The 10 most miserable cities in America

Two cities on our list, Chicago (No. 4) and New York (No. 10) may surprise readers, though they’ve been here before. Both offer myriad opportunities and positives as the homes of financial centers, world-class culture, leading universities, sports teams galore and high-end restaurants. But it isn’t easy living in either city, particularly if you don’t earn a lot of money (and even if you do it can be tough).

Chicago residents must endure long commutes (31 minutes on average), plummeting home prices (37% the past five years), brutal winters and high foreclosure rates (3.3% of homes in 2012, says RealtyTrac). Many residents are giving up on the Windy City, with a net migration out of the city of 107,000 people the past five years, according to Moody’s Analytics.

There is almost as much misery in New York, home to the nation’s longest average commutes (36 minutes) and highest income tax rates (10.5% for those making $100,000). New York has seen a trickle out of the city the past two years, but Moody’s expects those numbers to jump dramatically, with a projected 136,000 more people leaving the city than moving there over the next three years. The only things saving New York from a worse ranking: few foreclosures, and rising home prices.

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