Most Sinful States in the USA Revealed

Every year, a personal finance company called WalletHub releases a list that ranks all 50 states of the USA from most sinful to least sinful, and the 2023 list has just been released.

Sure, if you’re like me, you might be asking, “How exactly does one objectively measure sinfulness?”

Good question.

Wallethub has developed its own sinfulness metric based on the seven deadly sins: wrath, jealousy, gluttony, greed, lust, vanity, and laziness. In fact, WalletHub has got measuring sinfulness down to a fine art.

First, they agreed upon almost fifty different metrics that reflect the behaviors that would be present if there was a problem with a particular sin in that state. For example, to measure, let’s say, the sin of greed, they decided that the number of casinos per capita in a particular state would be one of the metrics to measure the level of greed.

And then, the geniuses over at WalletHub crunched the numbers and devised a 100-point scale to determine which states were the biggest sinners. They used a weighted average (whatever that means) to calculate an overall score for each state based on all the metrics they could think of. You know, because you can totally measure something as intangible as sin with numbers.

For the deadly sin of wrath, they looked at rates of violent crimes, the number of sex offenders, bullying rates, and even the number of people caught carrying weapons at school (because, you know, nothing screams “wrath” like a teenager with a switchblade). They even looked at the percentage of internet comments that were hostile. I hope they didn’t look at any of the comments on my articles!

For the deadly sin of jealousy, they counted the number of times someone reported getting ripped off. They checked out the theft rates and identity theft complaints.

And for gluttony, they examined everything from the number of obese adults to the number of fast-food restaurants in each state. Because let’s face it, nothing says “I love food” like a Big Mac with extra fries. The also looked at rates of problem drinking, smoking and even coffee drinking.

As for the deadly sin of greed, they took a look at the number of casinos, gambling-related arrests, and even the percentage of the population with gambling disorders. What’s a little embezzlement between friends?

When it comes to the deadly sin of lust, they measured the teen birth rates, checked out the Google search index for “XXX Entertainment,” and even measured the average time spent on adult entertainment sites.

For the deadly sin of vanity, they looked at the number of beauty salons and even the Google search index for “Top 5 Plastic Surgeries.” Because let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to look like a Real Housewife?

And finally, for the deadly sin of laziness, they measured the average weekly hours worked by adults, checked out how much TV people watch, and even the high school graduation rate. Why work hard and achieve your dreams when you can binge-watch Netflix and call it a day?

I’ll bet you’re dying to know how sinful your state is. So, without further ado, here are the results

And the most sinful State is…?

For the second year in a row, the good people (or should I say the not-so-good people) of Nevada ranked as the most sinful in the United States, coming out on top for the sins of greed and laziness and fourth for the sin of lust.

California ranked the second-most sinful state, topping the poll in lust, ranking second for vanity, and finishing fourth for greed. Next comes Louisiana (you didn’t see that one coming, did you?). Louisiana ranked first for the sin of jealousy and gluttony, second for laziness, and third for lust. They were only saved from leaping ahead of Nevada as the most sinful thanks to its relatively low ranking for vanity (34th).

Rounding out the top ten most sinful states were Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Illinois, South Carolina, and New York.

Now to the other end of the scale. Which states were the least sinful according to WalletHub’s research? The answer: Wyoming was the least sinful, followed by Idaho, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Iowa. If you want to view the full results and find out where your state finished in each category, here is the link. Or, you can just watch this short YouTube clip:

One more thing: For all those hoping to prove that their political party is more virtuous than the other, WalletHub’s study has some disappointing news.

Turns out, the results are as mixed up as a bag of M&Ms. Sorry, conservatives, if you were hoping to lord your supposed moral superiority over the liberals, you’re out of luck. And for all you bleeding-heart progressives out there, don’t get too smug — your state isn’t necessarily a paragon of virtue either.

Nope, according to WalletHub, sin is an equal opportunity employer, and it doesn’t care which way you vote. But hey, at least we can all take comfort in knowing that no matter what our political affiliation is, we’re all capable of being equally sinful.

The true cost of sin

While we might be flippant about sin, the fact of the matter is that there is a cost we have to bear as a society as a consequence of sin.

As WalletHub says in their research, “Gambling, for example, costs the U.S. about $5 billion per year. That’s nothing compared to the amount of money we lose from cigarette smoking — over $300 billion per year. Harmful behavior on the individual level can add up to staggering economic costs on a national scale.”

And while we might look down from our moral high horse and shake our heads at things like gambling and smoking, congratulating ourselves on not being enslaved to those particular vices, the fact of the matter is that sin — all sin — is destructive in its own way, including my own pettiness, judgmentalism, impatience, and mean-spiritedness.

Sure, it might be interesting to use certain measures to rank sinfulness — God knows I grew up in a church system where ranking sins was par for the course — but in reality, we all contribute to the problem.

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This post was previously published on Backyard Church.

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