United States of Shame…Where does YOUR State Rank?

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United States of Shame…Where does YOUR State Rank?

January 29, 2011 crisisboom

After compiling various census and US health figures, pop culture blog Pleated-Jeans constructed a surprisingly informative map to illustrate the acts for which each of our fifty great states came in dead last.

While some stats fit in with a common stereotype, others are a bit more enlightening.

Most stats taken from http://www.americashealthrankings.org/ and http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/rankings.html (unless otherwise noted)

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)

http://www.talkbusiness.net/article/ARKANSAS-RANKS-LAST-IN-CREDIT-SCORE-AVERAGES/1007/

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

http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparemaptable.jsp?ind=469&cat=10⊂=112&sort=a

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 highest rate of influenza

11. Hawaii –highest cost of living (tied with California)

http://www.cnbc.com/id/38148092/States_With_the_Highest_Cost_of_Living?slide=11

12. Idaho – lowest level of Congressional clout

http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/roll_call_rocky_mountain_states_still_at_bottom_of_congressional_clout_list/C559/L559/

13. Illinois: highest rate of robbery (284.7 incidences per 100,000 people)

14. Indiana: rated the most environmentally unfriendly by NMI solutions

http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/09/15/indiana-comes-in-last-on-green-state-ranking/

15. Iowa: highest percentage of people age 85 and older (1.8 percent) (tied with three other states)

http://www.statemaster.com/graph/peo_per_of_peo_who_are_85_yea_and_ove-percent-who-85-years-over

16. Kansas: poorest health based on highest average number of limited activity days per month (3.5 days)

http://www.statemaster.com/graph/hea_lim_act_day_per_mon-limited-activity-days-per-month

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)

http://www.statemaster.com/graph/hea_gon_rat-health-gonorrhea-rate

19. Maine: dumbest state claim based on lowest average SAT score (1389)

http://www.commonwealthfoundation.org/policyblog/detail/2010-sat-scores-by-state

20. Maryland: highest rate of AIDS diagnosis (27.6 people per 100,000 people)

http://www.avert.org/usa-states-cities.htm

21. Massachusetts: worst drivers claim based on highest rate of auto accidents

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2002/11/11/150352.html

22. Michigan: highest unemployment rate (13.6 percent)

23. Minnesota: highest number of reported tornadoes (123 in 2010)

http://woodbury.kstp.com/content/minnesota-ranks-first-nation-tornado-reports-2010

24. Mississippi: highest rate of obesity (35.3 percent of total population)

BONUS facts: Mississippi ranks last in the most number of categories. These include highest rate of child poverty (31.9 percent), 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 highest overall rate of STDs.

25. Missouri: highest rate of bankruptcy (700 out of every 100,000 people)

http://www.bcsalliance.com/bankruptcy_statestats.html

26. Montana: highest rate of drunk driving deaths (1.12 deaths per 100 million miles driven)

http://helenair.com/lifestyles/article_c48ad0a6-bce0-5f69-931e-dc5ca0f83583.html

27. Nebraska: highest rate of women murdered annually

28. Nevada: highest rate 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

http://newhampshire.watchdog.org/7194/nh-ranks-last-in-corporate-tax-climate-7th-best-for-business-overall/

30. New Jersey: highest rate of citizen taxation (11.8 percent)

http://retirementliving.com/RLtaxes.html

31. New Mexico: antisocial claim based on lowest ranking in social heath policies

http://www.lasg.org/NMecon05.htm

32. New York: longest average daily commute (30.6 minutes) http://www.statemaster.com/graph/lab_mea_tra_tim_to_wor-labor-mean-travel-time-work

33. North Carolina: lowest average teacher salary

http://www.southernstudies.org/2008/01/north-carolina-ranks-last-for-teacher.html

34. North Dakota: ranked last in ugliest residents report as chosen by The Daily Beast

http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/1272/1/?redirectURL=http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-02-01/the-most-and-least-attractive-states/

35. Ohio: nerdiest state claim based on highest number of library visits per capita (6.9)