The surprising southern state with some of the rudest cities in America
So much for southern charm.
Florida has some of the rudest cities in America, beating out the larger metropolises traditionally known for their filth, a new study shows.
Miami was ranked as the rudest in the US this year, according to the findings of a language tutoring company Preparewith Tampa in third place.
The cities were evaluated based on the number of people who reported experiencing specific rude behavior from others.
Miami, for example, received its poor rating because locals lack self-awareness in public, are loud in shared spaces and treat service workers poorly, the study said.
Miami residents surveyed gave their neighbors a near-perfect rudeness score of 9.88 out of 10.
Annoying phone use in public β including talking on loudspeaker or ignoring your surroundings while looking at the phone β was among the most common rude behaviors.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ranks second on the list after claiming the No. 1 spot in Preply’s first survey in 2022. This year, its residents scored a 9.12 out of 10.
Rounding out the top five were Louisville, Kentucky and Oakland, California.
To determine the rankings, Preply surveyed residents in 46 cities about “the social behaviors they noticed.”
Some of the most commonly observed behaviors included talking on speakerphone in a shared space, watching videos or listening to music out loud in public, getting caught up on the phone, and not acknowledging others around them.
Nearly 9 in 10 respondents said they had witnessed people doing these things in their city.
Another common pet peeve was people who left their phones ringing without turning them off.
More than 85 percent of respondents said that fellow residents in their city often do not respect others’ personal space or have hygiene problems.
Indecent driving was also one of the top complaints, with residents citing motorists speeding ahead in a closed lane to merge closer to the front, ignoring basic rules of the road and failing to slow down or exercise caution around pedestrians.
Miami was named the rudest city of 2024, beating larger metropolises like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles
Philadelphia, which was No. 1 in the 2022 Preply survey, fell to second place this year
Tampa came in third, giving Florida two cities in the top three
The survey also took politics into account, as 1 in 2 Americans believe their city has become ruder ahead of the November election.
Nearly a quarter of Americans have considered moving because of their neighbors’ bad manners, the survey found.
Respondents also provided insight into how they deal with rudeness.
More than 88 percent of those surveyed said they decide to ignore it, while more than 50 percent said they walk away. Only 11 percent choose to address the rude behavior.
The older people are, the more likely they are to view new residents of their city as rude. According to Preply, transplants are seen as ruder by both the transplants themselves and the natives.
The survey also ranked the least rude cities, with Omaha, Nebraska, topping the list.
Omaha was followed by Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Diego, California.
βWhether you experience the Midwestern charm in Omaha, the supportive neighbors in Minneapolis, or the friendly, laid-back reputation of those in San Diego, these cities generally exhibit a welcoming atmosphere for locals and visitors,β according to the study.
Some cities were able to become friendlier in the two years between Preply’s surveys.
Washington DC, Detroit, Michigan; San Jose, California; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, were among the most improved.
The nation’s largest cities β New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago β were in the middle of the pack when it came to the rudeness of their residents.
The survey found that Americans are frustrated with the poor and sometimes dangerous driving behavior of their fellow citizens
Survey respondents had a lot to say about aggressive or rude drivers.
More than 70 percent have witnessed drivers speeding in a closed lane to get closer to the front, while more than 64 percent say they have seen drivers ignore basic rules of the road.
Miami is less than 25 miles from the deadliest, mile-long stretch of road in America, located in Fort Lauderdale.
This harrowing stretch of Interstate 95 claimed the lives of 24 people between 2010 and 2019.
Oakland, the fifth rudest city in the survey, was recently ranked by financial site WalletHub as the worst and most expensive place to be a driver for the second year in a row.
The Bay Area city was also rated as the second least safe city to drive, and compared to the national average, it is one of the most accident-prone cities.