- A new ranking of 50 states tries to determine the most selfish state in the United States.
- The data used to make the ranking include the number of volunteer hours contributed by citizens, the charity of the residents of each state and the empathy of each state, based on a recent study.
- The ratings seem somewhat random, but the most selfish state number 1 certainly makes sense.
Holidays are supposed to be a time of giving, and there are many people who strive to make life better for others. But are the residents of some states more generous than others? Are there really states that are, in general, more selfish than the rest? Better life says yes, and the site has created criteria for classifying states based on how selfish they are.
To arrive at what the site calls the “Egoist Index” number for each state, the site used a lot of data from different sources. Included in the index score are data from a recent study on each state’s empathy, the percentage of its residents who volunteer annually and how charitable its residents are.
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It is definitely an interesting experience, although the results are a little difficult to analyze. There seems to be a lot of randomness here that I really can’t understand, but maybe you can. First, let’s start with the bottom of the list, which means that these are the least selfish states in the United States:
- Utah
- Oregon
- Minnesota
- Montana
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Rhode Island
- Maryland
- North Caroline
- Washington
See what I mean? In addition to always hearing that people from Minnesota are really cool, I don’t see a clear trend in this, although the data seems to indicate that these states have the highest percentage of people who are willing to strive to make life better for others. This is incredible, anyway.
Now, to the opposite end of the list. These are apparently the most selfish states in the entire country. Again, there is no clear trend, but the state at the top of the list definitely makes sense:
- Nevada
- Kentucky
- West Virginia
- New Mexico
- Alabama
- Delaware
- Florida
- Indiana
- Lousiana
- Alaska
Okay, so let’s get the obvious out of the way. Nevada, home to the gambling capital of the United States and a place where people go in hopes of getting rich, definitely doesn’t seem like a place where altruistic people would like to get together. Now, as for the other states on the list, there is again a very clear connection. Maybe I’m missing something, but regardless of anything else, the data makes it very clear that these states are selfish.
Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games over the past decade, covering the latest news and trends in VR, wearables, smartphones and future technology. Most recently, Mike served as Technology Editor at The Daily Dot and was featured on USA Today, Time.com and numerous other websites and print media. His love of reporting is second only to his addiction to games.