Columbus ranks among least rude cities in U.S., survey finds

COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) – A recent analysis has named the “rudest” cities in America, finding Columbus is among the top five locations where residents experience the least amount of inconsiderate behavior.

Preply.com, a language learning resource, released its 2024 ranking of the most and least rude cities in the country last month. In July 2024, a total of 2,533 survey participants in 46 of America’s largest cities were asked to recall how often they had experienced fellow residents demonstrating behaviors such as listening to music or watching videos in shared spaces; ignoring strangers; being disrespectful of personal space; and careless driving.

While not specifically surveying participants about friendliness, Preply.com determined which of the cities were the “least rude” and gave them a score on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the rudest. Columbus was ranked at No. 4 and given a score of 6.7. The least rude city was Omaha, Nebraska (No. 1); followed by Minneapolis (No. 2); San Diego (No. 3); and Kansas City, Missouri (No. 5).

Miami was named the rudest city in the country, earning a 9.88 out of 10 on Preply.com’s rudeness scale. Miami was followed by Philadelphia; Tampa, Florida; Louisville, Kentucky; and Oakland, California.

“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 website wrote.

The website's analysts found the most common rude behaviors cited among all participants were “lack of care for others, being loud in shared spaces, and a lack of self awareness.” The site also concluded the older a participant was, the more likely they were to think those who moved 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 company found.

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