The Worst Thing About Every State

Alabama is tied for the highest share of workers who commute in their own car, at 93.8%. The state has among the lowest shares of people who walk, bike, take public transit, or work from home. This contributes to traffic and pollution, and long solo car commutes can have negative long-term health impacts

Alaska’s violent crime rate is 867.1 per 100,000 people, well more than double the nationwide rate.

Arizona is projected to have a 33.3% increase in the number of adults with Alzheimer’s disease by 2025, the largest projected increase in the nation.

Arkansas has the nation’s highest teen birth rate, at 43.5 births per 1,000 residents aged 15-19 years old.

Roughly one in six Californians have not finished high school, the highest rate in the country.

Colorado has an average altitude close to 7,000 feet above sea level, which means that it can be harder to breathe for those who aren’t acclimated. The “Mile High City” of Denver has an estimated 17% less oxygen.

From March 2016 to March 2021, the number of people working in Connecticut dropped by a U.S.-leading 11.5%, even as overall employment grew nationwide.

Delaware has no real identity — it has no major cities and is overshadowed by the sprawling metropolises of Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Florida is constantly being hit by hurricanes. Of the 292 hurricanes that have hit the U.S. since 1851, 120 made landfall in Florida.

Less than two thirds of Georgia children have been immunized against diseases like mumps and measles, the lowest share in the nation.

Experts recommend that adults get at least seven hours of sleep per night, but 43.2% of Hawaiians fail to meet that threshold.

Between 2008 and 2017, most states had less than 1% of their land damaged by wildfires. In Idaho, 10.6% of the land was burned — accounting for nearly 5.6 million acres. Idaho is one of just two states in which over 25% of homes are at extreme wildfire risk.

As of 2020, Illinois only has enough money tucked away to meet 38.9% of pension obligations for public sector workers. This is the lowest share in the country. Most states can afford over 70% of their obligations.

Indiana is home to Kokomo — the only major metro area in the U.S. in which violent crimes more than doubled over the last five years.

According to a recent report, Iowa is the least safe state to bike, as five of the 10 most dangerous cities to bike are in the state.

Kansas is flat and geographically homogeneous. Driving through the state can put many to sleep.

Kentucky reported 186 cancer deaths per 100,000 residents, the highest rate in the nation.

In Louisiana, it costs $2,839 to insure the average car, nearly double the average nationwide cost and over $700 higher than the next closest state.

According to the latest Census data, 94.4% of Maine’s population is white, beating out nearby Vermont and New Hampshire as the least diverse states.

There were over 58 murders committed in Baltimore per 100,000 residents last year, the highest murder rate among cities with a population of at least 250,000.

Some may find Boston sports fans insufferable because their professional teams win frequently. The Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics have each won at least one championship since 2000, combining for a total of 12.

According to a 24/7 Wall St. index of crime, economy, education, environment, health, housing, infrastructure, and leisure, Detroit and Flint are the worst cities in the U.S. to reside in.

The Red River Valley in Western Minnesota gets more blizzards than any other part of the country.

Those who live in Mississippi are more likely to be impoverished than residents of any other state. Some 19.6% of state residents earn incomes at or below the poverty line..

Author Mark Twain immortalized life on the Mississippi River, but for Missouri residents, the waterway can be deadly. Some of the worst floods in American history are due to the Mississippi’s fury.

Montana has an average federal tax refund of $2,459, the lowest of all 50 states. The average refund in the U.S. is over $3,700.

QuoteWizard named Omaha drivers as the worst in the country, in large part because they are most likely to be caught driving under the influence.

According to a 24/7 Wall St. index of reading skills, educational attainment, and library prevalence, Nevada ranks as the least literate state in the U.S.

New Hampshire is one of just a handful of states that does not provide any funding for pre-kindergarten programs.

Although New Jersey is one of the smaller states, it has 114 hazardous waste sites, the most of any in the country.

New Mexico has the highest share of low-income children of any state, at 56%.

The typical New York resident who commutes to work every day spends 34 minutes in their vehicles, or in public transit, the longest commute of any state.

North Carolina has one of the highest rates of evictions in the country.

North Dakota has the second lowest share of COVID-19 vaccines distributed per capita, as well as the second highest share of cases per capita, as of September 2021.

Ohio’s NFL teams — the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals — have never won a Super Bowl. Neither the Reds or Indians in the MLB have won a title in 30 years. The Columbus Blue Jackets have had one playoff series win in their 20 years in the NHL. Native son LeBron James did lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first title in 2016, then left for the Los Angeles Lakers two years later.

Life expectancy has improved across the country over the past few decades, but Oklahoma had the smallest improvement. Life expectancy at birth in the state has increased by just 3.4% since 1980. Oklahoma’s current life expectancy is the fourth lowest among states.

Soaring rents have contributed to Oregon’s homelessness problem. In some counties, homelessness has risen by more than 100%.

The American Society of Civil Engineers gave Pennsylvania’s wastewater system a D- grade. Over 1.6 million homes in the state are serviced by systems that fail over 20% of the time, and the average sewer system is over 70 years old.

Rhode Island has the highest average electricity price of the lower 48 states, at 23.4 cents per kilowatt hours. It is the only state in the continental U.S. in which electricity costs over 20 cents/kWh.

South Carolinians pay an estimated $144 on average on their monthly energy bill, the highest in the lower 48 states.

The average salary for a public school teacher in the state is just over $50,000 per year when adjusted for the cost of living, the lowest of any state.

According to America’s Health Rankings, seniors in Tennessee have a hard time finding care. This is because of the relatively low number of health care providers like home health workers and geriatricians, and that many residents 65 and older skip care they cannot afford.

Seven of the 25 worst American cities to drive are in Texas. These cities include Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Odessa.

Utah has by far the highest rate of reported new cases of skin cancer among both men and women.

From 2019 to 2020, the number of overdose deaths in Vermont increased by 57.6%, the highest percentage of any state.

Virginia is the 11th most populous state, but does not have a single team in the NHL, NBA, MLB, or NFL.

Seattle has earned a reputation for being one of the rainiest places in the country, as it rains there an average of 152 days a year.

West Virginia adults are the least likely to have a bachelor’s degree in the country. An estimated 21.1% of state residents hold at least a bachelor’s degree, compared to 33.1% of all Americans.

Over 27% of Wisconsin adults drink to excess, which is the highest share of any state.

Wyoming had 25.4 traffic fatalities per 100,000 residents in 2019 — the highest rate of all states and more than double the U.S. traffic fatality rate