A new study finds that the most socially disconnected city in the country is in St. Louis, Missouri, a place where the number of people living alone jumped from 6.5 percent to 11.9 percent in the last decade.
The number of residents living in their own homes also went up.
The study is part of the St. Charles-based Urban Sociology Center’s Social Distancing Index.
Researchers found that the metro area was a social isolation zone, with people living in single-family homes or apartment buildings far away from the rest of the city.
The index measures how social isolation affects people’s lives, and the more isolated someone is, the more they feel isolated.
The metro area is home to the University of Missouri-St. Louis and has a population of over 50 million.
The St. Joseph County, Missouri-based metro area includes St. Francis, Missouri; Lake Charles, Louisiana; and the Kansas City metro area.