Red states and blue states may like to point to one another as the source of all that is wrong with the U.S., but the truth is that each of the 50 states has its own virtues and vices. For example, New Mexico has the worst drug problem, and it certainly comes as no surprise that Nevada is the most gambling-addicted.
Some states are more well-behaved than others, though. In order to determine the states that most give in to their desires, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 55 key indicators of immoral or illicit behavior. Our data set ranges from violent crimes per capita to excessive drinking to the share of the population with gambling disorders.
Cassandra Happe, WalletHub Analyst
Main Findings
Most Sinful States in the U.S.
Overall Rank* | State | WalletHub Vice Index | Anger & Hatred Rank | Jealousy Rank | Excesses & Vices Rank | Greed Rank | Lust Rank | Vanity Rank | Laziness Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Nevada | 60.47 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 3 |
2 | Louisiana | 55.21 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 28 | 4 |
3 | California | 54.94 | 10 | 11 | 41 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 22 |
4 | Florida | 50.62 | 41 | 5 | 42 | 32 | 4 | 4 | 19 |
5 | Tennessee | 50.35 | 3 | 15 | 2 | 11 | 5 | 29 | 11 |
6 | South Carolina | 49.39 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 17 | 31 | 9 |
7 | Texas | 48.24 | 33 | 6 | 38 | 40 | 1 | 7 | 21 |
8 | Arizona | 47.33 | 23 | 16 | 19 | 28 | 6 | 12 | 17 |
9 | Pennsylvania | 46.66 | 25 | 14 | 33 | 19 | 15 | 5 | 25 |
10 | Delaware | 46.45 | 36 | 2 | 14 | 5 | 38 | 24 | 18 |
11 | Mississippi | 46.04 | 11 | 24 | 7 | 16 | 10 | 38 | 6 |
12 | Georgia | 45.74 | 13 | 1 | 21 | 50 | 7 | 21 | 16 |
13 | Alabama | 45.38 | 5 | 12 | 12 | 39 | 12 | 36 | 8 |
14 | North Carolina | 45.20 | 24 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 20 | 26 |
15 | Oklahoma | 44.28 | 21 | 28 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 45 | 5 |
16 | Arkansas | 43.72 | 1 | 26 | 5 | 47 | 11 | 46 | 7 |
17 | New York | 43.70 | 15 | 20 | 45 | 46 | 25 | 1 | 13 |
18 | Colorado | 42.81 | 9 | 9 | 29 | 31 | 29 | 9 | 46 |
19 | Illinois | 42.64 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 34 | 23 | 13 | 28 |
20 | New Jersey | 42.61 | 42 | 22 | 50 | 24 | 30 | 3 | 24 |
21 | Michigan | 41.82 | 17 | 30 | 17 | 14 | 19 | 22 | 12 |
22 | Missouri | 41.59 | 20 | 23 | 6 | 29 | 16 | 32 | 27 |
23 | Ohio | 41.46 | 16 | 25 | 4 | 44 | 18 | 16 | 20 |
24 | Virginia | 41.03 | 44 | 21 | 31 | 12 | 22 | 10 | 44 |
25 | Washington | 40.79 | 37 | 10 | 47 | 18 | 35 | 8 | 40 |
26 | New Mexico | 40.03 | 32 | 19 | 18 | 27 | 28 | 48 | 2 |
27 | Maryland | 39.77 | 31 | 8 | 36 | 45 | 21 | 14 | 30 |
28 | West Virginia | 39.03 | 34 | 46 | 8 | 25 | 13 | 50 | 1 |
29 | Hawaii | 37.29 | 48 | 27 | 37 | 6 | 27 | 35 | 14 |
30 | Montana | 36.46 | 6 | 38 | 16 | 8 | 42 | 42 | 35 |
31 | Indiana | 36.41 | 29 | 35 | 15 | 37 | 26 | 33 | 15 |
32 | Oregon | 36.03 | 19 | 17 | 25 | 42 | 36 | 25 | 36 |
33 | Alaska | 35.50 | 8 | 36 | 24 | 17 | 31 | 41 | 42 |
34 | Rhode Island | 35.44 | 35 | 33 | 28 | 2 | 48 | 18 | 23 |
35 | Kentucky | 35.30 | 45 | 42 | 10 | 26 | 20 | 40 | 10 |
36 | Wisconsin | 34.83 | 27 | 41 | 22 | 21 | 32 | 26 | 33 |
37 | Kansas | 34.56 | 26 | 31 | 27 | 38 | 24 | 30 | 34 |
38 | Massachusetts | 33.40 | 47 | 37 | 46 | 40 | 41 | 6 | 43 |
39 | North Dakota | 32.94 | 40 | 43 | 34 | 4 | 45 | 27 | 48 |
40 | Minnesota | 32.38 | 46 | 34 | 40 | 33 | 37 | 17 | 45 |
41 | Connecticut | 31.97 | 50 | 29 | 43 | 35 | 46 | 11 | 32 |
42 | Iowa | 31.55 | 22 | 50 | 20 | 23 | 33 | 39 | 37 |
43 | Nebraska | 30.34 | 38 | 39 | 26 | 36 | 40 | 37 | 39 |
44 | Utah | 30.14 | 28 | 32 | 49 | 49 | 44 | 15 | 47 |
45 | South Dakota | 30.00 | 18 | 48 | 48 | 20 | 39 | 44 | 38 |
46 | Vermont | 28.20 | 30 | 40 | 32 | 15 | 50 | 43 | 41 |
47 | Maine | 28.20 | 39 | 47 | 23 | 30 | 47 | 47 | 31 |
48 | Idaho | 27.04 | 43 | 49 | 39 | 43 | 43 | 34 | 29 |
49 | New Hampshire | 26.09 | 49 | 44 | 44 | 22 | 49 | 23 | 49 |
50 | Wyoming | 25.63 | 14 | 45 | 35 | 48 | 34 | 49 | 50 |
Notes: *No. 1 = Most Sinful
With the exception of “WalletHub Vice Index,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the worst conditions for that metric category.
- Most
- T-1. New Mexico
- T-1. Alaska
- T-1. Arkansas
- T-1. Louisiana
- T-1. Tennessee
- Fewest
- 46. Wyoming
- 47. Rhode Island
- 48. Connecticut
- 49. New Hampshire
- 50. Maine
- Most
- 1. Washington
- 2. Colorado
- 3. New Mexico
- 4. Oregon
- 5. Louisiana
- Fewest
- 46. West Virginia
- 47. Maine
- 48. Massachusetts
- 49. New Hampshire
- 50. Idaho
- Most
- 1. Montana
- 2. North Dakota
- 3. Vermont
- 4. Iowa
- 5. Wisconsin
- Least
- 46. Alabama
- 47. Maryland
- 48. Oklahoma
- 49. Kentucky
- 50. Utah
- Highest
- 1. Mississippi
- 2. Minnesota
- T-3. Kansas
- T-3. New Jersey
- 5. Nevada
- Lowest
- T-43. New Mexico
- T-43. New York
- T-47. Connecticut
- T-47. Florida
- T-47. Kentucky
- 50. Michigan
- Highest
- 1. Mississippi
- 2. Hawaii
- 3. Arkansas
- 4. Alabama
- 5. Louisiana
- Lowest
- 46. Connecticut
- 47. Massachusetts
- 48. New Hampshire
- 49. Vermont
- 50. Rhode Island
- Most
- 1. Florida
- 2. New York
- 3. Pennsylvania
- 4. California
- 5. New Jersey
- Fewest
- 46. Mississippi
- 47. South Dakota
- 48. Vermont
- 49. Wyoming
- 50. Alaska
- Highest
- 1. Mississippi
- 2. Arkansas
- 3. Oklahoma
- T-4. Alabama
- T-4. West Virginia
- Lowest
- T-45. Montana
- T-45. Vermont
- 47. Oregon
- 48. Washington
- 49. Utah
- 50. Colorado
In-Depth Look at the Most Sinful States
Nevada
Nevada ranks as the most sinful state in America, which probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise given that one of its most famous cities, Las Vegas, is nicknamed “Sin City.” One of the obvious deadly sins in Nevada is greed, given that it leads the nation in casinos, and it also has one of the largest gambling arrests per capita.
Nevada residents also have some anger issues that they vent online, as over 10% of internet comments written by people in the state are hostile, one of the highest rates in the nation.
In addition, people in the Silver State can be a bit self-centered while partaking in their various vices. Sadly, the state has the second-lowest volunteer rate in the country.
Louisiana
The second-most sinful state in America is Louisiana – it’s not just during Mardi Gras that the state likes to partake in a little debauchery. For example, the state has one of the highest teen birth rates in the country.
Louisiana residents use substances irresponsibly more than people in other states, leading the nation in adults who say they have driven drunk, and having one of the highest rates of retail opioid prescriptions. The obesity rate is one of the highest in the country, too.
Hatred is another deadly sin that rears its head in the Bayou State, as there is an extremely high number of violent crimes per capita relative to most states.
California
California is the third-most sinful state in America, and one of its most grievous sins is anger and hatred. California unfortunately has one of the highest numbers of mass shootings and elder abuse complaints, along with a very high rate of aggravated assault arrests per capita.
Many California residents have given in to lust as well, searching Google for terms relating to pornography and affairs more than people in any other state.
Of course, being the home of Hollywood, the Golden State also struggles a bit with vanity, having much higher numbers of plastic surgery centers and other venues concerned with physical appearance than most other states.
Ask the Experts
It’s not enough just to know where certain problems lie. The important next step is figuring out how to fix them and improve each state’s quality of life. For advice on how to reverse some of these bad trends, we asked the following questions to a panel of experts:
- What makes some states more sinful than others? Law? Culture?
- What are the most efficient measures that federal and state authorities can utilize to curb the obesity epidemic? Is something like the “soda tax” a valid approach?
- What advice do you have for people trying to quit vices (excessive drinking and eating, gambling, unnecessary spending etc.)?
- Given that U.S. hate crimes are on the rise, what can be done to reverse this uptick?
- How can federal authorities combat human trafficking? Is legalizing prostitution a good idea?
Ask the Experts
Methodology
In order to determine the most sinful states in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states across seven key dimensions: 1) Anger & Hatred, 2) Jealousy, 3) Excesses & Vices, 4) Greed, 5) Lust, 6) Vanity and 7) Laziness.
We examined those dimensions using 55 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of sinfulness. For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), the square root of the population was used to calculate the population size in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across states.
Finally, we calculated the overall score, or WalletHub Vice Index, for each state based on its weighted average across all metrics and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.
Anger & Hatred – Total Points: 14.3
- Violent Crimes per Capita: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
- Sex Offenders per Capita: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
- Bullying Rate: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
- Share of Public-School Students in Grades 9–12 Who Carried a Weapon on School Property: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
- Hate-Crime Incidents per Capita: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
- Hate Groups per Capita: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
- Share of Maltreated Children: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
Note: This metric measures the prevalence of physical, psychological or sexual abuse and maltreatment among children. - Teen Dating Violence: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
Note: This composite metric includes the percentage of teens that:- Were ever physically forced to have sexual intercourse
- Experienced sexual violence by anyone
- Experienced sexual dating violence
- Experienced physical dating violence
- Share of Internet Comments that are Hostile: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
- Road Rage Ranking (Share of Rude Drivers): Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
- Discrimination Cases Filed per Adult Population: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
- Number of Mass Shootings: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
- Deaths due to Firearms per Capita: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
- Share of Persons Arrested For Aggravated Assault: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
- Share of Elder-Abuse, Gross-Neglect and Exploitation Complaints: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
Jealousy – Total Points: 14.3
- Thefts per Capita: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)
- Identity-Theft Complaints per Capita: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)
- Fraud & Other Complaints per Capita: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)
Excesses & Vices – Total Points: 14.3
- Share of Obese Adults: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
- Fast-Food Establishments per Capita: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
- Excessive Drinking: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
Note: This metric measures the age-adjusted prevalence of binge and heavy drinking among the adult population. - Share of Adults Who Reported Having Driven After Drinking Too Much: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
- Share of Adult Smokers: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
- Share of Adult Coffee Drinkers: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
Note: This metric measures the percentage of adults who drank ready-to-drink coffee in the past six months. - Share of Population Using Marijuana: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
Note: This metric measures the percentage of residents age 18 and older who used marijuana in the past month. - Retail Opioid Prescriptions Dispensed per 100 Persons: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
- Drug Overdose Deaths: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
Note: This metric measures the number of deaths due to drug poisoning per 100,000 residents. - Debt-to-Income Ratio: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
Greed – Total Points: 14.3
- Casinos per Capita*: Double Weight (~4.77 Points)
- Gambling-Related Arrests per Capita: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
- Charitable Donations as Share of Income: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
- Share of Population with Gambling Disorders: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
- Persons Arrested for Embezzlement per Capita: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
Lust – Total Points: 14.3
- Teen Birth Rate: Full Weight (~3.58 Points)
Note: This metric measures the number of births per 1,000 female residents ages 15 to 19. - Google Search Interest Index for “XXX Entertainment”: Full Weight (~3.58 Points)
Note: This metric measures search interest for online adult entertainment. - Average Time Spent on Adult Entertainment Sites: Full Weight (~3.58 Points)
- Persons Arrested for Prostitution and Commercialized Vice per Capita: Full Weight (~3.58 Points)
Vanity – Total Points: 14.3
- Number of Plastic Surgeons per Residents Aged 18 and Over: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
- Number of Barbers, Hairdressers, Hairstylists and Cosmetologists per Capita: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
- Number of Manicurists and Pedicurists per Capita: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
- Number of Skincare Specialists per Capita: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
- Beauty Salons per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
- Personal Care Services per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
- Nail Salons per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
- Diet and Weight Reducing Centers per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
- Google Search Interest Index for “Top 5 Plastic Surgeries”: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
Note: This metric measures search interest for the five most common plastic surgery procedures (breast augmentation, liposuction, rhinoplasty, blepharoplasty and facelift). - Average Daily Time Spent on Personal Care: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
- Consumer Expenditures per Household on Personal Care Products and Services: Half Weight (~0.65 Points)
- Consumer Expenditures per Household on Apparel & Services: Half Weight (~0.65 Points)
Laziness – Total Points: 14.3
- Share of Adults Not Exercising: Full Weight (~2.60 Points)
- Average Weekly Hours Worked: Full Weight (~2.60 Points)
- Volunteer Rate: Half Weight (~1.30 Points)
- Average Daily Time Spent Watching TV: Full Weight (~2.60 Points)
- High School Graduation Rate: Full Weight (~2.60 Points)
- Share of Disconnected Youth: Full Weight (~2.60 Points)
Note: “Disconnected Youth” refers to the population ages 16 to 24 who are neither working nor in school.
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of January 16, 2024 from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Trade Commission, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, TransUnion, National Council on Problem Gambling, Esri’s Updated Demographics (2023 estimates), Parents For Megan's Law Inc., The Crime Victims Center, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Wired, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Gun Violence Archive, Fraser Institute, PornHub, U.S. Department of Commerce, AmeriCorps, The American Board of Plastic Surgery, National Center of Education Statistics, Google Ads, Kars4Kids, The Annie E. Casey Foundation and The Southern Poverty Law Center.
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