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Why Two Michigan Cities Are The Most 'Miserable' Places In America

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Detroit 1917

It's not a huge surprise that Detroit, Mich. topped Forbes' list of the most miserable cities in the United States. Another Michigan city, Flint, was the second-most miserable.

Both Detroit and Flint, the hometown of documentary maker Michael Moore, also topped Business Insider's list of major cities in America with the highest crime rates based on FBI statistics.

The BI list looked at cities with at least 100,000 residents and found that Flint had the highest number of violent crimes per 100,000 people while Detroit had the second-highest number of violent crimes.

(The FBI defines violent crimes as murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.)

Forbes used violent crime as one of nine factors to determine the most miserable cities, along with unemployment, taxes, and "quality of life" issues like commute time.

(New York, which famously shook off its reputation as a dangerous place, also made the list of most miserable because its so expensive.)

It's pretty clear that Detroit and Flint's financial woes are tied to its high violence rates, and in turn, the apparent misery of its residents.

Detroit may file for bankruptcy, and it could even be taken over by the state.

Forbes points out that Detroit's financial issues have forced it to cut back its police force. In turn, the high crime rates are spurring people to leave and lowering the tax base.

Flint's money issues are also causing it to bleed residents, according to Forbes. In 2011, an emergency manager took over the city because it couldn't pay its bills anymore, NBC has reported.

The most miserable city last year was Miami, but it didn't even make the top 20 this year. Forbes attributed its change in status to the recovering housing market.

SEE ALSO: The 25 Most Miserable Places In The World

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