Now I Know Why I Miss Texas

Is Your Town Down?

Which towns stand in the face of depression
By: Sara Vigneri

Maybe it was all those years of futility for the Phillies. Or the shadows
cast by New York City to the north and Washington, D.C., to the south.
Whatever the reasons, Philadelphia has earned the melancholy distinction
of
being America's most depressed city, followed closely by Detroit and St.
Petersburg, Florida. Men's Health compiled this list based on
antidepressant
sales, courtesy of NDC Health; suicide rates, from the Centers for
Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC); and the number of days inhabitants reported
being depressed, based on the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System, accessed through bestplaces.net.
Where can you find happiness? Texas, that's where. Three of its cities
placed in the top four: number one, Laredo; number two, El Paso; and
number
four, Corpus Christi.
The 20 Happiest Cities 1. Laredo, TX: A+
2.El Paso, TX: A+
3. Jersey City, NJ: A+ 4. Corpus Christi, TX: A+
5. Baton Rouge, LA: A
6. Honolulu, HI: A-
7. Fresno, CA: A-
8. San Jose, CA: A-
9. Lincoln, NE: B+
10. Bakersfield, CA: B+
11. Buffalo, NY: B+
12. Anchorage, AK: B+
13. Stockton, CA: B+
14. Shreveport, LA: B+
15. (3-way tie) Madison, WI: B, Montgomery, AL: B, and Des Moines, IA: B
18. Wichita, KS: B
19. (tie) Sacramento, CA: B and Omaha, NE: B

The 20 Most Depressed Cities
1. Philadelphia, PA: F
2. Detroit, MI: F
3. St. Petersburg, FL: F
4. St. Louis, MO: F
5. Tampa, FL: F
6. Indianapolis, IN: F
7. (3-way tie) Mesa, AZ: F, Phoenix, AZ: F, and Scottsdale, AZ: F
10. Cleveland, OH: F
11. New York, NY: D-
12. Salt Lake City, UT: D-
13. Atlanta, GA: D
14. (3-way tie) Yonkers, NY: D, Pittsburgh, PA: D, and Kansas City, MO: D
17. (3-way tie) Long Beach, CA: D, Los Angeles, CA: D, Nashville, TN" D
20. Portland, OR: D