The 10 Most Unfriendly U.S. Cities According to Foreign Travelers

Not every city can be filled with warm, welcoming people. Some areas are just prone to more crotchety and unfriendly behavior due to struggles with the weather and the tight living quarters. It’s okay to simply want to be left alone. However, travelers looking for a more warm and friendly experience would do well to heed the warnings of the residents of cities that claim to be less friendly than average. Odds are, they aren’t lying. Even if one could find the friendliest person in a city, some of those cities would just have less friendly people. Let’s examine the ten most unfriendly cities in the United States of America.

To populate this list, we looked at rankings for the most unfriendly cities supplied by reputable sources of information from travelers, such as Yelp and MapQuest. We also looked through the Reddit forums for each individual city on the list to see if there were unbiased opinions of the city’s friendliness from both travelers and residents. When looking at resident opinions, we tried to understand why the residents described their hometowns as being unfriendly and the reasons they gave for why the people in the area aren’t as warm and welcoming. Doing so not only allowed us to understand which cities were traditionally friendly and which ones weren’t but what factors influence a city in becoming friendly or more standoffish.

10. Dallas, Texas

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Perhaps surprising to those who believe in “Southern Hospitality” is that Dallas, Texas is the tenth least friendly city in all of the United States of America. Many people believe that Texans, like many others from the South, are warm, welcoming, and hospitable to travelers. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case in Dallas, where many people reported the residents being unfriendly or even outright rude. Reports indicate that people from Dallas, like in many other larger cities, are always in a rush, leading to the people walking with their heads down, headphones in, and the world tuned out. Disturbing them doesn’t lead to a friendly interaction, either, according to travelers who reported the details of their trips to MapQuest and other forums.

9. San Fransisco, California

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The people of San Fransisco rarely try to hide that their area might not be the most hospitable. It isn’t particularly hospitable to residents, with homelessness and strife being evident on every street corner in the city. In a city that’s rarely kind to its residents, it’s no wonder those residents are lacking in the mental space to be kind to travelers. Especially since those travelers are getting a better San Fransisco experience than the residents themselves, in many cases. Additionally, San Fransisco’s residents don’t try to hide that they can be rude and snobby with people who just don’t “get it.” If you don’t fit in in San Fransisco, people won’t try to hide that you appear or act unusual. However, it’s worth noting that there’s one group who experiences a higher-than-average amount of friendliness, and that’s LGBTQIA+ people.

8. Los Angeles, California

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It probably won’t surprise anyone that Los Angeles isn’t one of the friendliest cities to visit. It’s been known for being full of itself and a bit snobby for years and that perception and its roots in reality haven’t changed much. Los Angeles isn’t the most unfriendly city. If you spend enough money, local shopkeepers will at least regard you pleasantly. However, don’t expect a red carpet welcome from this city. While they might roll out hospitality for the upper echelons, the average person is going to fade into the background for most L.A. residents. Don’t feel too down on yourself if people don’t regard you with interest in this city. That’s just the culture of the area. People in this area are a bit more distant with each other and that can be strange for visitors who are used to warmth from strangers.

7. Las Vegas, Nevada

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It really makes sense for the people of Las Vegas to be more standoffish with strangers when you think about it in context. Tourists in Las Vegas aren’t exactly known for being the most well-behaved bunch of folks. Their antics often inconvenience the locals who have to be there every day and see the same scenes play out with different people each day. While it might be exciting for the tourist, the locals of Las Vegas just want to live their lives and it’s the tourists who are impeding that. So, it should come as no surprise that the local Las Vegas population isn’t the friendliest bunch in the United States.

6. Miami, Florida

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It should come as no surprise that Miami likely suffers from many of the same problems that Las Vegas does. Drunk, rowdy tourists gumming up the works and making life harder for the locals is going to make anyone a little bit jaded and unfriendly. Some areas in Miami are so unfriendly they’ve become infamous among travelers for their harsh vibes. Miami is often thought of as a place where everyone only cares about themselves and they’re going to make that everyone else’s problem if it’s the last thing they’ll ever do. To some extent, that’s not entirely wrong. However, since the tourists in Miami can be exceptionally badly behaved, it’s hard to say who started the problem.

5. Boston, Massachusetts

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When it comes to terrible weather, Boston gets bad summers and bad winters, leading to a perpetually unhappy local population. What makes it worse is that Bostonians will take that bad mood out on you if you butt heads with them. The people of Boston are a busy bunch and they don’t have time to stop and chat. They have places to go and people to see and they’re not going to stop their busy lives for you. Lingering tensions from darker days in the past have left Bostonians in a state of perpetual distance from one another and they’re unlikely to go out of their comfort zone for a tourist, leading to an unfriendly appearance to tourists who expect to be treated with hospitality and friendliness.

4. Washington, D.C.

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With the city being full of high-profile and very important persons, it should come as no surprise that the people of Washington, D.C. are just too busy and preoccupied to make friendly with the travelers. With most of the United States federal government being centralized in and around Washington, D.C., the area is a high-security area. Simple outings turn into big productions when the location has high security and armed staff to protect the guests and VIPs alike. Additionally, a lot of the residents of D.C. are executives and lobbyists that are worth a lot of money and money attracts all kinds of attention and incidents. This area is very strict and serious because a lot of very important and dangerous information passes through the people who live here.

3. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Clashing with the locals of Philadelphia isn’t difficult. They’ll clash with people over sports, food, just about anything. The people of Philadelphia are set in their ways and they expect you to do as the Romans do when you visit their city. However, if you can fit in with the locals, you’ll find them to be a fun-loving and boisterous bunch. The locals of Philly have a unique take on life and they’re absolutely willing to share with people who respect their individualities and customs. Grab an appropriate sports jersey and eat some local delicacies and people will warm right up to you.

2. Detroit, Michigan

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Having been one of the areas hit hardest by the recession, Detroit is stuck in a state of perpetual unhappiness spurred largely by the higher- than-ideal unemployment rate. Referred to by some as the “armpit of the world,” Detroit has long been known for its less than friendly local population. However, like many others on this list, circumstances make it easier to understand why the people of Detroit would be less enthusiastic about meeting travelers than other areas. Detroit’s high crime rate may influence the locals being less friendly as you’re more likely to be suspicious of strangers when the crime rate is high. Additionally, the unemployment rate in Detroit leads to a lot of the people there being unhappy and feeling stuck, trapped in Detroit. When people from out of town come to visit, it can feel like they’re shoving their better circumstances in your face.

1. New York City, New York

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It should come to no one’s surprise that New York City is the least friendly city in the United States of America. This city has long been renowned for its loud streets, aggressive drivers, and unfriendly store employees. Some of the world’s best shops, theaters, restaurants, and museums are in New York City, but to get to them you’ll have to brave the unfriendly cab drivers, the hustle and bustle of the metro, and the crowds of people who trying to get from one place to the next.

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