2025’s Most—and Least—Sinful Cities in America, Ranked by Key Factors

When you think of the nickname “Sin City,” you probably think of the city of Las Vegas, especially with its wide range of casinos, legalized gambling, salacious adult entertainment offerings, easy access to just about every vice, and an around-the-clock party lifestyle. After all, the party life is a multi-billion-dollar industry in Las Vegas. But although “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” it’s not the only sinful city in the United States.

According to WalletHub, the country is full of people committing sins. The outlet ranked nearly 200 American cities for sinfulness based on seven key dimensions—including anger and hatred, jealousy, excesses and vices, greed, lust, vanity, and laziness—to determine which cities are the most sinful and which are the least.

The study is based on businesses and establishments within city limits, police reports, and population size from the U.S. Census, as well as local Google Searches for terms relating to the key dimensions.

Las Vegas Leads the List of Most Sinful Cities

It’s no surprise that Las Vegas, Nevada, is No. 1 on the list, while sinful cities of note, like New Orleans, Louisiana, Los Angeles, California, Atlanta, Georgia, Miami, Florida, and others, are in the top 10. However, smaller metropolises, such as Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tennessee, Wichita, Kansas, Mobile, Alabama, Wilmington, Delaware, and others, just cracked the top 50 of the most sinful cities.

By contrast, the least sinful city in the nation is Columbia, Maryland—which is ranked at the very bottom at No. 182. Other cities rounding out the bottom five in the rankings are Madison, Wisconsin, Pearl City, Hawaii, West Valley City, Utah, and Fremont, California.

Check out a list of the top 50 cities that are considered the most sinful in America, below:

1. Las Vegas, NV
2. Houston, TX
3. Los Angeles, CA
4. Philadelphia, PA
5. Atlanta, GA
6. Denver, CO
7. Miami, FL
8. Dallas, TX
9. Phoenix, AZ
10. New Orleans, LA
11. Baton Rouge, LA
12. Chicago, IL
13. St. Louis, MO
14. Cleveland, OH
15. Memphis, TN
16. Orlando, FL
17. New York, NY
18. North Las Vegas, NV
19. Baltimore, MD
20. Nashville, TN
21. Henderson, NV
22. Birmingham, AL
23. Detroit, MI
24. Portland, OR
25. San Antonio, TX
26. Shreveport, LA
27. Tampa, FL
28. Little Rock, AR
29. Fort Lauderdale, FL
30. Jacksonville, FL
31. Richmond, VA
32. Indianapolis, IN
33. San Diego, CA
34. Charlotte, NC
35. Washington, DC
36. Cincinnati, OH
37. Austin, TX
38. Mobile, AL
39. Wichita, KS
40. Pittsburgh, PA
41. San Bernardino, CA
42. San Francisco, CA
43. Kansas City, MO
44. Sacramento, CA
45. Tempe, AZ
46. Wilmington, DE
47. Minneapolis, MN
48. Knoxville, TN
49. Reno, NV
50. Chattanooga, TN

To learn more about the other cities ranked on the list and data methodology, visit WalletHub for more info.