Southern Charm or Snub?

Jacksonville’s Surprising No. 12 Spot on the Rudest Cities List

Words by Carmen Macri

Is it really surprising that Jacksonville not only makes this list but ranks so high? How about the fact that in 2024, New York City isn’t even in the top 20. The city infamous for its less-than-friendly locals is not even on the list!

As a matter of fact, Florida boasts three cities in the top 12 rudest in the country. Can you guess which ones? Shouldn’t be too hard – Miami snags the crown at No. 1 with a rudeness score of 9.88. Tampa slides in at third with an 8.88, and naturally, Jacksonville has earned its place as the #12 rudest city in the U.S. with an 8.05—a title proudly reported by its own residents. Surprisingly, this ranking hasn’t budged from its spot at #12 since 2022. According to Preply, the company that conducted the study, 53% of Jacksonville locals believe the natives are ruder than the transplants, while 63% think the upcoming election is fueling even worse behavior (shocker!).

What happened to that Southern charm we’ve all heard about? Well, I hate to break it to ya, but usually, when it comes to “the south”, Florida is very rarely ever considered, though geographically, we ARE the south. According to a survey done by Twiddy, Florida ranks 10th out of 15 for states with the most “southern hospitality” polling at a whopping 3%

Now back to us being rude –Among the most common offenses reported are blaring noise in shared spaces, leaving shopping carts in parking spots like they’re personal furniture and standing in the middle of aisles as if they’re the only ones who matter. And don’t forget the classic move—being so glued to their phones that they might as well be invisible to everyone else. But that happens everywhere. 

To determine the rankings, Preply surveyed residents about social behaviors they noticed in their city and calculated a city rudeness score based on the answers. According to Preply, lack of awareness in public, loudness in shared places, rudeness to service staff members, lack of care for others and closed-off body language are just some of the behaviors recorded by these cities. 

Something interesting to note is in the 2022 study, Miami and Tampa were not even ranked on the list, so, that leaves the question: What could have possibly happened within 2023 to push these two contenders to the top? Was it simply a tough year for the cities, or was the frustration fueled by out-of-towners flooding in and driving up prices? I mean, I can’t count the times I’ve ran into someone who moved here from New York and had to physically restrain my eye roll, but hey, I’m from Jax.

So, now that we know the rudest cities, let’s take a look at some of the nicest cities. Before we get started do you want to take any guesses? I’ll give you a hint: Irrelevant (kidding, kidding… kind of)

The friendliest city in the U.S.? None other than Omaha, Nebraska, with a sweetness score of 6.24. Minneapolis, Minnesota, isn’t too far behind, holding strong with a 6.35. Then San Diego, Columbus, and Kansas City followed suit. Now, there are two cities on this list that genuinely surprise me: San Diego and Kansas City. I mean, San Diego? Really? Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always assumed everyone in California is a jerk – though that might be my own bias talking. And Kansas City… The only time I deal with folks from there is during football season, and let’s be honest, their fan base is one of the most obnoxious. Well, besides Eagles fans, but let’s not go there right now.

When dealing with the rudeness of others, the same Preply study shows that 88.43% of Americans surveyed simply choose to ignore the bad behavior while 50.77% of those surveyed leave the area and only 11.49% chose confrontation. It turns out that the length of time someone has lived in a city can shape how their rudeness is perceived. Whether you’ve been a lifelong local or just recently moved in, some neighbors might already have opinions on your potential for rudeness. The older an American gets, the more likely they are to view new arrivals as ruder than longtime residents. Interestingly, even transplants themselves are often seen as more rude, not just by natives, but by fellow newcomers too. According to the survey, 3 out of 4 Americans believe city dwellers are ruder than those living in rural areas. Age also plays a role in these perceptions, as 1 in 4 Americans think the kids in their city are ruder than the adults.

Here are the top 12 on Santa’s Naughty and Nice list: 

Naughty: 

1 Miami, FL                  9.88

2 Philadelphia, PA      9.12

3 Tampa, FL                 8.88

4 Louisville, KY           8.72

5 Oakland, CA              8.67

6 Boston, MA               8.35

7 Memphis, TN            8.28

8 Las Vegas, NV           8.21

9 Long Beach, CA         8.18

10 Charlotte, NC           8.11

11 Albuquerque, NM    8.11

12 Jacksonville, FL.      8.05

Nice: 

12 Tulsa, OK                     7.29

11 Nashville, TN               7.19

10 Oklahoma City, OK   7.11

9 Raleigh, NC                   6.98

8 San Jose, CA                 6.96

7 Indianapolis, IN           6.93

6 Milwaukee, WI             6.89

5 Kansas City, MO          6.78

4 Columbus, OH             6.70

3 San Diego, CA              6.68

2 Minneapolis, MN        6.35

1 Omaha, NE                   6.24