A new study found that for the second year in a row, Washington, D.C., is the least desirable place to live in the U.S., with 33% of the participants who took part in the survey ranking it among the top five worst cities in America.
The company behind the poll, Clever, surveyed 1,000 people in June then looked at migration data from the most recent U.S. Census to understand why the nation’s capital has become America’s least desirable city to live in.
This year, 33% of Americans said the District of Columbia is one of the top five worst cities to live in, which is up from 2023, when 20% of Americans held the same opinion.
Clever said politics aside, D.C. is one of the most expensive cities in the country, and 65% of Americans say the excessive cost of living makes a place undesirable.
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Housing costs are also a big contributing factor to the cost of living. According to data acquired through July 31, 2024, Zillow says the median list price of a home in the metropolitan area is $638,000.
Another factor hitting the city’s reputation is crime, and in 2023, D.C. recorded 274 murders, the highest number for more than 20 years.
As D.C. struggles to appeal to people’s desires for a place to live, New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco also ranked in the top 10 undesirable cities to reside in the U.S.
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Los Angeles housing costs have become so far out of reach that the annual income needed to purchase a home surpasses residents’ actual income by about $162,000, Clever reported.
Cities like Baltimore and Detroit may be affordable, but the lack of public safety landed them on the lists of least desirable cities to live in.
Detroit leads the country for rapes, murders and aggravated assaults, the study stated, while Baltimore leads the country in murders and robberies per 100,000 residents.
On the lighter side, Tampa, Florida, was ranked the most desirable city in America to live in, with the study noting year-round warmth, low crime and affordable housing as contributing factors.
Coming in second was Charlotte, North Carolina, and Virginia Beach, Virginia, rounded out the top three.
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