You're So Vain, LA, I Bet You Think This Study's About You

HOLLYWOOD, CA — A new study of vices ranks Los Angeles as the second most sinful city in America just behind the most famous Sin City of all, Las Vegas. And while Vegas may edge out LA in overall vice, the City Of Angels did take the top ranking in two of the seven categories of sin: lust and vanity.

According to the study released this week by WalletHub, Angelenos are as hot for themselves as they are for everyone else. WalletHub scored LA high in lust and vanity based on the number of adult venues per capita, active Tinder users, x-rated google searches, and its ubiquity of hair and tanning salons as well as google searches for plastic surgery.

“Las Vegas isn’t the only “Sin City” in America. In other cities, bad things happen and stay there, too. From beer-loving Milwaukee to hedonistic New Orleans, the U.S. is filled with people behaving illicitly. No place is innocent. We all have demons,” WalletHub researchers concluded. “But at some point, we all have to pay for our vices. Gambling addiction, for instance, leads to over $100 billion in losses for U.S. consumers every year. In 2018, identity theft and fraud took a toll of $14.7 billion. And every year, smoking burns an over $300 billion hole in Uncle Sam’s wallet.”

WalletHub compared 182 cities by seven categories of sin:

1. Anger & Hatred,
2. Jealousy,
3. Excesses & Vices,
4. Greed,
5. Lust,
6. Vanity and
7. Laziness.

A city with a high theft rate (Atlanta) ranks high for jealousy while a city with a high rate of charitable giving (Grand Rapids) would rank low for greed, according to WalletHub. A city with more than its share of assaults, hate crimes and violent crimes (St. Louis) ranks high for anger and hatred.

To determine that Los Angeles is the lustiest city in the nation, the analysts at WalletHub looked at:

• Adult Entertainment Establishments per Capita
• Erotic/Burlesque Events per Capita
• Google Search Interest Index for “XXX Entertainment”
• “Most Active Tinder Users”
• Teen Birth Rate

Compared to sins such as anger and hatred, jealousy, laziness and greed, are lust and vanity really that bad? What’s wrong with lighting up Tinder and looking good while doing it?

Whatever your vice, here are the 10 best cities for indulging them:

1. Las Vegas
2. Los Angeles
3. St. Louis
4. Houston
5. Atlanta
6. Philadelphia
7. Chicago
8. New York
9. Miami
10. Denver