The Rudest Cities in America

Chicago, Illinois usually finds itself high on the list of the rudest places in America, but a recent study proves that bummer rep may no longer be true.

Are People in Chicago Excessively Rude?

It's an unarguable fact; rude people exist everywhere, but when you are one of the largest cities in America, your jerk/non-jerk population is significantly higher.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Chicago, Illinois is consistently listed as one of the rudest cities in America, and I often find myself wondering why exactly that is. Are there actual facts and/or numbers considered in these studies, or is it all just based on public opinion?

In 2019 Business Insider and SurveyMonkey asked 2,000 Americans what city they thought was the rudest from a list of 50 American cities, and these were the results:

New York City, NY
Los Angeles, CA
Washington, D.C.
Chicago, IL
Boston, MA

Now that it's 2023, have things changed for the better in Chicago? A recent study says, yes!

Getty Images

2023 Rudest Cities in America

I am happy to say that the results from a 2023 study from Preply about the rudest cities in America did NOT place Chicago in the top 5, or even the top 10!

Here are the top 5 rudest cities in America according to Preply's study:

Philadelphia, PA
Memphis, TN
New York City, NY
Las Vegas, NV
Boston, MA

To find these results, Preply asked residents in each city to rate the level of rudeness on a scale of 1 to 10 considering factors like; the amount of people absorbed by their phones, amount of people that allow you to merge into traffic, and peoples' behavior in shared spaces. While I may think Chicago drivers are horrible at letting others merge in traffic, the majority of the city's residents must disagree.

2023 Most Polite Cities in America

How shocked would you be if I told you Preply's survey actually named Chicago as the 6th most POLITE city in the nation? Seriously, they did...

preply.com

Well done, Chicago! Now, what can we do about improving Illinois' reputation as a whole? That's going to take some work!

LOOK: Here are the 25 best places to live in Illinois

Stacker compiled a list of the best places to live in Illinois using data from Niche. Niche ranks places to live based on a variety of factors including cost of living, schools, health care, recreation, and weather. Cities, suburbs, and towns were included. Listings and images are from realtor.com.

On the list, there's a robust mix of offerings from great schools and nightlife to high walkability and public parks. Some areas have enjoyed rapid growth thanks to new businesses moving to the area, while others offer glimpses into area history with well-preserved architecture and museums. Keep reading to see if your hometown made the list.