The Worst Cities To Be Quarantined

No one wants to be quarantined and everyone spent the past couple of months just trying to make the best of it.

However, some cities just aren’t great places to be stuck at home. We often think about what cities have to offer in terms of night life, dining out, and exciting things to do. However, for the millions of Americans who were stuck at home in formerly exciting cities, the nearby theme park or vibrant theatre scene didn’t do much.

What did they want? Spacious apartments, speedy internet, plentiful take-out options, and nearby green space.

We hit the numbers to find the cities that had the least to offer social distancers.

The Worst Cities To Be Quarantined

Newark, New Jersey is the absolute worst place to be stuck at home. Newark and the other cities that make up the top 10 have to put up with mediocre green space per resident, stingy internet service, and tiny apartments.

Keep reading to see why these cities aren’t the place to be and the full list.

How We Determined The Worst Cities To Be Quarantined

We ranked each city 1 to 99 in four areas:

Average apartment size
Amount of parkland per person
Percent of residents with broadband internet
Number of takeout options

Average apartment size comes from RENTCafe. The bigger the apartment, the better for stir-crazy quarantiners. Not only can space make working from home, working out from home, and hobbies better, it also helps distance yourself from family and roommates. This doesn’t take into consideration city house size, or home owners, and just looks at apartment rentals.

The amount of parkland came from the Trust For Public Land. The more public green space per 1,000 residents, the higher the city ranked. We looked at the number of restaurants listed for each city on Doordash. The more restaurants available for delivery, the more food options residents can get without leaving their house.

Finally, we used the trusty US Census to see the percentage of residents in each city with broadband internet– including cable, fiber, or DSL. Not only does fast internet help with working from home, it also helps residents engage in video communication with friends, play online games, and stream entertainment.

1. Newark, New Jersey

newark,

Source: |

Parkland Per 1k People: 3.0
Internet(%): 37.7
Apartment Size:707

Newark is the worst city to be quarantined. What makes being stuck at home worse in Newark than other places? First of all, those homes are pretty tiny. The average Scottsdale apartment is 707 square feet. Throw in weak internet access and small amounts of public land and it’s easy to see that things could be a bit better for Newark residents.

2. Hialeah, Florida

Source: City of Hialeah|Public domain

Parkland Per 1k People: 0.9
Internet(%): 53
Apartment Size:825

In 2nd place, we have Hialeah, Florida. For every 1,000 Hialeah residents there is only .9 acres of parkland– the smallest amounts in the nation. Less park land means more time inside on shabby internet.

3. Paterson, New Jersey

Source: BJT11091|CC BY-SA 3.0

Parkland Per 1k People: 6.3
Internet(%): 49.4
Apartment Size:562

Patterson might have a decent amount of takeout options for a city of its size, but the apartments are pretty small. 562 square feet isn’t a lot of space to call your own– especially not when that space becomes a home office and rec room overnight.

4. Buffalo, New York

Source: |GFDL

Parkland Per 1k People: 7.3
Internet(%): 50
Apartment Size:782

Buffalo residents might have things a bit better than the first three cities, but Buffalo residents are still in a rough spot when it comes to the quarantine.

5. Laredo, Texas

laredo,

Source: Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia|GFDL

Parkland Per 1k People: 5.5
Internet(%): 33
Apartment Size:922

Laredo residents have larger apartments than many other cities. But those apartments don’t compensate for insignificant outdoor space and bad broadband rates.

6. Tucson, Arizona

tucson,

Source: Ronald Carlson|CC BY 3.0

Parkland Per 1k People: 8.7
Internet(%): 66
Apartment Size:762

Tucson is just 2 hours away from Scottsdale, Arizona, the best city to be quarantined. However, that two hours makes a world of difference. Tucson residents can only dream of the roomy apartments and great parks their fellow Arizonians have. One thin silver lining? Their internet isn’t downright horrible.

7. Cleveland, Ohio

Source: David Wilson|CC BY 2.0

Parkland Per 1k People: 7.3
Internet(%): 47
Apartment Size:796

A lot of Cleveland renters have been bunking down in the 796 square feet they call home. Hopefully they are among the 47% with fast internet, otherwise the space may feel even smaller than it is. Upside, Cleveland holds its own for a mid-sized city when it comes to takeout options. Maybe they can order some pierogi and pretend they’re somewhere else.

8. Arlington, Texas

Source: Original uploader was Therearenospoons at en.wikipedia|GFDL

Parkland Per 1k People: 12.5
Internet(%): 32
Apartment Size:818

What makes being quarantined in Arlington so rough? The internet! While in normal times, you can entertain yourself in a plethora of other ways (and do your work at, you know, work), in these strange times many Arlington folks have less distractions to cope with their boredom. No doubt many have had to resort to mobile hotspots to do their jobs and for their children to do schoolwork.

9. McAllen, Texas

Source: |PD

Parkland Per 1k People: 3.8
Internet(%): 61.1
Apartment Size:915

McAllen residents might have a bit more room to sprawl, but when it comes to leaving their house they are at disadvantage. The city only has 3.8 acres of parkland for every 1,000 residents. Not a lot of room to socially distance of get a breath of fresh air.

10. Boston, Massachusetts

boston,

Source: |CC BY-SA 3.0

Parkland Per 1k People: 7.9
Internet(%): 40.9
Apartment Size:817

In 10th place we have Boston. Boston is an exciting city known for a fun, young population and lots to do pre-quarantine. However during quarantine, many found out the hard way that doesn’t help too much when you’re stuck at home.

Closing Thoughts On The Worst Cities To Be Quarantined

Overall, while everyone is struggling with quarantine– residents in these cities have to put up with more disadvantages than most.

Sure, fast internet, spacious apartments, take-out, and beautiful parks don’t make up for the lack of human contact and everyday normality– but they definitely help. So everyone spare some sympathy for the people in tiny apartments waiting for Tiger King to stop buffering or trying to socially distance in crowded parks.

The Worst Cities To Be Quarantined

City	Parkland_Per_1K_People	Internet(%)	Apartment_Size	Take_Out_Options
Newark, NJ	3	37	707	658
Hialeah, Fl	90.0%	52	825	243
Paterson, NJ	6	49	562	664
Buffalo, NY	7	49	782	701
Laredo, TX	5	33	922	76
Tuscon, AZ	8	65	762	375
Cleveland, OH	7	47	796	997
Arlington, TX	12	32	818	582
McAllen, TX	3	61	915	175
Boston, MA	7	40	817	1,219
Wichita, KS	12	67	787	319
Detroit, MI	8	45	791	1,431
Toledo, OH	11	69	811	161
Philadelphia, PA	6	38	801	1,856
Mesa, Arizona	5	69	818	600
Milwaukee, WI	10	58	852	415
Fresno, CA	5	63	892	404
Minneapolis, MN	12	50	785	1,141
Baton Rogue, Louisiana	5	62	944	284
Riverside, CA	11	54	846	591
Washington DC	12	38	736	1,660
Durham, NC	10	28	935	439
Baltimore, MD	7	57	818	1,295
Norfolk, VA	7	58	881	609
Fort Wayne, IN	9	68	876	165
Chicago, IL	4	64	733	4,778
Lubbock, TX	9	65	902	188
Irving, TX	8	68	848	531
St. Louis, MO	11	59	833	739
Kansas City, KS	36	58	792	581
Corpus Christi, TX	26	62	843	203
El Paso, TX	43	59	812	438
Lincoln, NE	13	56	942	200
Winston-Salem, NC	15	63	920	10
Long Beach, CA	6	71	801	1,218
New York City, NY	4	70	733	3,669
Tulsa, OK	22	63	820	598
Hayward, CA	11	70	819	597
Chula Vista, CA	8	76	874	199
Reno, NV	13	70	838	341
Greensboro, NC	26	40	937	193
Miami, FL	3	54	879	3,178
Memphis, TN	13	57	917	474
Alburquerque, NM	48	65	810	456
Sacramento, CA	10	71	820	777
Portland, OR	23	42	802	1,717
Anchorage, AK	2,992	76	697	155
Pittsburgh, PA	11	70	811	861
Santa Ana, CA	2	66	863	1,916
Fort Worth, TX	14	65	859	591
Cincinnati, Ohio	22	39	869	1,030
Richmond, VA	9	69	868	767
St. Paul, MN	16	64	825	910
Bakersfield, CA	14	70	870	345
San Francisco, CA	6	78	737	2,344
Boise, ID	19	69	881	198
Oakland, CA	9	71	792	1,440
Los Angeles, CA	9	69	771	3,885
St. Petersburg, FL	24	72	862	129
Seattle, WA	9	81	711	1,336
Honolulu, HI	34	71	544	803
Indianapolis, IN	13	62	878	1,054
Anaheim, CA	7	71	842	1,281
Aurora, CO	29	72	821	408
Colorado Springs, CO	24	77	822	387
Charlotte, NC	13	50	948	959
Glendale, CA	8	64	865	3,045
Denver, CO	9	74	832	1,193
Madison, WI	26	80	842	254
Phoenix, AZ	31	66	783	1,541
Lexington-Fayette, KY	14	74	903	325
Oklahoma, OK	40	65	848	705
New Orleans, LA	71	56	871	861
Columbus, OH	18	63	887	1,032
Dallas, TX	21	63	837	2,645
Henderson, NV	32	54	970	624
Louisville, KY	23	66	929	621
Chandler, AZ	6	82	922	910
Fremont, CA	106	87	684	782
Gilbert, AZ	5	88	969	778
Omaha, NE	24	71	928	462
Chesapeake, VA	233	71	980	144
Nashville-Davidson, TN	52	69	889	996
Atlanta, GA	11	67	987	2,697
San Antonio, TX	20	82	847	1,298
Plano, TX	15	69	940	1,357
Tampa, FL	14	71	920	1,238
Las Vegas, NV	26	68	884	1,755
Jacksonville, Fl	74	67	959	770
Orlando, Fl	10	73	949	1,596
Austin, TX	22	80	859	1,564
Raleigh, NC	29	79	962	550
San Jose, CA	15	81	879	1,458
Chandler, AZ	23	82	922	910
Virginia Beach, VA	54	81	973	540
San Diego, CA	34	80	848	2,463
Las Vegas, NV	70	71	884	1,755
Irvine, CA	39	86	912	1,695
Scottsdale, AZ	124	81	946	1,060

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Author

Kathy Morris

Kathy is the head of content at Zippia with a knack for engaging audiences. Prior to joining Zippia, Kathy worked at Gateway Blend growing audiences across diverse brands. She graduated from Troy University with a degree in Social Science Education.

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