The worst city for keeping New Year’s resolutions is on the Mississippi Coast

If you’re thinking about making New Year’s resolutions, think extra carefully if you live in Gulfport.

Gulfport ranks as the nation’s worst city for keeping new year’s resolutions in 2018, according to a WalletHub survey. Included in the top five worst cities under Gulfport are Shreveport, Louisiana; Newark, New Jersey; Jackson; and Detroit, Michigan.

The survey, 2018’s Best & Worst Cities For Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions, used metrics and assorted data to look at various aspects of 182 cities. Gulfport ranked 182 overall.

The survey concludes that where you live may chip away at your resolve to stick to your goals.

WalletHub, a personal finance website, suggests people consider the rankings where they live and use the results to find alternative ways to increase their will power.

Between 42 percent and 92 percent of Americans tend to fail at keeping their resolutions, according to WalletHub, which identifies getting out of debt as the top new year’s resolution. That is also the most commonly broken promise.

To help Americans stick to their 2018 goals, WalletHub compared 182 cities across 52 key metrics. The data sets include adult obesity, employment outlook and income growth based on data from numerous agencies.

Here’s how Gulfport ranked out of 182 cities in some of the categories:

• Income growth: 181st
• Gyms per capita: 178th
• Percentage of delinquent debtors: 176th
• Smoking rate: 172nd
• Percentage of obese adults: 151st
• Job opportunities: 144th

Gulfport and Jackson are the only Mississippi cities included in the survey.

The survey also looks at issues such as binge drinking or heavy drinking, access to parks and restaurants, school ratings, median incomes and median credit scores.

Everyone knows it’s easy to make New Year’s resolutions. It’s keeping them that’s the hard part, whether the goal is to lose weight, save money or have less stress.

That’s why WalletHub looks at aspects that could make or break a resolution, such as whether city residents live in neighborhoods without sidewalks or fitness centers, or if their access to restaurants is limited to fast food.

Location could set you up for failure, especially if motivation is low, according to WalletHub.

Seattle, Washington, ranked as the best city at keeping New Year’s resolutions.

This story was originally published December 26, 2017 at 4:10 PM with the headline "The worst city for keeping New Year’s resolutions is on the Mississippi Coast."