Gary One Of The 'Worst Cities To Live In,' Study Finds

GARY, IN — Do you ever compare where you live to other cities across the U.S., especially when it comes to quality of life? According to USA TODAY, financial news website 24/7 Wall St. recently collected and compared data from several categories in roughly 600 U.S. cities that the U.S. Census Bureau reported as having populations of more than 50,000 in 2016 to determine America's 50 worst cities to live in.

24/7 Wall St. created an index with measures in nine categories - crime, demography, economy, education, environment, health, housing, infrastructure, and leisure - to identify and share the country's worst cities to live in, which includes Gary, Indiana.

Coming in at number 18, 24/7 Wall St. found that Gary is one of the most economically depressed cities in the U.S., as one in every three city residents live below the poverty line, more than double the national poverty rate of 14 percent More findings:

• Population: 74,186
• Median home value: $64,800 - nearly the lowest median home value of any U.S. city
• Poverty rate: 33.3 percent
• Pct. with at least a bachelor's degree: 11 percent

According to the report, Gary is also one of only a handful of cities nationwide where most households earn less than $30,000 per year, due in part to a "bleak jobs picture" as Gary's 9 percent unemployment rate is one of the worst in the country.

RELATED: South Bend One Of The 'Worst Cities To Live In,' Study Finds

The top five worst cities to live in, according to 24/7 Wall St.:

1. Detroit, Michigan
2. Flint, Michigan
3. St. Louis, Missouri
4. Memphis, Tennessee
5. Cleveland, Ohio

>> See the full list and city breakdown

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