The 'rudest' cities in America, according to a 2024 survey
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA/NEXSTAR) – When you think of America's least friendly cities, which places come to mind?
A recent survey from Preply.com has revealed Miami, Florida, to be the "rudest" city in the U.S. based on responses from participants in 46 of America's largest cities. Preply.com, a language learning resource, had conducted the survey once before in 2022, though Miami wasn't among the 30 cities studied in the previous report.
"Lack of awareness in public, loudness in shared places, and rudeness to service staff members are just some of the behaviors that branded Miami, FL, as having the rudest residents," the site wrote of its findings.
In addition to the behaviors mentioned above, survey participants were asked to recall how often they had experienced their fellow residents demonstrate "rude" behaviors, including talking on speakerphone, listening to music or watching videos in shared spaces; ignoring strangers; ignoring the people around them; exhibiting "closed off" body language; being disrespectful of personal space or hygiene, and exhibiting careless driving behavior, among other types of inconsiderate conduct.
Based on the responses, Preply.com gave Miami a 9.88 out of 10 on their "rudest cities" scale. But the runners-up weren't far behind.
Philadelphia — deemed in the 2022 survey to be the rudest city — earned a score of 9.12 in 2024, putting it in second place. Rounding out the top five are: Tampa, Florida; Louisville, Kentucky; and Oakland, California.
| Rank | City | Rudeness score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami, Florida | 9.88 |
| 2 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 9.12 |
| 3 | Tampa, Florida | 8.88 |
| 4 | Louisville, Kentucky | 8.72 |
| 5 | Oakland, California | 8.67 |
| 6 | Boston, Massachusetts | 8.35 |
| 7 | Memphis, Tennessee | 8.28 |
| 8 | Las Vegas, Nevada | 8.21 |
| 9 | Long Beach, California | 8.18 |
| 10 | Charlotte, North Carolina | 8.11 |
In conducting the survey, the site's analysts also found several running themes among participants. For starters, the most common rude behaviors cited by subjects were "lack of care for others, being loud in shared spaces, and a lack of self awareness," according to Preply.com. The site also explained that the older a participant was, the more likely they are to think transplants to their city are ruder than those born in the area. Half of Americans also believe their city's residents have gotten more rude in the lead-up to the election, the site found.
It's not all so terrible, though. While not specifically surveying participants about the friendliest cities in the U.S., Preply.com was able to determine which of the 46 cities they studied were the "least rude."
The findings indicated that Omaha, Nebraska, was the least rude, followed closely by Minneapolis and San Diego.
| Rank | City | Rudeness score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Omaha, Nebraska | 6.24 |
| 2 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 6.35 |
| 3 | San Diego, California | 6.68 |
| 4 | Columbus, Ohio | 6.70 |
| 5 | Kansas City, Missouri | 6.78 |
| 6 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 6.89 |
| 7 | Indianapolis, Indiana | 6.93 |
| 8 | San Jose, California | 6.96 |
| 9 | Raleigh, North Carolina | 6.98 |
| 10 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | 7.11 |
Pleply.com said its analysts surveyed residents in each of the 46 cities in the study, but did not provide specific data on the total number of participants, nor when they surveys were conducted. The site's previous "rude cities" study, in 2022, was conducted over a five-day period in June 2022, with a total of 1,577 participants from 30 cities who had lived in that city for at least one year.
A representative for Preply.com was not immediately available to provide further information on the 2024 survey.
A full list of all 46 cities and where they stand on the "rudest cities" scale (along with other takeaways from the survey) can be found at Preply.com.