Business Insider recently compiled a list ranking the most and least “miserable” cities in the United States. (Somebody apparently had a lot of free time on their hands.) So how do you suppose the various states did? There was one clear winner in the losers’ column and that was… (drumroll please) … California.

Yes, the Golden State has the most miserable cities on the list, including ten of the top fifty most miserable. As my mother always said, do your best to excel at something. I suppose this counts. (CBS Sacramento)

California has the most “miserable cities” in the country, according to data compiled by Business Insider, and landed 10 cities in the list of 50 most miserable cities in the United States.

This region didn’t have any cities ranked in the top 100, and only Yuba City (159st) came in the top 200.

Rocklin is considered one of the least miserable cities in the country, coming in at 910 on the list of 1,000. Recently, Money Magazine named Rocklin one of the Top 100 Places to Live.

You can see the entire list of 1,000 here in spreadsheet form to see where your city ranks.

They came up with this index by comparing a variety of factors including population shifts, employment rates, median income and average commuting time. In other words, there’s probably some magic mixed in with the science but surely this list has some value anyway. So what can it tell us? Let’s take a look.

While California nabbed ten of the top fifty spots for being miserable, New Jersey came in a close second with nine of them. (It was basically a tie because another New Jersey city came in at number 51, but if we’re sticking to the rules we shouldn’t count it.) With that sort of a start you might be tempted to think that the blue states are all the most miserable, but not really. There are red and purple states near the top as well. Here are the rest of the states that made the top fifty and how many cities each had.

– Texas and Florida have five
– Ohio has four
– Michigan and Indiana have three
– Georgia has two
– Arkansas, Virginia, West Virginia, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Illinois have one

Part of it is a factor of population, at least to a point. California has the greatest number of miserable cities because California has the most cities. Texas and Florida are big also. But do you notice one state that doesn’t have a single city in the top fifty but has a massive population? New York. I know, right?

In other words, I’m kind of throwing up my hands here. There doesn’t seem to be any definitive rhyme or reason. It’s mostly just a fun chance to dunk on California, I suppose. Look over the list and see if you can make heads or tails of it.