The Most Sinful Cities In America

In many ways, cities are the pulse of the world. They are constantly growing and changing to attract new citizens and businesses. With this unending process comes a lot of promise and temptation. One consequence of the constant pressure for growth is that many cities also have the ability to bring out the worst in people. Additionally, in this article, we will discuss the most sinful cities in America according to WalletHub.

Methodology

WalletHub’s analysts worked on finding the most sinful cities in America and compared 182 cities, 150 of which are densely populated. At least two densely inhabited cities from each state were considered for inclusion in the study. The following measurements were used to evaluate each city:

1. Anger & Hatred 
2. Excesses & Vices 
3. Greed 
4. Lust 
5. Jealousy
6. Vanity
7. Laziness 

A total of 38 metrics were used to compile the final ranking. However each metric was assigned a score out of 100, and the weighted metric scores determined the order. Moreover, where state-level data was unavailable, city data was used without overcompensating for the more minor, inconsequential variations within a state. However, WalletHub computed the Vice Index by ranking each city based on weighted average scores from relevant metrics compared with similar statistics from other cities. The lower a city’s vice score, the more virtuous it is overall.

Findings

Along with listing the 182 cities based on the overall ranking, WalletHub assessed how each city performed in each category. As expected, Las Vegas, NV (with its famous lights, casinos, and strip clubs) took the cake for the most sinful city overall with a Vice Index score of 59.93.

In the “Excesses & Vices” category, under excessive drinking, Madison, WI, scored highest, and Montgomery, AL, scored lowest. Memphis, TN, Detroit, MI, Baltimore, MD, and three other cities hold the number 1 spot in violent crimes stemming from the “Anger & Hatred” category. However, the city that boasts relatively few instances of violence is Irvine, CA. 

Moreover, with that said, here’s how the top 10 most sinful cities rank:

1. Las Vegas
2. St. Louis
3. Houston
4. Los Angeles
5. Denver
6. Philadelphia
7. Atlanta
8. Miami
9. Chicago
10. Memphis

Written by

Maya Torres

Maya Torres is a sports betting legislation analyst and regulatory writer covering the state-by-state legalization of sports betting across the United States. With a background in policy research and legal media, Maya tracks active legislation, ballot initiatives, and regulatory changes in every US state — giving bettors and industry observers the most current picture of where legal wagering stands nationwide.

Her work at DailyWagerZone focuses on comprehensive state pillar pages, bill tracking, and breaking news around sports betting law. Maya approaches regulatory content with the same depth and sourcing standards applied to legal journalism — citing official bill text, legislative calendars, and statements from gaming commissions rather than recycling secondhand reporting.

Before joining DailyWagerZone, Maya covered gambling law and public policy for independent legal and sports media outlets. She has tracked sports betting legislation since the Supreme Court's 2018 PASPA ruling opened the door to state-by-state legalization and has documented every major legislative development since.

Maya is based in Austin, Texas — a state still fighting for legalization — which gives her a personal stake in the coverage she produces. She can be found on Bluesky at @mayatorres-betting.bsky.social and Reddit at u/MayaTorres_DWZ.