Boston Among Top 5 ‘Rudest’ Cities In America

Boston ranked as the fifth “rudest city in America,” and the second rudest city when considering locals only.

Ironically, it’s Bostonians themselves who think we’re rude. At least we’re self-aware?

A recent survey from Preply of over 1,500 residents in the 30 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. asked locals about the prominence of rude behaviors—like aggressive merging or being absorbed by your phone in public areas.

You might be able to guess which behaviors Bostonians ranked highest in: not slowing down for pedestrians and not acknowledging strangers. In our defense, it’s totally not us, how can you smile when your face is frozen tight for six months every year!?

Luckily, when it came to being absorbed by phones, we tend to be more aware of our surroundings than New York City, which took home the number one spot in that “rude” behavior. Surprisingly Memphis, Tennessee ranked first for not letting others merge in traffic—although, we’re admittedly guilty of this behavior. Which might explain why collectively we still ranked pretty high on the list of America’s rudest cities:

1. Philadelphia
2. Memphis
3. New York City
4. Las Vegas
5. Boston
6. Detroit
7. San Francisco
8. Washington D.C.
9. Los Angeles
10. Houston

These rankings were determined by resident’s own perceptions of fellow locals and non-locals in each city. When it came to assessing locals only, and taking tourists out of the mix, we ranked worse. The rudest cities in America considering only local resident behaviors are:

1. Philadelphia
2. Boston
3. Memphis
4. Detroit
5. New York City
6. Columbus, Ohio
7. Louisville
8. Chicago
9. San Francisco
10. Houston

Maybe we’re a little offended, but guess we have some behavioral skills to sharpen up!