A recent study by WalletHub compared the 50 states across 55 key indicators of immoral or illicit behavior, and Florida ranked as the fourth “Most Sinful’ state.
According to WalletHub, the criteria for ranking is derived from a data set that ranges from violent crimes per capita to excessive drinking to the share of the population with gambling disorders.
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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