Most depressing city/town you've been to?

[Flint1979]

Speaking of Michigan cities I don't know if it's been mentioned yet but everyone probably knows how depressing Detroit is. What about Highland Park? That has got to be the most depressing city in Michigan at least in the top 3. Benton Harbor and Muskegon Heights seem pretty depressing too. Muskegon itself is kind of depressing too.

For an Up North Michigan city (actually a village) that's depressing look no further than Baldwin. In an area of the state you'd think wasn't poor Lake County is Michigan's poorest county. Honestly if I didn't know that Lake County was Michigan's poorest county I would have thought that it was a county in the U.P. such as Ontonagon or one of those counties. Ontonagon was mentioned previously in this post and I visited it this past summer. To me it didn't seem any different than the rest of the cities in the area but we are talking about a city in the U.P. that has lost half it's population since 1970. Now Ontonagon isn't a big city at all it's population was at 1,494 in 2010 and peaked at 2,432 in 1970, in a 2019 estimate the population was at 1,250 people. The poverty rate is at 11.8% of the population.

For Ontonagon County though it's Michigan's third least populated county with a poverty rate of 14.3% of the population. I think that Newberry and Luce County (Michigan's second least populated county) have a higher rate and Newberry seems depressing too since there really isn't much there. It is on M-123 though which leads north to Tahquamenon Falls State Park and Paradise before turning back to head south at Paradise.

[webny99]

I attempted a top-5 for Upstate NY and here's what I came up with:

1. Utica, NY
2. Niagara Falls, NY (the city, not the park, obviously)
3. Salamanca, NY
4. Auburn, NY
5. Waterloo, NY

There are probably some other good candidates, but none that I've spent enough time in to feel comfortable ranking them.

[hotdogPi]

I attempted a top-5 for Upstate NY and here's what I came up with:

1. Utica, NY
2. Niagara Falls, NY (the city, not the park, obviously)
3. Salamanca, NY
4. Auburn, NY
5. Waterloo, NY

There are probably some other good candidates, but none that I've spent enough time in to feel comfortable ranking them.

None of those five are in Orleans County.

[webny99]

I attempted a top-5 for Upstate NY and here's what I came up with:

1. Utica, NY
2. Niagara Falls, NY (the city, not the park, obviously)
3. Salamanca, NY
4. Auburn, NY
5. Waterloo, NY

There are probably some other good candidates, but none that I've spent enough time in to feel comfortable ranking them.

None of those five are in Orleans County.

The only Orleans County towns/cities that I felt were big enough to be included are Medina and Albion. I haven't been around the former enough to know for sure, and the latter isn't quite as depressing as those five; it might still be in the top ten, though. The county as a whole is most depressing because it includes the rural areas as well as the towns/cities.

However, re-thinking about the NY 31 corridor reminded me of Lockport (which is in Niagara County). That might displace one of my other five. I'll have to think about it.

[Flint1979]

My top four for New York would be:

1) Medina
2) Lyndonville
3) Albion
4) Holley

[7/8]

I attempted a top-5 for Upstate NY and here's what I came up with:

1. Utica, NY
2. Niagara Falls, NY (the city, not the park, obviously)
3. Salamanca, NY
4. Auburn, NY
5. Waterloo, NY

There are probably some other good candidates, but none that I've spent enough time in to feel comfortable ranking them.

Niagara Falls, NY and Salamanca are probably my two picks as well. Both cities have a giant casino with the rest of the city being a depressing mess. Just driving through Salamanca involves swerving around the pot holes.

One interesting thing about Salamanca is all the gas stations. I know it's because the gas is cheaper on the reserve, but it still felt like way too many considering how quiet the city is.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

My Minnesota list would be, in no order: Browns Valley, Virginia, West St. Paul, Crystal.

[Rothman]

No NY list is complete without Elmira.

[Flint1979]

Saginaw is really depressing. Just had the 26th homicide of the year yesterday in a city of under 50,000 people. The city had 9 homicides in 2019, 15 in 2018, 16 in 2017, 11 in 2016 and 8 in 2015. The city's highest homicide rate since 2007 was in 2012, when it hit 30.

[webny99]

No NY list is complete without Elmira.

Another city I haven't really been to outside of passing by on I-86. But I have not heard many positive things about it.

[Rothman]

No NY list is complete without Elmira.

Another city I haven't really been to outside of passing by on I-86. But I have not heard many positive things about it.

I do agree with Utica, though.  Not so sure about Waterloo.

[formulanone]

No NY list is complete without Elmira.

Another city I haven't really been to outside of passing by on I-86. But I have not heard many positive things about it.

The airport is one the five most interesting I've experienced, owing to being near the glass capital of the world. It's the only one I know of in the US which has an open-air courtyard in the passenger terminal.

Other than that, it seemed a bit dreary (but rainy days in February have that effect on most places).

[Rothman]

No NY list is complete without Elmira.

Another city I haven't really been to outside of passing by on I-86. But I have not heard many positive things about it.

The airport is one the five most interesting I've experienced, owing to being near the glass capital of the world. It's the only one I know of in the US which has an open-air courtyard in the passenger terminal.

Other than that, it seemed a bit dreary (but rainy days in February have that effect on most places).

Airport's actually quite a ways north of the "city."

[webny99]

No NY list is complete without Elmira.

Another city I haven't really been to outside of passing by on I-86. But I have not heard many positive things about it.

I do agree with Utica, though.  Not so sure about Waterloo.

It's depressing in the sense that it still looks just like it did 150 years ago, but with way less people and activity.  Would be a quaint and charming place if there was a way to keep the downtown thriving.

[WilliamBrown]

No NY list is complete without Elmira.

Another city I haven't really been to outside of passing by on I-86. But I have not heard many positive things about it.

I do agree with Utica, though.  Not so sure about Waterloo.

It's depressing in the sense that it still looks just like it did 150 years ago, but with way less people and activity.  Would be a quaint and charming place if there was a way to keep the downtown thriving.

In my opinion, it still fascinates with its gloomy senile atmosphere and emptiness. A very quiet place in which you feel somehow renounced from everyone!

[Flint1979]

Another city in New York that I haven't seen any of you mention is Gloversville in Fulton County. Former industry was glove making and the city has been declining since 1950 and has a pretty significant poverty rate.

[The Nature Boy]

No NY list is complete without Elmira.

Another city I haven't really been to outside of passing by on I-86. But I have not heard many positive things about it.

I do agree with Utica, though.  Not so sure about Waterloo.

It's depressing in the sense that it still looks just like it did 150 years ago, but with way less people and activity.  Would be a quaint and charming place if there was a way to keep the downtown thriving.

In my opinion, it still fascinates with its gloomy senile atmosphere and emptiness. A very quiet place in which you feel somehow renounced from everyone.

I looked at Waterloo on Google Street View and it looked like a charming little town. Just from looks alone, I don't think it qualifies as depressing, at least not on the level of a lot of the places mentioned here.

[webny99]

No NY list is complete without Elmira.

Another city I haven't really been to outside of passing by on I-86. But I have not heard many positive things about it.

I do agree with Utica, though.  Not so sure about Waterloo.

It's depressing in the sense that it still looks just like it did 150 years ago, but with way less people and activity.  Would be a quaint and charming place if there was a way to keep the downtown thriving.

In my opinion, it still fascinates with its gloomy senile atmosphere and emptiness. A very quiet place in which you feel somehow renounced from everyone.

I looked at Waterloo on Google Street View and it looked like a charming little town. Just from looks alone, I don't think it qualifies as depressing, at least not on the level of a lot of the places mentioned here.

Fixed your quote for you.

I agree to a certain extent. But... the fact that you can tell what a booming little place it used to be, but yet it's so dead now, is what makes it depressing. It is different than some of the other places mentioned because it's not as run-down, but it's reminiscent of a bygone era in a way that's almost more depressing than a run down town/city IMO.

[vdeane]

I find Gloversville to be pretty run-down and depressing.

[thenetwork]

Being originally from Cleveland, I have to defend my old stomping grounds.  Cleveland is home to some of the most respected health care facilities in the world (Cleveland Clinic/University Hospitals), one of the best theater districts outside of NYC (Playhouse Square), a whole host of museums, a world famous orchestra and one of the most comprehensive park systems which encircles the entire city. 

Yes. The city has had its share of embarrassments in the past, their city and county governments are corrupt, and their winters are terrible, where you can go weeks without seeing the sun. 

But in the summer months, with Lake Erie as a huge draw, it's a great place to check out.  And they are trying to bring residential living to downtown which has been a  slowly successful endeavor.

If you want to nominate a sizable Ohio city as a terrible city,  Toledo and Youngstown are more viable candidates.

[webny99]

I find Gloversville to be pretty run-down and depressing.

Yeah, really the entire Mohawk Valley is depressing, despite being scenic. It's almost West-Virginia-esque.
Besides Utica, Amsterdam and Johnstown are potential candidates, too.

[Rothman]

I find Gloversville to be pretty run-down and depressing.

Yeah, really the entire Mohawk Valley is depressing, despite being scenic. It's almost West-Virginia-esque.
Besides Utica, Amsterdam and Johnstown are potential candidates, too.

Downtown Amsterdam, sure, but it does have the more livelier commercial strip on top of the hill.

[vdeane]

I find Gloversville to be pretty run-down and depressing.

Yeah, really the entire Mohawk Valley is depressing, despite being scenic. It's almost West-Virginia-esque.
Besides Utica, Amsterdam and Johnstown are potential candidates, too.

For some reason Gloversville sticks out, though Johnstown is probably similar.

[Flint1979]

Out of all cities in New York state I think the most depressing city I have been to is Newburgh. I haven't been to Newburgh in a long time but that place was as depressing as it gets. It almost reminded me of Flint or Saginaw in Michigan.

[Max Rockatansky]

Some others I thought of for California, none still exceed Needles IMO:

-  Mendota still has the stain of a 45% unemployment figure in the not too recent past.  The prison town back drop doesn't really add any charm either.  What really gets it for me was that old slum that used to be on the railroad tracks off of Fresno Slough. 
-  Corcoran because of the prison backdrop and the sad atmosphere on the shore of a lake (Tulare Lake) killed off in modern times. 

I can think of some other cites which fit the above with similar themes that are close but not quite as bad like Dos Palos, Shafter, and Huron.