Northern Illinois 10 Most Miserable Towns

Do you live in misery? It all depends on what town you call home. The misery index is out and if you live in Rockford, surprise, you are not #1!

First the good news, no city or town in the Stateline made the misery index top 20 statewide, but based on the list, we did have a number of town that made the top half of the list. 403 towns were ranked in all.

So how do measure if your town is qualifies for the misery index? The data crunched by roadsnacks.com included:

Percentage of residents with a college degree
Average commute times
Unemployment rates
Cost of living
% of married couples
% of home owners
Poverty rate

From the list, they came up with the list of the most miserable places to live in Illinois. From that list, I pulled the Top 10 from Northern Illinois. (Sorry Harvard, we love Milk Days!)

TOP 10 MISERABLE CITIES and TOWNS in NORTHERN ILLINOIS

Town name / followed by ranking in ALL of Illinois

1. Harvard (28th )

2. Rockford (37th)

3. DeKalb (51st)

4. Oregon (58th)

5. Freeport (84th)

6. Woodstock (108th)

7. Belvidere (110th)

8. Genoa (111th)

9. Rochelle (115th)

10. Dixon (168th)