10 ‘neediest’ US cities

Detroit remains the neediest city in the U.S., largely because it has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 9.1%, according to a Dec. 15 analysis from personal finance website WalletHub.

The city also ranked No. 1 in WalletHub’s 2025 list.

To develop its “Neediest Cities in America (2026)” ranking, WalletHub compared 182 U.S. cities — including the 150 most populated and at least two of the most populated cities in each state — across 28 metrics tied to economic well-being and health and safety. Metrics included poverty, unemployment, homelessness, uninsured and food insecurity rates, as well as the share of adults who needed to see a physician in the past year but could not due to cost.

Here are the 10 neediest U.S. cities, per WalletHub:

1. Detroit

2. Brownsville, Texas

3. Shreveport, La.

4. Cleveland

5. Little Rock, Ark.

6. Gulfport, Miss.

7. Corpus Christi, Texas

8. Birmingham, Ala.

9. Laredo, Texas

10. New Orleans

The post 10 ‘neediest’ US cities appeared first on Becker’s Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis.