Three Louisiana Towns Top ‘Worst Small Towns’ List

(KMDL-FM) When I create articles about life in Louisiana, the state where I call home, I generally try to keep the message positive. However, when the subject of the data that you just received involves the "Worst Small Towns in America," finding that positive spin can be a challenge, so here's what I came up with. Louisiana doesn't have the worst small town in America; we have three towns tied for that honor.

And I wonder why Billy Nungesser won't return my calls. But yeah, according to the folks at WalletHub, a personal finance platform, if you base quality of life on certain aspects of living, there are three communities in the state that rank at the very top of the very bottom.

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If it makes you feel any better, those three communities are tied with 19 others for unenviable rankings assigned by WalletHub. Just so you have a little background before we reveal which Louisiana communities are on the list, and some of the other communities from around the nation that were assigned the same ranking, let's see how we arrived at the numbers.

WalletHub analyzed some 1,300 communities with populations ranging from 25,000 to 100,000. The site then compared key metrics such as housing affordability, affordability in general, economic health of the city and the region, the educational opportunities, the health services, the general quality of life, and how each of those communities ranked where personal safety was concerned.

What Communities Outside of Louisiana Made the "Worst Towns List"?

Some of the other cities that tied for "worst place" include Albany, Georgia, which isn't that where the University of Georgia is located? Also on the list is Bessemer, Alabama, a Birmingham suburb. North Little Rock, Arkansas, also tied for worst, as did West Memphis, Arkansas, and Flint, Michigan.

Which Louisiana Communities Ranked First on the Worst Small Towns List?

The Louisiana communities that ranked high on the low end of this study were Alexandria, which was actually the worst of the worst, beaten out only by Bessemer, Alabama. Scoring a little higher than "Alec" was Monroe, Louisiana, and faring just slightly better than Monroe was Marrero, Louisiana.

All of those communities were in the bottom 1 percent of the WalletHub study. The highest-ranking community in Louisiana, as revealed by the study, was Kenner. It was in the 20th percentile, still way down the list. Houma was ranked in the 18th percentile, Lake Charles in the 16th percentile, and New Iberia showed up in the 7th percentile.

What Should Louisiana Do With This Information?

I guess we can look at this as an indictment of our lives in these communities, or we can look at this information as a starting point to improve things. I think the Louisiana way is to do the latter and try to make it better where we can.

Do you agree with the findings of the WalletHub survey and study? We always love your feedback on stories of this kind. If you're reading on our station app, you can send us a direct message that way. 

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