The holidays are here, and one thing they’re known for is encouraging indulgence, such as overeating and overspending. This can lead to unfortunate economic consequences, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when money is already tight for many people.
In light of this dark pattern perpetuated every holiday season, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the 2020’s Most Sinful Cities in America, as well as accompanying videos. To determine the most wicked places in America, WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities based on seven sinful behaviors: anger and hatred, jealousy, excesses and vices, greed, lust, vanity and laziness.
Here are some highlights from the report:| Most Sinful Cities | Least Sinful Cities |
| 1. Las Vegas, NV | 173. Santa Rosa, CA |
| 2. Los Angeles, CA | 174. Oxnard, CA |
| 3. St. Louis, MO | 175. Columbia, MD |
| 4. Houston, TX | 176. Madison, WI |
| 5. Atlanta, GA | 177. Cape Coral, FL |
| 6. Miami, FL | 178. Port St. Lucie, FL |
| 7. Philadelphia, PA | 179. Fremont, CA |
| 8. Denver, CO | 180. Bridgeport, CT |
| 9. Washington, DC | 181. South Burlington, VT |
| 10. New York, NY | 182. Pearl City, HI |
Most vs. Least Sinful
- Irvine, California, has the lowest violent crime rate, 0.64, which is 30.7 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest at 19.65.
- Port St. Lucie, Florida, has the fewest thefts (per 1,000 residents), 8.74, which is 9.1 times fewer than in Springfield, Missouri, the city with the most at 79.81.
- Irvine, California, has the lowest share of obese adults, 16.10 percent, which is 2.8 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest at 44.90 percent.
- San Jose, California, has the lowest share of adult smokers, 8.27 percent, which is three times lower than in St. Louis, the city with the highest at 24.60 percent.
- Detroit has the fewest tanning salons (per square root of population), 0.003646, which is 59.2 times fewer than in Las Vegas, the city with the most at 0.216017.
