These 2 Florida cities ranked 'least sinful.' What makes them saints?

Samantha Neely, Fort Myers News-Press
Updated ·3 min read

A recent study proves that Las Vegas isn't the only sin city in the U.S. It also showed that there are saints among us.

Personal finance company WalletHub recently released its annual list of the most sinful cities in America, with two Florida cities with spots on the bottom of the list.

“Every city struggles with one flaw or another, from high bullying rates and frequent hate crimes to a prevalence of binge eating and excessive drinking among residents," WalletHub Analysist Cassandra Happe. "While it is a personal choice to indulge in one vice or another, these choices can have a financial impact on others in the community, especially when more and more residents partake in these activities.”

What makes a city sinful or not?

April Hanna, dressed as a showgirl, poses for photos by the new Las Vegas style slot machines at the Seminole Casino in Hollywood, Fla. Monday, Jan. 28, 2008 as the tribe began to use the machines in their casinos under an agreement reached with the State of Florida. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter
April Hanna, dressed as a showgirl, poses for photos by the new Las Vegas style slot machines at the Seminole Casino in Hollywood, Fla. Monday, Jan. 28, 2008 as the tribe began to use the machines in their casinos under an agreement reached with the State of Florida. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter

The methodology shows that the study evaluated 182 U.S. cities based on seven behaviors: anger/hatred, jealousy, excesses/vices, greed, lust, vanity, and laziness. Experts further explain that they examined relevant metrics within those seven groups for each city and assigned a numerical value to that metric, graded on a 100-point scale.

What vices are Floridians guilty of? 2 Florida cities on top 15 most sinful US cities list.

For example, under “anger and hatred,” researchers looked at the rates of violent crime and bullying, in addition to eight other factors. As for “greed,” researchers did a search of how many casinos were in the area and its share of adults with gambling additions.

Researchers then used the data from each metric to calculate each city’s weighted average and used that to rank the cities from most to least sinful.

What Florida cities are considered the 'least sinful' in the country?

Boats, decorated in red, white and blue, participate in the Fort Pierce Yacht Club’s 13th annual Patriotic Boat Parade on the Indian River Lagoon, Tuesday, July 4, 2023. It began at the turning basin just north of the South Causeway Bridge. It was one of many Independence Day events on the Treasure Coast, and one of several in St. Lucie County, including Stars Over St. Lucie in Fort Pierce, Freedomfest in Port St. Lucie, Tradition’s 4th of July Celebration, and fireworks with the St. Lucie Mets.

So which cities in the Sunshine State are full of saints, so to speak? According to the study, it's Cape Coral and Port St. Lucie.

How Port St. Lucie ranks in 'sins'

WalletHub found that Port St. Lucie has second fifth lowest thefts per capita and Cape Coral has the fifth lowest thefts. They were beaten by Aurora, Illinois for first place.

It also found that Port St. Lucie placed fifth for fewest violent crimes per capita, with first place going to Irvine, California. A deeper look at the Treasure Coast city shows that placed 178 out of 182, specifically ranking in these categories:

  • Lust: 154

  • Jealousy: 111

  • Greed: 177

  • Vanity: 164

  • Laziness: 124

  • Anger and Hatred: 174

  • Excesses and vices: 101

  • Overall score in sinful behaviors: 28.57

How Cape Coral ranks in 'sins'

As for Southwest Florida's Cape Coral, it placed out 175 of 182:

  • Lust: 91

  • Jealousy: 135

  • Greed: 176

  • Vanity: 155

  • Laziness: 104

  • Anger and Hatred: 172

  • Excesses and vices: 130

  • Overall score in sinful behaviors: 29.21

What are all the top 15 least sinful cities in America?

Starting from the least sinful city, here are the top cities:

  1. Pearl City, Hawaii

  2. Fremont, California

  3. Bridgeport, Connecticut

  4. Madison, Wisconsin

  5. Port St. Lucie, Florida

  6. Columbia, Maryland

  7. South Burlington, Vermont

  8. Cape Coral, Florida

  9. West Valley City, Utah

  10. Laredo, Texas

  11. Yonkers, New York

  12. Portland, Maine

  13. Worcester, Massachusetts

  14. Nashua, New Hampshire

  15. Boise, Idaho

Did any Florida cities make Florida cities the top 15 for most sinful cities?

On the other end of the spectrum, Miami and Orlando are two of the Sunshine State's most sinful cities, according to WalletHub.

How Miami ranks in 'sins'

South Florida's Miami placed ninth on the list, seeing separate scores in each category such as:

  • Lust: 7

  • Jealousy: 10

  • Greed: 78

  • Anger and Hatred: 114

  • Excesses and vices: 157

  • Overall score in sinful behaviors: 53.01

How Orlando ranks in 'sins'

As for Central Florida's Orlando, it nabbed the 12th spot of the list with these statistics:

  • Lust: 17

  • Jealousy: 7

  • Greed: 162

  • Anger and Hatred: 7

  • Excesses and vices: 104

  • Overall score in sinful behaviors: 51.24

What are all the top 15 most sinful cities in America?

Dec 4, 2022; Paradise, Nevada, USA; The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign on the Las Vegas strip. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 4, 2022; Paradise, Nevada, USA; The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign on the Las Vegas strip. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

  1. Las Vegas, Nevada

  2. Houston, Texas

  3. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  4. Los Angeles, California

  5. Atlanta, Georgia

  6. Denver, Colorado

  7. Dallas, Texas

  8. Phoenix, Arizona

  9. Miami, Florida

  10. Cleveland, Ohio

  11. St. Louis, Missouri

  12. Orlando, Florida

  13. Baton Rouge, Louisiana

  14. New York City, New York

  15. North Las Vegas, Nevada

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: 2 Florida cities on top 15 least-sinful US cities list. What are they?