Gary tops list of 'most miserable cities in America,' Hammond and Anderson included

INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — This is one list you don't want your city to make.

Business Insider compiled data to reveal "the 50 most miserable cities in America," and three Indiana cities made the cut.

Gary topped the list, while Hammond and Anderson ranked 23rd and 35th, respectively.

Data used to determine the list included population change, the percentage of people working, median household incomes, the percentage of people without healthcare, median commute times, and the number of people living in poverty.

Here's what Business Insider said about the three Indiana cities:

Anderson

• Population: 55,000 but fell 2 percent from 2010 to 2018
• Employment: 56 percent
• Poverty Rate: 25 percent
• 2007: GM closed 24 factories over multiple years that would cause 23,000 people to lose their jobs
• 2015: 100 abandoned homes were torn down

Hammond

• Population: 76,000 but fell 6.2 percent from 2010 to 2018
• Employment: 61 percent
• Poverty Rate: 22 percent
• 2014: Study found the city had problems with air and water pollution
• 2019: Swans on George Lake died from lead contamination

Gary

• Population: 75,000 but fell 6 percent from 2010 to 2018
• Employment: Just over 50 percent J
• Poverty Rate: 36 percent
• 2017: A drug-enforcement agent who grew up in the city shared his thoughts with The Guardian: "We used to be the murder capital of the US, but there is hardly anybody left to kill. We used to be the drug capital of the US, but for that you need money, and there aren't jobs or things to steal here."
• 2019: The Department of Community Development listed dozens of abandoned homes for $1.