Dallas ranked among the top 15 “most sinful cities” because of the vices of its residents, including lust and vanity, according to a new study, and as the holidays progress, more opportunity to indulge emerges.
“Usually, the holidays bring family and friends gatherings and other events with all sorts of sweet treats and comfort foods,” said Jill Gonzalez, an analyst with WalletHub. “These special occasions make it very easy for people to indulge in eating and drinking more than they typically do.”
Overall, Dallas ranked No. 12 on the WalletHub 2021 Most Sinful U.S. Cities study.
“Dallas ranked high because of the presence of terrorist attacks, the large number of adult entertainment establishments per capita, and the increased Google search interest for XXX entertainment and plastic surgeries,” Gonzalez told Dallas Express.
Dallas also ranked in the top half for both the share of obese adults, which is 37.3%, and excessive drinking, with a prevalence of heavy drinking among adults at nearly 19%. The city also has a large number of fast-food establishments per capita.
“The areas where Dallas ranked better include the low share of [the] population using marijuana, the long weekly hours worked and a low high school dropout rate,” Gonzalez said in an interview.
At No. 182 out of 182 cities on the list, Port St. Lucie in Florida is one of the least sinful cities.
“Unlike Dallas, it has a low number of violent crimes and thefts,” Gonzalez added. “Port St. Lucie also has fewer aggravated assault offenses, a lower share of adults with gambling disorders, just 1.1% as opposed to 2.2% in Dallas, a lower number of tanning salons per capita, and a low high school dropout rate.”
Not surprisingly, Las Vegas, where gambling is king, landed the No. 1 spot.
“Las Vegas has the largest number of casinos per capita while Dallas ranks 69th,” Gonzalez said. “In Nevada, 2.7% of adults have gambling disorders whereas in Texas there are 2.2% adults with gambling disorders.”
Overall, gambling addiction leads to more than $100 billion in losses for U.S. consumers every year, according to WalletHub data.
“To create the ranking, we drew on the seven deadly sins: anger/hatred, jealousy, excesses and vices, greed, lust, vanity, and laziness,” Gonzalez said. “The metrics range from more serious ones such as crime rate, terrorist attacks, theft, and fraud to less serious ones like tanning salons, and the percentage of smokers and coffee drinkers.”
According to the study, Houston came in 3rd place on the list because it ranked high for jealousy and vanity and topped all the other cities in terms of lust.
“The fact that Houston is the third most sinful city indicates that there are several areas where residents could improve,” Gonzalez said. “Houston ranked high because it had 36 mass shootings in the past three years, the largest number out of all the cities analyzed, a large number of adult entertainment establishments per capita, and an increased Google search interest for XXX entertainment and plastic surgeries. Texans need to know that both Dallas and Houston seem to have an issue dealing with lust and vanity.”
At No. 117, 124, 128, respectively, the study further found that Irving, Garland, and Grand Prairie rank in the bottom half of the list because they have a low number of violent crimes, sex offenders, aggravated assault offenses, and thefts per capita, as well as a low bullying rate, and a low prevalence of excessive drinking.
“Plus, the three cities have a small share of the population using marijuana, around 6%, a low number of drug overdose deaths, and a large share of charitable donations,” Gonzalez said. “Other areas where the cities got good scores include the low search traffic for the term ‘Tinder’ and for plastic surgeries, the small number of tanning salons per capita, the large number of weekly hours worked, and the low high school dropout rate.”