PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland is the unhappiest city America, according to a new ranking by BusinessWeek magazine.

The publication said it ranked 50 of the country's largest metropolitan areas based on a variety of factors, including depression rates, suicide rates, divorce rates, crime, unemployment, population loss, job loss, weather, and green space. The most heavily weighted factors were the depression, suicide, unemployment and crime rates.

Leslie Storm, director of Oregon Partnership's crisis prevention line, said calls for help are up 71 percent from January 2008 to this year.

Fallout from the rotten economy is the main topic for callers, but she doesn't rule out the weather, either. Counselors and volunteers who handle the hot lines are aware of Seasonal Affective Disorder that can lead to depression, she said.

"I think a lot of it's the economy. I think people are calling us that wouldn't have called us in the past because there are fewer resources. And because there are fewer resources, people who are using alcohol and drugs can't get into a treatment center," Storm said.

While some said the Rose City's reputation for livability, green awareness and creativity ought to keep its residents happier, Storm said that all the people who have moved here for that reason may have left families behind and don't have a built-in support system.

She said some may feel lonelier and be in need of services like crisis lines.

Portland, with a December 2008 unemployment rate of 7.8 percent, ranked first in depression rates, fourth in divorce rates, 12th in suicide rates and 24th in violent crime rates. On top of that, the city had 222 cloudy days in 2008.

St. Louis, Mo., was No. 2 on the BusinessWeek list. It ranked first in violent crime rates, 13th in depression rates, 18th in divorce rates and 22nd in suicides. Unemployment stood at 8.2 percent in December 2008.

No. 3 on the list was New Orleans. Its violent crime rate was fifth highest, and it ranked 25th in depression rates, 26th in divorce rates and 43rd in suicide rates. Unemployment in December 2008 was 7.9 percent.

Rounding out the Top 10, in order: Detroit, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Fla., Las Vegas, Nashville-Davidson, Tenn., Cincinnati and Atlanta.

The suicide leader was Las Vegas and Louisville led in the divorce rate.