Random Facts: The Most Depressing Cities in the U.S.

If researchers can use a selected set of search terms to accurately estimate the spread of flu activity across the United States in real time, can similar methodologies be used to determine the prevalence of other illnesses, diseases, and social concerns that may not always be reported to the agency tasked with understanding the underlying dynamics?

As a simple test, I decided to look for potential patterns revealing hotspots of depression using a single simple query for the word “depression.”

I was able to retrieve several layers of data on global, national, and state-based scales: unfortunately, the process of obtaining, geocoding and transferring the location data to the map appears to have resulted in a slight northward drift; however, the markers still appear to be in the ballpark and should suffice for the time being.

Top-ranking cities in the United States

1. Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2. Columbus, OH, USA
3. Philadelphia, PA, USA
4. Cincinnati, OH, USA
5. Salt Lake City, UT, USA
6. Raleigh, NC, USA
7. St Louis, MO, USA
8. Reston, VA, USA
9. Denver, CO, USA
10. Boston, MA, USA

Top-ranking Cities in the United States (One Per State)

• Columbiana, AL
• Soldotna, AK
• Glendale, AZ
• State University, AR
• Walnut Creek, CA
• Greeley, CO
• Monroe, CT
• Georgetown, DE
• Tallahassee, FL
• Decatur, GA
• Laie, HI
• Fruitland, ID
• Wheaton, IL
• Marion, IN
• Decorah, IA
• Emporia, KS
• Versailles, KY
• Covington, LA
• Farmington, ME
• Westminster, MD
• Chelmsford, MA
• Clinton Township, MI
• Osseo, MN
• University, MS
• Kirksville, MO
• Whitefish, MT
• Auburn, NE
• Fallon, NV
• Plymouth, NH
• Brick, NJ
• Cedar Crest, NM
• Elmsford, NY
• Boone, NC
• Devils Lake, ND
• Marion, OH
• Edmond, OK
• Marylhurst, OR
• Chester, PA
• Barrington, RI
• Honea Path, SC
• Canton, SD
• Shelbyville, TN
• Denton, TX
• Alpine, UT
• Waterbury, VT
• Harrisonburg, VA
• Everett, WA
• Shepherdstown, WV
• Marshfield, WI
• Evanston, WY

All Top-ranking Cities in the United States

While I wish to make it clear that in no way do I find depression to be humorous, I do need to draw attention to a few of the names of cities that made it on the list of Most Depressing in the U.S.:

Feeling like an outsider can definitely lead to feelings of isolation and depression – and for these towns in the Great Plains, the name alone is likely enough to make one feel an outcast.

#1. Idaho: Fruitland
#7. South Dakota: Gayville

But that doesn’t explain why people are depressed in
2. Illinois: Normal

And then, there are those towns I just understand in general:
#1. California: Walnut Creek
#4. Missouri: Cape Girardeau

and, of course,
1. Brick, NJ
2. Mahwah, NJ
3. Summit, NJ
4. Hackensack
5. Burlington
6. Moorestown
7. Cherry Hill
8. East Brunswick, NJ
9. Sayreville, NJ
10. Plainsboro, NJ

But one interesting bit of anecdotal evidence: a large number of these towns appear to be in areas immediately adjacent to universities and other institutes of higher education. The causality remains unknown, but this would likely prove an interesting area for further investigation.

And now for some other random facts:

Global:

Searches for Depression ranked countries in the following order.
1. Australia
2. United States
3. New Zealand
4. Canada
5. Ireland
6. United Kingdom
7. Denmark
8. India
9. Sweden
10. Austria

And those sure are a lot of random facts for only 1.5 hours of work…

Related posts:

1. What the world is thinking in 5 words or less.