Louis, MO 35. Arlington, TX 60. San Antonio, TX 85. Cheyenne, WY
11. Chicago, IL 36. Los Angeles, CA 61. Riverside, CA 86. Rochester, NY
12. Tampa, FL 37. Buffalo, NY 62. Modesto, CA 87. Madison, WI
13. Jackson, MS 38. Grand Rapids, MI 63. Louisville, KY 88. Salt Lake City, UT
14. Albuquerque, NM 39. Boston, MA 64. Honolulu, HI 89. Omaha, NE
15. Charlotte, NC 40. Columbia, SC 65. Richmond, VA 90. Pittsburgh, PA
16. Dallas, TX 41. Tulsa, OK 66. San Francisco, CA 91. Colorado Springs, CO
17. Houston, TX 42. Aurora, CO 67. Bakersfield, CA 92. El Paso, TX
18. Tucson, AZ 43. Seattle, WA 68. Spokane, WA 93. Sioux Falls, SD
19. Indianapolis, IN 44. Sacramento, CA 69. Milwaukee, WI 94. Des Moines, IA
20. Wichita, KS 45. San Diego, CA 70. Jersey City, NJ 95. Burlington, VT
21. Birmingham, AL 46. Montgomery, AL 71. Lexington, KY 96. Portland, OR
22. Providence, RI 47. Raleigh, NC 72. Little Rock, AR 97. Corpus Christi, TX
23. Durham, NC 48. Yonkers, NY 73. Lincoln, NE 98. Fargo, ND
24. Atlanta, GA 49. Oakland, CA 74. Billings, MT 99. Bangor, ME
25. Washington, DC 50. Fort Wayne, IN 75. San Jose, CA 100. Manchester, NH


Two observations:

1.Orlando is number 1??? How can you be angry when you have as many themeparks as Orlando has??? I mean, I have fun in Orlando, it is a great town to just chill out in....this boggles my mind.

2. San Antonio is angrier than Sacramento??? Comon, the Kings with their playoff futility alone would be enough to make one go postal.

[1369]

After living in Central Florida from January to June, it is easy to see how Orlando could top the list seeing how the locals have to deal with a jillion touroids each and every day.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Houston was only #17. I'll fucking kill the bastard that wrote this article!

[sa_butta]

I agree I always have fun in Orlando, but it maybe different if you live there. Maybe they are angry because of all the tourist in their town.

[Darrin]

Detroit - Murders, racial tension, fat people, the poor, the unemployed, and anger. Did anyone think about a correlation between those factors?

I've got to go kill myself for slandering the city in which I live. BRB.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

2. San Antonio is angrier than Sacramento??? Comon, the Kings with their playoff futility alone would be enough to make one go postal.

I know! Factor in the arrival of Artest to the population and that's got to put them over the top.

[sa_butta]

I know! Factor in the arrival of Artest to the population and that's got to put them over the top.Plus isnt Sacramento in the middle of nowhere? Not too much to do in Sac-town from what I hear. I dont know Ive only been to San Francisco.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Plus isnt Sacramento in the middle of nowhere? Not too much to do in Sac-town from what I hear. I dont know Ive only been to San Francisco.

Maybe we're underestimating the calming effects of a ladies man like GIG.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

I'm surprised College Station isn't on that list.

I'd be angry as fuck if I had to deal with that dentist from ther...oh, hey Jim!

[CuckingFunt]

I'm surprised that Sacramento is that high, actually.

Sacramentans are a dellusional bunch -- convinced not only that their city is a bustling metropolis, but that the Kings' roster packed with unimpressive middling talent is just sitting in idle, waiting to ride John Salmons' coattails to the 2007 championship.

[tlongII]

We're # 96!

[slayermin]

We're # 96!

Doesn't Portland have a high suicide rate or is that Seattle?

[Condemned 2 HelLA]

And because rage and the road often go hand in hand, we also included traffic-congestion data

I would've thought that alone would make L.A. #1, with all the road rage and car-to-car animosity that occurs on the surrounding freeways!

[tlongII]

Doesn't Portland have a high suicide rate or is that Seattle?

That would be Seattle. However, the climates are nearly the same so ours is probably pretty high too.

[DarkReign]

#3 motherfuckers!! :madrun

[Spurminator]

I was in Seattle for the last week and a half, and my general impression of the people up there is that they're much more negative than anywhere else I've been. But they do get a lot more outdoor recreation in, and they generally eat healthier, so I imagine that helps them on this (very flawed) list.

[CubanMustGo]

St. Petersburg, #2? Isn't that place like Old Farts "R" Us?

Oh, wait. Never mind. :lol