America's Angriest Cities

Comrades, this story may not exactly be what we're all about here, but when I saw it, I thought it might be interesting for you to see if you live in America's 100 most angry cities. Anger effects our quality of life. One of the reasons for this anger is racial tensions, another is overcrowding, primarily due to immigration. Is your city on the list? San Bernardino is not on the list, but the nearby town of Riverside, home of NSM's Jeff Hall ranks as the 10th angriest. Coincidence? Chairman Suhayda probably won't be surprised to learn the city near him, Detroit is Anger City, USA. Sorry Comrade JT, Baltimore wins second prize.

Angry Cities

We've discovered that if you want to really piss off an entire city, all you have to do is rank it last among 100 cities and then print the results in a national magazine. Happens every month. But what we don't know is how angry a city might become if we actually name it the "Angriest Town in America." Well, Detroit, go ahead and let us have it: You are officially the most spitting-mad metropolis.

How did we gauge rage? Statistically (and from a safe distance). We calculated the number of aggravated assaults per capita (FBI), the number of people with high blood pressure (CDC), the amount of time spent in traffic during rush hour (Texas Transportation Institute), and the number of anger-management specialists per capita (American Psychological Association).

100 is the angriest, 1 is the least.

Most PO'd

100. Detroit, MI F
99. Baltimore, MD F
98. St. Petersburg, FL F
97. Las Vegas, NV D-
96. Newark, NJ D-
95. Charleston, WV D-
94. Dallas, TX D
93. Houston, TX D
92. Philadelphia, PA D
91. Miami, FL D90.

90. Riverside, CA D
89. Memphis, TN D
88. Oklahoma City, OK D
87. Louisville, KY D
86. Los Angeles, CA D
85. Jersey City, NJ D+
84. Fort Worth, TX D+
83. Jacksonville, FL D+
82. Indianapolis, IN D+
81. Boston, MA D+
80. Chicago, IL D+
79. Orlando, FL D+
78. New Orleans, LA D+
77. Stockton, CA D+
76. Oakland, CA C-
75. Sacramento, CA C-
74. Washington, DC C-
73. St. Louis, MO C-
72. Phoenix, AZ C-
71. Baton Rouge, LA C-
70. San Jose, CA C-
69. Tampa, FL C-
68. Aurora, CO C
67. El Paso, TX C
66. Winston-Salem, NC C
65. Birmingham, AL C
64. Tucson, AZ C
63. Santa Ana, CA C
62. Bridgeport, CT C
61. Billings, MT C
60. Tulsa, OK C
59. Manchester, NH C
58. New York, NY C
57. Lexington, KY C
56. Little Rock, AR C
55. St. Paul, MN C
54. Charlotte, NC C
53. San Diego, CA C
52. Fresno, CA C
51. Atlanta, GA C

50. Cleveland, OH C
49. Columbus, OH C+
48. Lubbock, TX C+
47. San Antonio, TX C+
46. Plano, TX C+
45. Richmond, VA C+
44. Greensboro, NC C+
43. Providence, RI C+
42. Albuquerque, NM C+
41. Denver, CO C+
40. Austin, TX C+
39. Kansas City, MO C+
38. Jackson, MS B-
37. Bakersfield, CA B-
36. Milwaukee, WI B
35. San Francisco, CA B-
34. Chesapeake, VA B-
33. Corpus Christi, TX B-
32. Nashville, TN B-
31. Sioux Falls, SD B-
30. Raleigh, NC B-
29. Toledo, OH B
28. Laredo, TX B
27. Cincinnati, OH B
26. Buffalo, NY B
25. Minneapolis, MN B
24. Norfolk, VA B
23. Honolulu, HI B
22. Wilmington, DE B
21. Durham, NC B
20. Seattle, WA B
19. Des Moines, IA B
18. Fort Wayne, IN B+
17. Pittsburgh, PA B+
16. Boise, ID B+
15. Omaha, NE B+
14. Portland, ME B+
13. Virginia Beach, VA B+
12. Portland, OR B+
11. Columbia, SC A-

Most Serene

10. Anchorage, AK A-

9. Reno, NV A-

8. Wichita, KS A-

7. Cheyenne, WY A-

6. Salt Lake City, UT A-

5. Madison, WI A-

4. Colorado Springs, CO A

3. Fargo, ND A

2. Lincoln, NE A

1. Burlington, VT A+

Sugar Fix

Temper your tantrum. When researchers at the University of Kentucky let people blast others with various intensities of white noise, those who downed a sugary beverage showed the most mercy. "A spike in blood sugar provides more energy to regulate anger," says study author Nathan DeWall, Ph.D. But you don't need to quaff a Coke; eating a handful of raisins will work, too, says DeWall.

Defuse Traffic Time Bombs

There's one big reason why we rage on the road: frustration over other drivers and traffic delays, says Stefan Hofmann, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Boston University. One remedy for bumper-to-bumper anger: electronic road signs that display—and continually update—the estimated time it will take to exit a high-traffic area. "Giving people a sense of predictability and control can relieve frustration and lessen aggression," explains Hofmann. More and more states have begun implementing these traffic time signs; ask your state's department of transportation to follow their lead.

For more on the sources for our statistics and to see additional city rankings, go to

MensHealth.com/metrogrades