These Tennessee Cities Are Some Of The 'Most Sinful' In America
By Sarah Tate
December 7, 2022
There's apparently more than one "Sin City" in America, and a new report shows how other cities around the country are not so innocent after all. Even if a city praised for its virtues, no place is without is own vices. From gambling and smoking to excessive drinking and laziness, plenty of Americans face health issues and struggles with addiction.
WalletHub compared over 180 cities around the country, including the two most populated cities in each state, to determine which are the most "sinful" in the U.S. True to its nickname, Las Vegas proved that it remains the top Sin City in the country at No. 1, but some of the other cities on the list may come a surprise.
Four cities in Tennessee even managed to find a spot on the list, including one that made the Top 15:
- No. 14: Memphis
- No. 34: Nashville
- No. 41: Knoxville
- No. 67: Chattanooga
Memphis snagged the top spot as the most sinful city in Tennessee, ranking No. 14 overall after receiving high marks across all categories except greed and vanity. It did, however, rank No. 1 in terms of jealousy and even tied for first in the most violent crimes per capita.
Coming in around the middle of the list, Chattanooga was also a standout from other cities for being tied for first place in the number of thefts per capita.
These are the Top 20 Most Sinful Cities In America:
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Houston, Texas
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Los Angeles, California
- Denver, Colorado
- Chicago, Illinois
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Cleveland, Ohio
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Memphis, Tennessee
- New York, New York
- San Bernardino, California
- Dallas, Texas
- Miami, Florida
- North Las Vegas, Nevada
- Kansas City, Missouri
To determine the list, WalletHub compared 182 cities using seven factors, anger & hatred, jealousy, excesses & vices, greed, lust, vanity and laziness. These factors were then evaluated across 38 relevant metrics, including: violent crimes per 1,000 residents, number of mass shootings, hate groups per capita, thefts per 1,000 residents, share of obese adults, share of adult smokers, casinos per capita, erotic/burlesque events per capita, teen birth rate, tanning salons per capita, volunteer rate and high school dropout rate, among others.
Check out WalletHub's full report to see all of the most "sinful" cities around the country.