As an outsider, as a person who comes from a completely different part of the country, I would say City aren't as hated as United and Liverpool or even Leeds. If you asked people in my corner of London who their top 5 most hated clubs were, we would have each other (as in other London clubs) near the top followed by United and Liverpool and then Leeds or Brighton depending on the club they support (Chelsea fans would say Leeds, Palace fans would say Brighton for example). I haven't come across many who outright hate City.
That said, if you asked people specifically about City, you likely wouldn't get a positive answer.