ORLANDO, Fla. – This week, WalletHub has revealed its latest ranking of the most “sinful” cities in the country.
The study examines factors related to the colloquial seven sins: anger and hatred, jealousy, excesses and vice, greed, lust, vanity, and laziness.
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These factors include metrics like violent crime, fraud, obesity, casinos, strip clubs, plastic surgery, and weekly hours worked.
“Regardless of any particular religious tenets, certain activities are considered ‘sinful’ by society as a whole.
Sometimes, these activities are always bad, like violent crimes or identity theft. In other cases, they may be relatively harmless in moderation but incredibly destructive when not kept under control, such as alcohol use or gambling.
The most sinful cities are those where illicit activities and vices alike are the most widespread.”
WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo
In what may come as little surprise to many, Las Vegas again ranked as the No. 1 city nationwide.
“Sin City has the second-most casinos per capita, driving many people to lose their money in a failed quest for quick riches and creating the fourth-highest share of residents with gambling problems,” the report reads.
But the Sunshine State didn’t break too far away, with the city of Miami coming in at No. 7.
According to the study, Miami had particular issues with “jealousy” and “lust,” — a common theme among many of the Sunshine State picks on this list. In fact, Miami ranked No. 8 for both of those specific factors.
However, it’s not all bad for Florida; Port St. Lucie actually ranked No. 2 for the lowest thefts per capita, as well as No. 4 for the lowest violent crime rates.
The full ranking of Florida cities is as follows:
| Rank | City | Vice Index | Biggest “Sin” |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Miami | 52.29 | Jealousy / Lust |
| 16 | Orlando | 49.52 | Jealousy |
| 27 | Tampa | 44.34 | Lust |
| 29 | Ft. Lauderdale | 43.80 | Jealousy |
| 30 | Jacksonville | 43.67 | Lust |
| 89 | St. Petersburg | 37.17 | Jealousy |
| 104 | Hialeah | 35.84 | Jealousy |
| 129 | Pembroke Pines | 34.01 | Jealousy |
| 146 | Tallahassee | 32.04 | Jealousy |
| 169 | Cape Coral | 29.77 | Lust |
| 176 | Port St. Lucie | 28.25 | Jealousy |
Meanwhile, the factors used in the study break down as follows:
ANGER AND HATRED
- Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
- Sex offenders per capita
- Aggravated assault offenses known to law enforcement per 1,000 residents
- Bullying rate
- Hate-crime incidents per capita
- Hate groups per capita
- Deaths due to firearms per capita
- Number of mass shootings
- Presence of terrorist attacks
JEALOUSY
- Thefts per 1,000 residents
- Identity theft complaints per capita
- Fraud and other complaints per capita
EXCESSES & VICES
- Share of obese adults
- Fast-food establishments per capita
- Excessive drinking
- DUI-related fatalities per capita
- Share of adult smokers
- Share of adult coffee drinkers
- Share of population using marijuana
- Retail opioid prescriptions dispensed per 100 persons
- Drug overdose deaths
- Debt-to-income ratio
GREED
- Casinos per capita
- Charitable donations as share of income
- Share of adults with gambling disorders
LUST
- Adult entertainment establishments per capita
- Google search interest index for “XXX Entertainment”
- Google search traffic for term “Tinder”
- Teen birth rate
VANITY
- Tanning salons per capita
- Google search interest index for “Top 5 plastic surgeries”
LAZINESS
- Share of adults not exercising
- Average weekly hours worked
- Volunteer rate
- Average daily time spent watching TV
- High school dropout rate
- Disconnected youth