Montgomery is rough (And worst cities in the South?)

I live in BR so I thought our town was pretty bad. But I stopped in Montgomery on the way to Atlanta and it seems worse. Every house in the whole town seemed like it was falling apart, buildings were very run down too. A lot of people just milling around on the roadside wearing beat up clothes. Stopped at a gas station that was pretty ghetto and the Indian dude that worked the register came in from a smoke break and got into a fight with someone on the phone while registering my stuff. Combining my experience with the stories I’ve heard from the OT, Montgomery seems pretty dismal. As a tie in, has the OT ever had bad experiences in any of these cities, and how would you rank the worst towns in the South/USA?

ETA: I’ve never been there but from what I hear, St. Louis seems like the most depressing place in America. The Delta is extremely depressing as well. But I don’t feel like there’s a lot of crime there, just people trying to carve out a living.