Believers understandably want to live and raise their families in safe, wholesome areas where hard work is encouraged and crime is minimal. Unfortunately, many cities in America can’t claim this picturesque existence, as is outlined in the following information about America’s most sinful cities.
WalletHub completed their annual report entitled “Most Sinful Cities in America.” To determine if a city deserves to be labeled “sinful,” WalletHub ranked cities by their most egregious behaviors, such as anger, jealousy, hatred, vices, excesses, vanity, laziness, greed and lust.
To quantify this, WalletHub considered factors such as how many casinos and adult entertainment establishments existed per capita, as well as how many thefts, DUI-related fatalities, violent crimes, and sex offenders a city had per capita. They also considered if there was excessive drinking, a high debt to income ratio, disconnected youth, obese adults and high teen birth rate. The organization looked at 182 American cities, which were most often some of the largest in America. They then analyzed each city based on the factors already outlined, and assigned each city a score within their report. The higher the number, the more sinful the city was determined to be, with the highest possible score being a 100.
The Most Sinful Cities in America
It is hardly surprising that the city, nicknamed “Sin City” would top the list of America’s most sinful cities. That’s right, Las Vegas once again comes in on top of the list in WalletHub’s report. Las Vegas came in with an overall score of 61.32 and was followed by cities listed below, which rounded up the top ten most sinful in the nation and all finished with a score of 50 or greater:
- Los Angeles, California
- New York City, New York
- Houston, Texas
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Miami, Florida
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Chicago, Illinois
- Orlando, Florida
WalletHub shared that Las Vegas was far from the only “Sin City” that calls America home.
“Las Vegas isn’t the only ‘Sin City’ in America,” the study’s authors said. “In other cities, bad things happen and stay there, too. From beer-loving Milwaukee to hedonistic New Orleans, the U.S. is filled with people behaving illicitly. No place is innocent. We all have demons.”
A Deeper Look at The Study
WallHub didn’t stop with a broad list of the sinful cities. They broke each category down and looked at the cities that ranked particularly bad in that field, even if they weren’t in other “sinful” areas. For example, when they evaluated the cities using the criteria of most violent crimes per capita alone, the following cities were called out as being the worst offenders:
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Detroit, Michigan
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Kansas City, Missouri
When it comes to thefts, the cities lined up as follows:
- Springfield, Missouri
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Charleston, West Virginia
- Spokane, Washington
The Solution to America’s Sin Problem
While compiling their eye opening study, WalletHub also reached out to find what various professionals felt was the best way to counteract the rampant nature of sin across the nation. Luke Tse, a professor at Cedarville University, says we all share in this sin one way or another.
“In the eyes of God, ‘there is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God,” he said. “All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one’ (Romans 3:10). The stark reality is that there is no one anywhere who is more or less sinful than another. That’s why we cannot save ourselves and that we are all in need of God’s salvation, which He has given to us as a gift and which we should accept.”
He goes on to add, “Because we are innately sinful and are surrounded by more bad influences than good, it is not possible for us to get ourselves out of our plights. We need God!”
Unfortunately, believers can’t avoid sinfulness altogether. All of God’s children need Him and all are sinful. Of course, knowing the most sinful cities in America is helpful for those wishing to avoid certain negative situations, which makes this report interesting for believers. However, God alone can heal the land and provide recompense for sinfulness.
~ 1776 Christian
