America’s Rudest Cities: Where Residents Report the Most Bad Behavior

A simple greeting met with a cold shoulder. A routine trip to the grocery store disturbed by an obnoxiously loud call on speakerphone. A tasty dinner ruined by another diner snapping at a waitress to get her attention. These are all rude behaviors that, when occasionally witnessed, hardly warrant our attention, but when you’re routinely exposed to impolite actions, they begin to wear on you.

At SolitaireStreak, we believe everyone deserves a break from everyday frustrations, and sometimes that means stepping away and unwinding with a quick game. But it also got us wondering: where in the U.S. are people most likely to encounter rude behavior?

To find out, we surveyed residents in 40 of the most populated cities and asked how often they witness certain rude behaviors, where residents tend to be rudest, how behaviors have changed in the past year, and more. We then awarded points to responses that represented rude behavior and calculated a rudeness score for each city. Read on to learn which parts of the country topped our ranking.

Key Takeaways

• Miami, FL, Las Vegas, NV, and Philadelphia, PA, were named the rudest cities in America.
• Being absorbed by their phones and waiting until the last moment to merge are the most common rude behaviors Americans frequently witness in their city.
• Americans are most likely to say people in their city are rudest on roads and highways and on public transit.
• 1 in 3 Americans say residents in their city have become ruder in the past year.
• 1 in 4 Americans think their city has the rudest residents in the state.
• 1 in 5 Americans have considered moving somewhere else due to people’s rude behavior in their city.

These Cities Ranked the Rudest in America

While some Americans only encounter rude people in their city on occasion, others cross paths with this behavior much more frequently. According to our survey, the following cities stood out for having the highest rudeness scores:

1. Miami, FL: Ranking as the rudest city overall with a rudeness score of 99.29 out of 100, Miami residents don’t think highly of fellow locals. When asked to rank residents on a scale from 0 to 10, with 10 representing extremely rude, Miami received the highest average rating of 6.55.
2. Las Vegas, NV: Coming in second with a rudeness score of 97.77 out of 100, Las Vegas residents are also the most likely to feel locals in their city are the rudest in the state, with 62% saying so.
3. Philadelphia, PA: Ranking third with a rudeness score of 89.93 out of 100, Philadelphia residents report frequently encountering several common rude behaviors. In particular, 75% say they see people talking on speakerphone in shared spaces, while 85% report witnessing drivers ignore basic rules of the road.

For some Americans, this type of behavior is easy to ignore, but for some, it has led them to think about moving. Specifically, Miami, FL, (42%) Las Vegas, NV, (34%) and Baltimore, MD, (32%) residents are the most likely to have considered moving somewhere else due to people’s rude behavior in their city.

The Rude Behaviors Residents See Most Often

After uncovering the hot spots for rude behavior across the country, we looked at the specific actions earning this reputation. The most common rude behaviors Americans frequently witness are:

1. People being absorbed by their phones, which is the most common behavior, reported by 74% of respondents
2. Drivers waiting until the last moment to merge, reported by 71% of respondents
3. Drivers not letting others merge, reported by 67%
4. A lack of self-awareness in public spaces, reported by 62%
5. Ignoring basic rules of the road, reported by 61%

When asked where people tend to be the most rude in their city, a majority of respondents (56%) said the roads and highways are the worst. This is followed by public transportation (12%), grocery stores (10%), and retail stores (7%).

Rudeness and Daily Life: How It Affects Americans

Our study found that 1 in 3 Americans believe residents of their city have become ruder over the past year. While changes in behavior may sometimes be linked to new residents moving in, 48% of respondents say that native residents are ruder than transplants.

Behavior varies across the country, but 70% of Americans think city dwellers are ruder than people in rural areas. This may stem from denser living conditions in urban environments, or perhaps rural communities are simply kinder.

When considering their own city, 1 in 4 respondents believe residents of their city are the rudest in the state. This sentiment is strongest in Las Vegas, NV (62%) and Miami, FL (57%).

While some people brush off rude encounters, 1 in 5 Americans report that these experiences have made them think about moving elsewhere.

Hit Reset on Rudeness

Regardless of where you live, encountering rude people is inevitable. Our data shows that while some cities rank higher than others, no community is completely immune to everyday discourtesy. From cutting in line to ignoring courtesies in public spaces, these small moments can quietly chip away at your mood if you let them.

Instead of letting someone else’s behavior dictate your day, take a different approach. Step away from the frustration and focus on something entirely yours.

With games like Spider Solitaire to TriPeaks, SolitaireStreak offers a variety of free online games you can play anytime, anywhere. When the world feels a little less polite than it should, deal yourself a hand and reclaim a few minutes of peace.

Methodology

In this study, we set out to learn where Americans are rudest. To do this, we surveyed residents in 40 of the most populated U.S. cities and asked how frequently they witness people in their city exhibiting rude behaviors. We also asked where people tend to be most rude, how behaviors have changed in the past year, and more. We then awarded points to responses that represented rude behaviors and calculated the average score by city and adjusted the rudeness scores on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 representing the rudest behaviors. Using these scores, we then ranked cities accordingly.

In addition to our overall ranking, we also uncovered the most uniquely popular places people see the rudest behaviors in their city. To do this, we calculated the total number of people across the country who say residents are rudest in each place. Finally, we compared the national total mentions of each place in each city to the national total to determine which places are most uniquely popular by city.