Gosh, it’s no fun to hear people complain. If you can’t fix something, work on getting more liquids into that half-full glass! But people do tend to get sour-mouthed about where they live, and a new study by MoverDB, a website that shares information about international moving companies, gives us the dirt on which places people are most likely to dial 311, the non-emergency number for city services.
Residents of Baltimore, Maryland complained more than in any other city, calling the hotline 17,551 times per 10,000 residents per year, which means some folks are calling more than once. The major complaints are about noise and trash. However, we have to point out that the 311 service originated in this city in 1996, so it got a head start over other cities, and maybe residents consider it a matter of proprietary pride to make that call. By comparison, New York City didn’t begin a 311 program until 2003. No. 2 on this list is Sacramento (with 11,156 calls) and No. 3 is Albany (with 10,689 calls).
As far as U.S. neighborhoods go, residents of the Mission district of San Francisco and its 94110 zip code made the most calls to 311, with 12,026 calls made to 311 per 10,000 residents, mainly about uncollected trash and bulky items left in the streets. No. 2 in this category is Baltimore’s 21224 zip code (with 10,041 calls) and No. 3 is its 21215 zip code (with 9,629 calls).
On the flip side, the happy residents of Riverside, California tend to just chill about their issues. They made only 906 calls per 10,000 residents. The second happiest are in Miami (with 1,023 calls), and the third happiest residents are in Detroit (1,107 calls). The neighborhood where your people are less likely to rat you out is Carmichael, CA, just outside of Sacramento and encompassing the 95608 area code. Happy as a clam, these residents are making 168 calls per 10,000—and maybe some of those were just misdials!