Every American city has its own personality. Some places greet you with a warm smile, a held-open door, and patience in the checkout line. Others? Not so much. According to Preply’s widely cited 2024 rudeness study, a total of 2,533 survey participants across 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. The results were eye-opening, and a few cities earned their spots on this list fair and square.
To determine the rankings, Preply surveyed residents about social behaviors they noticed in their city and calculated a city rudeness score based on the answers. On average, when asked to rank their city’s residents’ behavior on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the most rude, locals ranked their city as 4.9. The five cities below blew past that average by a wide margin. Here they are, ranked from fifth to first.
#5: Oakland, California
Rounding out the top five was Oakland, California, with a rudeness score of 8.67. That’s nearly double the national average, which is a striking result for a Bay Area city that many picture as laid-back and progressive. Oakland’s entry into the top five was a new development, reflecting a city whose social climate has noticeably shifted in the eyes of its own residents.
Despite the official rankings, residents shared where they think their neighbors land on the rudeness scale. Locals in Miami, FL, Oakland, CA, and Tucson, AZ, said people in their city are ruder than those in any other city. So it’s not just outsiders saying it. Oakland’s own people are pointing fingers at each other, which tells you something about how the daily social experience feels on the ground there. It’s a city with real passion and culture, but the survey data is clear: the day-to-day public behavior is leaving a lot to be desired.
#4: Louisville, Kentucky
Rounding out the top five included Louisville, Kentucky, with a rudeness score of 8.72. That’s a notable jump for a city that carries a Southern reputation for hospitality. Louisville, Kentucky, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Austin, Texas, all placed at least five spots higher in the rude rankings than they did in 2022, which means things are getting worse, not better, for the Derby City.
A report in the New York Post noted that Louisville residents are among the rudest in the nation, even more so than they were in 2022. Some of the most common behaviors named in the survey were lacking self-awareness, talking on speakerphone in a shared space, being loud, and a lack of care for others, among many others. For a city long associated with Southern charm, that’s a pretty rough verdict from the people who actually live there.
#3: Tampa, Florida
Floridians in Tampa come in as the third-rudest residents in the U.S., with the area scoring a point lower than Miami at 8.88 out of 10 points. Tampa’s rise was steep and fast. In the initial 2022 study, Tampa didn’t even make the top 12. Within just two years, it catapulted all the way to number three, a trajectory that surprised a lot of people who thought of the city as a relatively easygoing place.
The most common rude behaviors Americans saw others doing included being loud in public or on the phone, having little self-awareness, and not caring for others. Other behaviors included not acknowledging strangers, not respecting personal space, and being rude to service staff. Rapid population growth and a shifting demographic mix in Tampa may be contributing factors, though the survey doesn’t pin down a single cause. Either way, the numbers speak clearly: Tampa has become one of the least pleasant places in the country to be a stranger.
#2: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, deemed in the 2022 survey to be the rudest city, earned a score of 9.12 in 2024, putting it in second place. That’s actually good news by Philly standards. Although Philadelphia ranked as the second rudest, the city’s residents have actually gotten kinder since 2022, when they ranked number one. Still, a 9.12 out of 10 is nothing to brag about over a cheesesteak.
Although nicknamed the “City of Brotherly Love,” Americans typically stereotype Philadelphians as rude, but locals tend to attribute their behavior to a feeling of insularity in the city. Reluctant to incorporate outsiders, many residents have learned to keep to themselves while growing up in a busy city. Philadelphia in Pennsylvania comes in second place with a score of 9.12, directly behind Tampa, also located in Florida, with a score of 8.88. Philly fans, drivers, and pedestrians all have a certain reputation that the data apparently backs up.
#1: Miami, Florida
A recent survey from Preply.com revealed Miami, Florida, to be the “rudest” city in the U.S. based on responses from participants in 46 of America’s largest cities. Miami ranks as the most inconsiderate city in 2024, with a rudeness score of 9.88. That’s an almost perfect score on a scale measuring bad behavior, and it puts Miami in a category entirely its own. No other city in the survey came close.
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. While various factors can impact social behaviors, with the upcoming presidential election, 1 in 2 Americans said their city’s residents had become more rude. Miami is a world-class city with incredible food, culture, and energy, but if you’re looking for warmth from the locals, you may want to manage your expectations before you land at MIA.
