Jeff Wysaski
Whether it’s a fat population, high rate of STDs, best University value, or most presidents born there, every state has to rank both #1 and dead last in at least one unsavory category. Right? That’s just how math works.
We took it upon ourselves to do the research, combing the US Census Bureau, and Google, for each of the fifty states best/worst, and here’s what we found:
(Scroll down to see what your state either needs to keep on doing, or stop doing.)
What States Are Best At – The United States Of Awesome
The Southeast
The Northeast
Full Map
What States Are Worst At – The United States Of Shame
The Northeast is bringing shame.
It’s going down in the Midwest.
The Southeast
The not-so-Best Coast
The South is letting us down.
Full Map
Even More Specific Stats:
1. Alabama: highest rate of stroke (3.8 percent) (tied with Oklahoma)
2. Alaska: highest suicide rate (23.6 suicides per 100,000 people in 2004)
3. Arizona: highest rate of alcoholism
4. Arkansas: worst average credit score (636)
5. California: most air pollution (15.2 micrograms per cubic meter)
6. Colorado: highest rate of cocaine use per capita (3.9 percent total population)
7. Connecticut: highest rate of breast cancer
8. Delaware: highest abortion rate (27 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44)
9. Florida: highest rate of identity theft (122.3 reports per 100,000 people)
10. Georgia: sickly based on the highest rate of influenza
11. Hawaii –highest cost of living (tied with California)
12. Idaho – lowest level of Congressional clout
13. Illinois: highest rate of robbery (284.7 incidences per 100,000 people)
14. Indiana: rated the most environmentally unfriendly by NMI solutions
15. Iowa: highest percentage of people age 85 and older (1.8 percent) (tied with three other states)
17. Kentucky: most cancer deaths (227 per 100,000 people) (BONUS fact: Kentucky also has the highest rate of tobacco smokers – 25.6 percent)
18. Louisiana: highest rate of gonorrhea (264.4 reported cases per 100,000 people)
19. Maine: dumbest state claim based on lowest average SAT score (1389)
20. Maryland: highest rate of AIDS diagnosis (27.6 people per 100,000 people)
21. Massachusetts: worst drivers claim based on the highest rate of auto accidents
22. Michigan: highest unemployment rate (13.6 percent)
23. Minnesota: highest number of reported tornadoes (123 in 2010)
24. Mississippi: highest rate of obesity (35.3 percent of the total population)
BONUS facts: Mississippi ranks last in the most number of categories. These include the highest rate of child poverty (31.9 percent), the highest rate of infant mortality (10.3 percent) lowest median household income ($35,078), highest teen birth rate (71.9 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19), and the highest overall rate of STDs.
25. Missouri: highest rate of bankruptcy (700 out of every 100,000 people)
26. Montana: highest rate of drunk driving deaths (1.12 deaths per 100 million miles driven)
27. Nebraska: highest rate of women murdered annually
28. Nevada: highest rate of violent crime (702.2 offenses per 100,000 people). BONUS fact: Nevada also has the highest rate of foreclosure (one in 99 houses)
29. New Hampshire: highest rate of corporate taxes
30. New Jersey: highest rate of citizen taxation (11.8 percent)
31. New Mexico: antisocial claim based on lowest ranking in social heath policies
32. New York: longest average daily commute (30.6 minutes)
33. North Carolina: lowest average teacher salary
34. North Dakota: ranked last in ugliest residents report as chosen by The Daily Beast
35. Ohio: nerdiest state claim based on the highest number of library visits per capita (6.9)
36. Oklahoma: highest rate of female incarceration
37. Oregon: highest rate of long-term homeless people
38. Pennsylvania: highest rate of arson deaths (55.56 annually)
39. Rhode Island: highest rate of illicit drug use (12.5 percent of the population)
40. South Carolina: highest percentage of mobile homes (18.8 percent)
41. South Dakota: highest rate of forcible rape 76.5 per 100,000
42. Tennessee: chosen most corrupt state by The Daily Beast
43. Texas: lowest high school graduation rate (78.3 percent)
44. Utah: highest rate of online porn subscriptions
46. Virginia: highest number of alcohol-related motorcycle deaths
47. Washington: most cases of bestiality (4 reported in 2010)
48. West Virginia: highest rate of heart attack (6.5 percent of the population)
49. Wisconsin: highest rate of binge drinking (23.2 percent of the population)
50. Wyoming: highest rate of deadly car crashes (24.6 deaths per 100,000)
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*This article was first published on Pleated-Jeans in 2011, and is a PJ Classic.