Arizona's 'Worst Place To Live' Is Near Lake Havasu With Some Really Undesirable Features
What makes a location the "worst place to live"? It all depends on the person you're asking — or the study. From a study that declared Memphis, Tennessee, the worst place to raise a family to a report that named Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the most dangerous city in the country, there are various ways to determine what, exactly, "worst" means. After all, there are plenty of people who love Memphis's artsy vibes, cuisine, and culture.
A 2023 rankings report from financial news platform 24/7 Wall St issued a ranking of the worst city to live in every state. The small unincorporated community of New Kingman-Butler, known to locals as simply "Butler," was named the worst place to live in Arizona. Located in Mohave County, about 20 minutes north of the town of Kingman and about an hour and twenty minutes from Lake Havasu, New Kingman-Butler is a rural community that had a population of 12,981 in the 2020 census.
What makes New Kingman-Butler the worst place to live in Arizona?
24/7 Wall St. consulted data from the Census Bureau, the FBI, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to create its rankings report, specifically examining poverty rate, median home value, median household income, and drug-induced mortality. It found that New Kingman-Butler is a significantly lower-income community than the state average: The poverty rate is 23.3% compared to the state's poverty rate of 13.5%; the median home value is $79,300 compared to the state median of $265,600; and the median household income is $39,139 compared to the state median of $65,913. However, the community has fewer drug-induced deaths than the state as a whole: New Kingman-Butler reported 27.8 drug-induced deaths per 100,000, compared to 34.4 per 100,000 for the entire state of Arizona.
Do inhabitants agree? According to the Mohave County website, New Kingman-Butler inhabitants like the rural atmosphere, the supportive community, the desert scenery, and the low cost of living. A public Facebook post about the 24/7 Wall St. report shows that many disagree with the ranking, with comments like, "Wow, that is just wrong. I love Kingman. It isn't the worst place to live." Another commenter said, "If it's so ... bad, then why is everybody moving here ..." "Worst" is all about who you ask, after all.