The worst cities to reside in Illinois and Missouri? This ranking says one is near us

The metro-east doesn’t get the bragging rights on this list of cities in Illinois, but that should be A-OK.

The honor of the “worst city” to reside in Illinois, according to 24/7 Wall St., goes to Rockford, although only cities with more than 65,000 residents were considered. That means the most-southern city considered was Springfield.

The ranking by 24/7 Wall St. chose the “Worst Cities to Live in Every State.”

In Missouri, St. Louis was named the worst city with nearly 25 percent living in poverty and a crime rate nearly five times the national rate.

According to the survey, factors against Rockford include high unemployment at 8.3 percent, above the statewide average of 5.9 percent, and high poverty of 22.4 percent, compared to 12.6 percent for the state average.

Rockford, with nearly 150,000 people, has a typical home value of $87,200, which can point to affordable housing but also to economic problems.

The worst cities in the country according to the survey are Detroit and Reading, Pa.

24/7 Wall St. considered cities of more than 65,000 residents in 2015, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. The survey considered crime, demography, economy, education, environment, health, housing, infrastructure, and leisure.

This story was originally published September 12, 2017 at 1:41 PM with the headline "The worst cities to reside in Illinois and Missouri? This ranking says one is near us."