There is a scene in National Lampoon’s Vacation where the Griswolds stop briefly in East Saint Louis to ask for directions. Part of their car is stripped in the few minutes they are there. That movie is from 1980. Things have been the same there for a long time.

My wife and daughter were traveling across the country and had to stay in Little Rock. The hotel that they had reserved had three cop cars in the parking lot investigating something. Thank God one of the officers walked up to them and asked what the hell they were doing there and basically told them that he was not going to allow them to stay at that hotel and give him directions to a safe place to stay.

I don't know if this company is still in East St. Louis, but they made giant bolts and nuts by hand that were used around the World, including the USSR and China, on massive structures since those had a reputation for never failing regardless of age. Theirs were something like 10X more expensive than their competitors but were considered to be well worth the cost since they held up bridges, buildings and kept giant machinery clamped in place.

On my first cross country trip in 1974 there was construction going on on the interstate and I found myself in downtown East St Louis. Even though I was only 19 and knew nothing about the area, I knew I was in the wrong place and I immediately hightailed it back onto the freeway.

East St Louis is one of the creepiest places I’ve ever been. I didn’t know how bad it sucked before I went there. It’s really a depressing place. I’ve been to quite a few of the others on this list but soon as you enter East St Louis you know the best thing to do is get the hell out of there.

Camden, NJ; Bridgeton, NJ; Newark, NJ; Atlantic City, NJ; Chester, PA; Norristown, PA; Wilmington, DE; Albemarle, NC; Fayetteville, NC

As an after thought - I travelled through East St. back in the late 1990s. I stopped and got gas a a small gas station and the attendant thanked me for stopping. He asked if I had seen the two guys hanging around when I drove up. I said yes and noticed they didn't have a car. He said yes he figured they were going to rob him till they saw my patrol car pull in.

In August, 2021 I rode the train to Memphis to see the pandas at the Memphis Zoo. The hotel where I stayed that night was part of a well-known value chain but it was in apparently one of the worst areas. Check-in was at the last possible minute, 3pm, and all business was done via a thick windowed slot even in the daytime. A parade of interesting characters had shown up to renew their rooms at the back of the hotel, which apparently was a flophouse-type place for dopers and prostitutes. The desk clerk said, "I'll be giving you one of the nice rooms at the front." The room itself seemed fairly okay, and I slept right away because spending the day at the zoo had exhausted me. Later in the night I felt things crawling on me and the next morning found five (count 'em) five bedbugs. If I ever go back to that zoo (which is one of the best I've ever seen), I'll spend $50 to $100 extra to get a room or AirBnB in a better location.

I totally agree about Bakersfield. And Stockton CA should be added too.

#1 just reminded me of the movie "National Lampoon's Vacation," where the dad drives his family through a dangerous part of St. Louis rather than going to the Arch.

one of my college friends was beaten nearly to death and suffered severe brain damage one summer in East St Louis. He was part of some church inner city mission to the city in 1966. I talked to a railroad attorney while on a flight and he was describing how the railroad had to start fighting lawsuit claims because people in St Louis would park their car on the tracks and show up with an ambulance chasing attorney and wearing a neck brace.

Funny thing about car break-ins in Memphis. Some engineers from a company I used to work for were in Memphis. They parked their rental car on or near Beale Street and went to dinner. When they got back to the car it had been broken into and their laptops stolen. The company then issued VERY strict rules on laptops, including you could not lock them in a car, if, say, you had a company laptop, you were taking it home with you to do some work and stopped at the grocery store on the way you had to take your laptop in the store with you. After that rule came out my laptop never left the office.

FYI, East St. Louis is in Illinois, not Missouri-across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. I’ve been there and lived to tell about it. If they’re ever going to give the world an enema, East St. Louis is where they’d ram the nozzle of the enema bag.

So true about East St Louis! I was making a cross country trip, east to west, and could tell from the Interstate that East St Louis is where hope goes to die.

Change is hard and your video showed what locals don’t want to admit. This is what the locals are willing to accept and that’s the real problem. This was a brave video for you to make.

East St Louis.....I mistakenly got off the interstate there and on realising my mistake......I sped out of there, not stopping for a single red light.

Detroit MI, Baltimore MD, East St. Louis Ill, and Camden NJ.

Way back in the 80’s, Baton Rouge was a ridiculously safe place to live. One could actually walk the streets downtown alone at night without worries.

Not from the area, I stopped in East St. Louis for gas and an energy drink once. While filling up, I looked around and realized my mistake. When I went in for my Red Bull, the store clerk just stared at me with his jaw hanging open. His look told me he thought I was or was about to be a ghost. I did my best to keep calm while moving quickly. That night at a hotel, I watched a documentary on East St. Louis. Needless to say, I don’t intend to make that mistake twice!

Way back in '10 or '11, when I was stationed at Scott AFB IL I went to a concert on the MO side of the river and took the light train, the Metro. At the time, I thought the Metro ran 24/7, and to my dismay I found out it did NOT. Had a couple drinks after the concert, it was late when I headed back into IL. When I heard the driver saying they were taking the train off the route for the night, I was like "you gotta be sh!tting me!!" The Metro's maintenance facility is smack dab in the middle of East St Louis. But then after a couple seconds of wondering just how the hell I'd get home, the driver announced there would be one final train going the entirety of the rest of the line. That was the longest nine minutes of my life, waiting for the last train of the night at almost 2 am in East Saint Louis.....needless to say, I paid considerable more attention to the schedule after that experience.

There was a period in the mid 2000s where the Memphis city police refused to enter certain neighborhoods.

Always great when Briggs does a "10 horrible cities" video, and only one Ohio town is on it.

One thing I love about these videos is checking the comments after to see all the stories people have about crazy shit they've seen up and down the states

Briggs, you never disappoint! Thank you for your efforts!!!

I knew East St. Louis was going to be #1. I'm just surprised Camden, NJ wasn't on the list.

I would pick up the St Louis paper on weekends for a while, and got some info on East St Louis. They went for 2 years without garbage pick up maybe 10 years ago. Very few of their cop cars were running, and only 2 had working radios. A church group built new energy efficient houses to just give to locals. Nobody wanted them because the property taxes were 6k a year, and that was 15 years ago.

Anyone who thinks having a refinery in your town is bad needs to visit Whiting, Indiana. There's a big BP refinery there, and the refinery pays all the property taxes for the town. The residents don't pay anything. There isn't a crack in a sidewalk or a pot hole in the street. People have good jobs. There is a beach and a nice riverfront park. The high school athletic fields are new and nice enough to be a college facility. The smell of a refinery is the smell of money!

It's always amazing the number of videos you see that say something is bad versus videos you see that actually analyze & go into detail about WHY things are bad.

I would have added Oakland, California to the list. No matter how much they try, it still remains pretty much a pit. The Oakland A's will probably leave for greener and better pastures soon and there's really nothing there unless you're rich and can live in the hills. If you're poor, it's a nightmare. I worked in Oakland for 6 years and it was horrible. The downtown is dreadful and only getting worse.

This list could go on and on.

I lived in Bakersfield from 2000-2005. It’s a total waste of space in California. It’s pretty much an expansion of East LA with high crime and homeless population and is really hot in the summer. I remember when I lived there, I didn’t even know the place had mountains around it, because it was so covered with smog. I remember during the quarantine in 2020 when leaving California Bakersfield was so clean. It looked like another planet.

I'm surprised that Gary, IN and Camden, NJ didn't make the list. From my own experiences I'd have to add Newburgh, NY as an honorable mention.

Parts of Baltimore City definitely need a reset. I agree about Memphis and Little Rock. Passed through them on a trip and didn't want to stop.

I used to work on Ft. Benning in Columbus GA. I currently work for a company based there. I was never happier than when remote work became a thing and I haven’t been to the office in almost 3 years now. I felt safer in the worst parts of Atlanta GA or the poorer quarter in New Orleans than I did in Columbus. Though ironically, Phenix City AL across the river from Columbus used to hold the title of America’s Sin City.

In reality, the DOUBLE DEUCE roadhouse in the movie ROAD HOUSE was located in California and has now been demolished. In the film, it is located in Jasper, MO, a long way from St Louis.

We moved to Miami in 1990, and the real estate agent we spoke to said we wouldn't want to live in Florida City because it was dangerous and had a lot of poverty. We moved to Cutler Ridge, which has since been incorporated as Cutler Bay.

Great job, Briggs. These lists are always funny but really sad too, because most of these cities were once very nice places. I've never been to Memphis but I know it has a real rich history. Breaks my heart to see it on the list.

Very interesting topic, but I'm quite surprised Flint, Michigan and Gary, Indiana didn't make the list.

I'm a little surprised Detroit, Flint, Baltimore, or Gary didn't make the list. All are a shell of themselves in their prime years. I'm a Baltimore native and it's sad the state of what was once a good city. There's so much broken and corrupt in that city I don't know where you begin to fix it.

We took a car trip across all of Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee. On the way there we passed by Little Rock, Arkansas. There were police sirens going off and it seemed like you could feel the tension in the air. When we arrived in Memphis we went to eat in a McDonald's. Some people there told us not to be here after dark.

The GOP is always on a rant about the level of urban crime in Blue States like Illinois New York and California. Yet 8 of the 10 states mentioned here are in Red States, almost exclusivey in the Deep South. I am very familiar with E St. Louis. i grew up about 40 miles north of there in Illinois where, after 12 years in San Antonio TX, I live today, I went to St.Louis through E. St. Louis many times before I went in the service and lived in Texas, as my family shopped and dined there often and also went to Cardinal gsmes and Forrest Park every summer. St. Lous University played a big role in my families life as I, my father and uncle, and two of my cousin all are alumni of the School-three of us with Doctorates in Medicine and Law. After I married, I lived just the other side of E St. Louis and had to drive through there at night when I was in law school and commuting to one night class. I locked my doors and had a weapon nearby. Better to be jailed than dead. Oddly enough, as a lewyer I have appeared several times there in Federal Court but i leave immediately when my business there is done. Unfortunately E. St. Louis is beyond hope and St Louis is no place that I go to anymore either. Crime is killing what used to be one of the best cities in the US as St. Louis has gone from one of the top 10 cities in the nation in terms of population to having lost 60% of its residents since 1960.

Briggs. First of all. I would like to say. Thank you for your service in honor of Veterans Day. Secondly. Awesome video as always. You should definitely do the same type of video. But with towns.

8:48, USS Kidd, the river is so low now that she is sitting high and dry, The pier ahead of her is also completely out of the water.

Great video. I live in Rhode Island and we have the same problem. Somehow the Dept of Transportation engineers skipped the part when they went to school where as manhole covers are supposed to be flush with the road! Even on brand new roads! Or maybe they have a deal with Midas so as to give them more customers!!

I was mentally joking about my town being on the list and it ended up being the next one you said! I don't know if I'm embarrassed, sad, or angry....damn it Little Rock

Port Arthur TX is mainly famous for being the home of Janis Joplin, and I don't think she was fond of that place, either!

Stopped with my wife in East St. Louis back in the early 80's while on a cross country trip. I should have been leary over the fact that the hotel we stayed at asked for no more than the cash for the room, no ID or anything, but the room was clean and we only planned to stay one night and hit the road early. We had eaten earlier on the road so we showered and went to bed. We had been in bed not much more than an hour when we noticed that the mattress was getting damp and sticky, something was seeping up through. We got up turned on the lights and the first thing we noticed was a reddish brown substance on the both of us, when I pulled back the blankets there was a pool of it in the shape of our bodies. I lifted the mattress and between it and the box spring were five blood soaked blankets. After lifting the sheets there were five more blankets between the mattress and the sheets. The amount of blood was mind blowing,but what happened afterwards was even more so. I called the front desk and the local police and had showered and put our luggage into the car when both they and the night clerk showed up. No one not the cops not the hotel employee no one asked us jack. We approached a number of policemen expecting to be asked some questions but all we got was "We'll get to you in a bit " no one ever did, as the sun was coming up and we saw the police leaving we left as well without being stopped or questioned and to this day don't have a clue as to what happened. My wife later made the point that since no one had asked us anything, asked for ID or knew who the hell we were we might be considered suspects in whatever had gone down there but to this day haven't heard a peep, we also have been creeped out by the idea of East St.Louis and hardily agree that bulldozing the town might be a good thing .

i knew east saint louis would be on this list, i drive on the interstate through it about twice a year and the anxiety levels go up

"...not sure if you want to be shot or stabbed...locals will help you out".... I was rolling at this! Thank you for a good laugh.

Before watching I cynically wondered if Florida City would beat East St Louis for #1. I wasn't disappointed to see both actually on this list lol

I rode through Compton in 2021 on my Motorcycle. It's nothing like it was back in the day.

Big city suburbs in another state tend to be sketchy -- Gary, East St. Louis, Toledo, Newark, etc. My 2 visits to Memphis were okay, but I stayed overnight in West Memphis, Arkansas. That was sketchy.

Surprised that Camden, NJ didn't make the list. Or for that matter, Newark, NJ. Interesting facts about Port Arthur, TX: It was Janis Joplin's hometown. Even when she was famous, locals there weren't impressed. That big refinery may stink but it provides a lot of high paying employment. The port itself is one of busiest in the US. It's not a place for the weak or weary but if you can fit in there, you can make some great friends for life.

DETROIT

I sell survival equipment at trade shows. I was on the west side of St Louis when a gentleman picked up a Bowie knife off my table and said oh look an East St Louis gut wrench. That told me everything I needed to know about East St Louis.

I went through St Louis in the late 80s, it was scary and looked wrong to me from the highway. I had lived my entire life in West Texas up to that point.

Thank you for your service Briggs!

Awesome video Briggs, but sad in a way. I rode the bus to Baton Rouge 55 years ago (1967) to visit LSU and see the real Mike the Tiger. It was a nice city then. Manufacturing in America shut down, poverty and crime shot up. In a few years Seattle and Portland might be on here. I love both cities!😪

I'm glad to hear there's no place worst than East St. Louis.

Briggs, can you please do a video for top cities to own a Cabin? Thanks so much!🤙🏼

Haha! Been waiting for a video like this.

Accidently rented a motel room in Camden when I was visiting Philly more than a dozen years ago. I've been told it's not so dire right now but back then it looked like a dystopian hellscape. I say this before I watch the video, so let's see if it isn't here and has gotten bettter.

The buildings aren't to blame. The neglect of the tax adverse is.

The problem with your suggestion of bulldozing these towns is that doesn't remove the people causing the crimes.

I wonder if he has ever done or might do maybe the top ten best air quality/water quality states/cities. Or coldest temperatures in each state. It'd be cool to see.

The number one spot DEFINITELY needs to go to North Philadelphia, the armpit of America. If anywhere needs to be bulldozed, hands down, that's the place.

I love you’re channel. Keep it up

East St. Louis is in Illinois

Cracked me up with Albany, GA (named Agony, GA by the GA folk). At Albany State if they don't teach you to move out of town and how to rent a U-haul, it is a crime. That is funny and I can relate. Grew up in the South so I appreciate it and realize it has many areas for improvement. Thanks for your great videos.

Cleveland, Detroit, and several other cities have an advantage that there is an outer belt freeway to get from one side to the other without going into the c(h)ity. Of course the outer belt is not always 100% safe, but it's not 100% suicidal like going through town.

My car died coming back from California.. took a greyhound bus.. stopped in e st Louis.. they warn u not to leave the building.. I was starving . Walked out the door.. stopped n realized there was at least 10 people outside waiting to rob n kill me

I am shocked that you didn't mention Detroit, MI because the city is in serious ruins and have been losing population over the decades.

Start with East St. Louis! Sorry 618 but y’all gots to go! 💯

Interesting. And thank you for the reply.

Toledo sounds OK! Bakersfield, on the other hand, yes, the soil thereabouts is thought to be riddled by noxious fungal spores; and Port A. does have the bad refinery air;

10. Toledo, OH 9. Bakersfield, CA 8. Port Arthur, TX 7. Albany, GA 6. Florida City, FL 5. Memphis, TN 4. Columbus, GA 3. Baton Rouge, LA 2. Little Rock, AR 1. East St. Louis, MO

Let's start with NYC,Chicago, LA,San Francisco.

I grew up in St Louis - the Missouri side. It was common knowledge in the 1950s that smart people stayed clear of East St Louis. But, unfortunately, it was also common knowledge that after hours you could go “across the bridge” and get 3.2 beer. Now there’s something worth risking your life for!

Lived in Toledo for 13 years. Love the city. Happy I left. Yeah 25% could go. Many of the large vacant buildings are closed grocery stores. Used to have way too many of them.

I thought for sure Detroit would be on this list. Then I remembered: most of it has already been bulldozed!

Uh, you forgot about Gary, Indiana. Although to be fair, half of the city has fallen or is about to fall down on its own. Houses, schools, businesses and even churches are vacant and decayed. I'm not sure about the crime statistics since it seems like few people live there. We often drive through on our way up to Michigan (only in daylight and carrying) and the place is a sh*tbox. My brother-in-law is a local assessor and he feels the main obstacle in the way to demolition is that the city records are so bad that nobody knows who owns what property. Gary needs a giant bulldozer.

I spent some time in Columbus, GA and Memphis, TN, both while visiting my Army son (yes, infantry). Memphis was a bit scary when we got off at the wrong exit outside of Beale St., but Columbus seemed really nice and the people were fantastic. Maybe we were just in the nice area? The city that actually scared us was Albuquerque, NM. Another one that was a total dump was Hinesville, GA outside of Ft. Stewart. You can’t even drink the water because it tastes and smells so bad and it was sketchy going anywhere during the daytime, no way I would venture out at night without my son and his Army buddies.

Always a great day when Briggs uploads a new video

As an outsider, it's very easy to spot American cities - simply look for car parks between the 70's style skyscrapers.

I know the Federal Government burned down Atlanta back in 1863. If I could go back to that time, I'll bet everything I have I would find much less of a reason for the government to burn it down back then than I would now.

I'm always surprised when people talk negatively about Little Rock. I worked there for a few months back in 2015 and I was pleasantly surprised at how much nicer it seemed compared to southern New England cities like East Hartford, Providence, New Haven, Bridgeport, etc... Granted it was only a few months, but in general I thought Little Rock was beautiful in comparison, and had much better food and entertainment, and honestly their "ghettos" were laughably tame looking compared to Providence, Bridgeport, East Hartford, and New Haven. The people in Little Rock also seemed very nice; way nicer than southern New England people such as myself haha. I felt much safer in Little Rock than I ever did in southern New England cities.

Honorable mentions go to San Bernardino, Detroit, Fresno, and Gary, Indiana. All of these belong on the "Raze 100% to the ground" scale.

This video needs to become a series. 10...only the beginning. Cities and neighborhoods.

Great video and having been to all (or at least passed through- was warned never to stop in E STL), you’re spot on. Inspiring that TX LA OH FL only had one city on the list and PA was unscathed. Growing up in the 70s though I have to wonder how many east coast pits have pulled themselves up high enough to stay off the list - Richmond, Wilkes Barre, Rottenchester, Easton-Bethlehem-Lehigh, Newark all come to mind, not to mention Flint MI. Georgia taking the prize w 2 cities is impressive and hey if brain dead Herschel wins the runoff, why not just say bulldoze all of Georgia and sell it to TX, NY or CA to be used as their toxic waste dump!

I'm not sure if I'd put east st Louis in the #1 spot🤔 stats may tell otherwise, it's been a while since I've been there but one things for sure, don't get off the wrong exit or your tires and rims will disappear at the stoplight while ur in the vehicle!

Good video Briggs, I'd like to nominate Jackson Michigan for the next such list. I grew up there, and on everyone's lips is the phrase "this f'n town." When I was growing up it was one of the ten most corrupt cities in the nation and no one even knew who the mayor was. Might have been a secret. The streets are in terrible shape, lots of poverty, and it's just a very unhappy town. The two principle products of Jackson when I lived there were bad backs and divorces.

When I went to Western Illinois in the 90's kids from the worst neighborhoods in Chicago were wherry of kids from East St. Louis. Speaks volumes.

Lancaster Pa is the same way with man hole covers. It's a place where potholes are planned in the roads. They have it to where you can't avoid hitting them.

The fact that LA is not on this list is a crime.

How does Flint, Inkster, Highland Park or Muskegon from Michigan or Gary, Indiana not make this list? Outside of East St Louis, they all make the list look like dream cities.

the trouble is if you knock down half of these towns the crime will move to another town

Ah Gary, Indiana Detroit, Michigan Baltimore, Maryland Jersey City, New Jersey Youngstown, Ohio Ontario, California Ford Heights and Chicago Heights, Illinois. That's my choices for bulldozer.

I kept expecting to see Oakland make it on the list. I've heard that despite the fact they have actually been trying to make it not as crime-filled as it has been in the past it still is horrendous there. I imagine though that by the time the Oakland A's actually leave Oakland and there are no more teams in that City because of all the jobs that will be lost oh my God that city is going to be hell

I have to disagree. I was born in the Bronx in the 70s, grew up in the 80s/90s. The Bronx was an utter hellhole. I saw my first murder at 10 years old. The cops wouldn't help, they didn't care. Landlords would pay street thugs to burn their property down, so they could collect on the insurance. Fire hydrants, street lights and traffic lights didn't work. No one from the city cared. But today, lots of the Bronx have been gentrified and are pretty nice. What was once a wasteland, are now areas people are moving into. So the city of the Bronx is nowhere near as bad as it was back then. If the Bronx can turn it around, then these cities can do so as well.

Hey , what about us…. Yours truly: Shreveport, Gary, Camden and Flint. By the by, People in Youngstown and Dayton would be happy to vacation in Toledo!