If you want record-setting sunshine, St. Petersburg is your city—it once soaked up a Guinness-certified 768 straight days of rays. But there's an asterisk: The people of St. Pete also have the darkest clouds hanging over their heads. We put America on the therapist's couch and discovered that not only is St. Petersburg our Saddest City, but Florida in general seems to be a depressing place to live.

Of course, we aren't shrinks, so our diagnosis is more statistical than psychological. We calculated suicide rates (CDC) and unemployment rates (Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of June 2011). Then we tapped SimplyMap for the percentage of households that use antidepressants as well as the number of people who report feeling the blues all or most of the time.

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Saddest Cities



100. St. Petersburg, FL F

99. Detroit, MI F

98. Memphis, TN F

97. Tampa, FL F

96. Louisville, KY F

95. St. Louis, MO F

94. Birmingham, AL F

93. Miami, FL F

92. Reno, NV F

91. Las Vegas, NV F



90. Toledo, OH F

89. Bakersfield, CA F

88. Jacksonville, FL F

87. Atlanta, GA F

86. Winston-Salem, NC F

85. Sacramento, CA F

84. Cincinnati, OH D-

83. Phoenix, AZ D-

82. Orlando, FL D-

81. Washington, DC D-



80. Wilmington, DE D-

79. Greensboro, NC D-

78. Jackson, MS D-

77. Columbia, SC D

76. Newark, NJ D

75. Fresno, CA D

74. Cleveland, OH D

73. Kansas City, MO D

72. Chicago, IL D

71. Riverside, CA D



70. Albuquerque, NM D

69. Portland, OR D

68. Richmond, VA D

67. Tucson, AZ D

66. Milwaukee, WI D

65. Los Angeles, CA D+

64. Denver, CO D+

63. Colorado Springs, CO D+

62. Providence, RI D+

61. Oakland, CA D+



60. Philadelphia, PA D+

59. Nashville, TN D+

58. El Paso, TX D+

57. Charlotte, NC D+

56. Aurora, CO D+

55. Little Rock, AR D+

54. Charleston, WV D+

53. Stockton, CA C-

52. Baltimore, MD C-

51. Baton Rouge, LA C-



50. Indianapolis, IN C-

49. Houston, TX C-

48. Dallas, TX C-

47. Seattle, WA C-

46. Fort Wayne, IN C-

45. Boise City, ID C-

44. New Orleans, LA C-

43. Fort Worth, TX C-

42. Norfolk, VA C

41. Tulsa, OK C





40. Pittsburgh, PA C

39. New York, NY C

38. Bridgeport, CT C

37. Buffalo, NY C

36. Columbus, OH C

35. Corpus Christi, TX C

34. San Diego, CA C

33. San Antonio, TX C+

32. Wichita, KS C+

31. Santa Ana, CA C+



30. Cheyenne, WY C+

29. Lubbock, TX C+

28. Billings, MT C+

27. Oklahoma City, OK B-

26. Anchorage, AK B-

25. Laredo, TX B-

24. Durham, NC B-

23. Salt Lake City, UT B-

22. Lexington, KY B-

21. Raleigh, NC B-



20. San Francisco, CA B

19. Austin, TX B

18. Jersey City, NJ B

17. Des Moines, IA B

16. Portland, ME B

15. San Jose, CA B

14. Minneapolis, MN B+

13. Chesapeake, VA B+

12. Virginia Beach, VA A-

11. Lincoln, NE A-



Blues-proof towns



10. Plano, TX A-

9. Burlington, VT A-

8. St. Paul, MN A-

7. Sioux Falls, SD A-

6. Madison, WI A-

5. Boston, MA A-

4. Omaha, NE A

3. Fargo, ND A

2. Manchester, NH A

1. Honolulu, HI A+

if you or your city is sad, here are three things you can do:

1. FIND SOME GREEN

Dutch researchers found that city dwellers living near parks and gardens were 25 percent less likely to be diagnosed with depression than those with nary a patch of grass in sight. Study author Jolanda Maas, Ph.D., says that frequent exposure to nature may help people recover from the stress and mental fatigue of urban life. Go to capwiz.com/nrpa and urge your rep in Congress to vote for more public parks funding.

2. POP AND DON'T STOP

Be patient with those pills: Spanish researchers found that half of men quit taking their antidepressants after just 2 months—1 month sooner than the meds sometimes need to kick in. Experts say one reason men quit too early may be that they don't think the drugs are working. So guys, do not stop popping any Rx med without first talking to your doctor.

3. WATCH WHAT YOU EAT

It’s no coincidence that rates of both obesity and depression have doubled in the past decade. We are what we eat, and if it’s the Modern American Diet (or the MAD Diet), we’re priming ourselves for a lifetime of unhappiness. Happiness is a biological event, and in order for our brains to fire on all cylinders, they must be properly nourished. Find out more in —your nutritional prescription for a sharp brain, balanced mood, and lean, energized body.

Christa Sgobba For nearly 10 years, Christa has created health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness content that’s steeped in science but engaging enough that people actually want to read it.

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