Hate is a harsh word, especially in today’s divisive times. However, when it comes to regional rivalries, there tends to be no love lost. For instance, if you ask a New Yorker what they think about Boston, Massachusetts—particularly if they’re a baseball fan—you’ll likely be given a look of disgust. On the other hand, it can also be easy to hate on the place where you live as well. To figure out which state is the most disliked by both residents and rivals, we’ve done some digging and crunched the numbers–and you may be surprised by the answer.
We started off by calculating the percentage of the population that has recently moved out of each state. While locals don’t give reviews of their hometowns like they would a restaurant on Yelp, they do tend to vote with their feet, so we compared the population increase or decrease in each state to the national average of 0.6 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Next, we analyzed a Gallup poll of which citizens felt the most pride in their home states—defined as the percentage of people who agreed with the statement that their state is “the best or one of the best possible states to live.” The states with the least pride ranked higher in our Hatred Index. Finally, we looked at the findings of illustrator and amateur researcher Matt Shirley, who polled his 320,000 Instagram followers from across the country in 2020 to discover which state they hate the most. We then factored in the population of the states that hated on each state to measure the volume of hostility hurled in every state's direction. (Some states, Shirley found, had no states that hate them.) These results were compiled into an algorithm that produced the final score of our Hatred Index, wherein the higher the number, the more hated that state is.
In the end, the top 10 most hated states spanned every region, from the East Coast to the South. (Yes, even the Midwest isn’t as nice as you thought.) But one state drew the most vitriol of them all. Read on to see if your home state is loathed or loved as we rank every state, from least hated to most hated. And for more places where locals aren’t the most welcoming, This Is the Unfriendliest State in the U.S.
50 | Idaho
Josh Garver / ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 3.5 percent
State pride: 54 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: -304
And to find out which state could be cleaner, This Is the Dirtiest State in the U.S.
49 | Utah
iStockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 3.2 percent
State pride: 70 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: -290
48 | Washington
iStockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 2.8 percent
State pride: 58 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: -238
And for the state that'll make you snooze, This Is the Most Boring State in the U.S.
47 | Nevada
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 2.8 percent
State pride: 28 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: -208
46 | Arizona
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 2.28 percent
State pride: 41 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: -169
45 | Colorado
Cavan Images / AlamyPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 2 percent
State pride: 65 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: -165
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44 | Oregon
Nagel Photography / ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 2 percent
State pride: 61 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: -161
43 | South Dakota
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 1.7 percent
State pride: 57 percent
States that hate it: North Dakota
Population of states that hate it: 762,062
Hatred Index: -112
42 | Montana
Shutterstock/Danita DelmontPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 1.7 percent
State pride: 29 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: -99
41 | Wyoming
iStockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 1.2 percent
State pride: 69 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: -89
40 | North Carolina
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 1.5 percent
State pride: 34 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: -84
39 | Georgia
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 1.4 percent
State pride: 41 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: -81
38 | Minnesota
Joe Mamer Photography / AlamyPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 0.9 percent
State pride: 61 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: -51
37 | Delaware
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 1 percent
State pride: 39 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: -39
36 | New Hampshire
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 0.4 percent
State pride: 67 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: -7
35 | Tennessee
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 1.2 percent
State pride: 47 percent
States that hate it: Kentucky
Population of states that hate it: 4,467,673
Hatred Index: 22
34 | Virginia
Clupton / ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 0.6 percent
State pride: 47 percent
States that hate it: West Virginia
Population of states that hate it: 1,792,147
Hatred Index: 29
33 | Alaska
iStockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.14 percent
State pride: 77 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: 37
32 | Arkansas
iStockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 0.23 percent
State pride: 37 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: 40
31 | Hawaii
iStock/jimkrugerPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.1 percent
State pride: 68 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: 42
30 | Nebraska
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 0.6 percent
State pride: 52 percent
States that hate it: Iowa
Population of states that hate it: 3,155,070
Hatred Index: 51
29 | Maine
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.1 percent
State pride: 57 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: 53
28 | Maryland
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 0 percent
State pride: 29 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: 71
27 | Iowa
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 0.1 percent
State pride: 56 percent
States that hate it: Nebraska
Population of states that hate it: 1,934,408
Hatred Index: 73
26 | Vermont
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.4 percent
State pride: 61 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: 79
25 | Massachusetts
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 0.4 percent
State pride: 46 percent
States that hate it: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont
Population of states that hate it: 3,327,912
Hatred Index: 81
24 | South Carolina
iStockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 1.8 percent
State pride: 39 percent
States that hate it: North Carolina
Population of states that hate it: 10,488,084
Hatred Index: 91
23 | North Dakota
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.4 percent
State pride: 66 percent
States that hate it: South Dakota
Population of states that hate it: 884,659
Hatred Index: 92
22 | Connecticut
iStockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.34 percent
State pride: 31 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: 103
21 | Louisiana
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.3 percent
State pride: 27 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: 103
20 | Pennsylvania
George Oze / AlamyPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.5 percent
State pride: 34 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: 116
19 | Mississippi
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.51 percent
State pride: 26 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: 125
18 | New Mexico
Gimas / ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.55 percent
State pride: 28 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: 127
17 | Missouri
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 0 percent
State pride: 29 percent
States that hate it: Kansas
Population of states that hate it: 2,913,314
Hatred Index: 129
16 | Rhode Island
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.5 percent
State pride: 18 percent
States that hate it: None
Population of states that hate it: N/A
Hatred Index: 132
15 | West Virginia
iStock/zrfphotoPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 0.9 percent
State pride: 36 percent
States that hate it: Virginia
Population of states that hate it: 8,535,519
Hatred Index: 145
14 | Wisconsin
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 0 percent
State pride: 49 percent
States that hate it: Minnesota
Population of states that hate it: 5,639,632
Hatred Index: 164
13 | Ohio
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.2 percent
State pride: 32 percent
States that hate it: South Carolina
Population of states that hate it: 5,148,714
Hatred Index: 191
12 | Illinois
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 0 percent
State pride: 19 percent
States that hate it: Wisconsin
Population of states that hate it: 5,822,434
Hatred Index: 197
11 | New York
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.1 percent
State pride: 41 percent
States that hate it: Massachusetts
Population of states that hate it: 6,892,503
Hatred Index: 207
10 | Kansas
iStockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.57 percent
State pride: 34 percent
States that hate it: Missouri
Population of states that hate it: 6,137,428
Hatred Index: 246
9 | Alabama
Jon Lovette / AlamyPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.18 percent
State pride: 39 percent
States that hate it: Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi
Population of states that hate it: 10,642,747
Hatred Index: 292
8 | Indiana
iStockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 0.1 percent
State pride: 34 percent
States that hate it: Illinois
Population of states that hate it: 12,671,821
Hatred Index: 309
7 | Kentucky
aheflin / iStockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 0.1 percent
State pride: 38 percent
States that hate it: Indiana, Tennessee
Population of states that hate it: 13,561,393
Hatred Index: 323
6 | Michigan
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.2 percent
State pride: 28 percent
States that hate it: Ohio
Population of states that hate it: 11,689,100
Hatred Index: 326
5 | Florida
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.28 percent
State pride: 46 percent
States that hate it: Georgia, Alabama
Population of states that hate it: 15,520,608
Hatred Index: 392
4 | Oklahoma
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.4 percent
State pride: 39 percent
States that hate it: Texas
Population of states that hate it: 28,995,881
Hatred Index: 681
3 | California
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 0.36 percent
State pride: 51 percent
States that hate it: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado
Population of states that hate it: 34,590,799
Hatred Index: 705
2 | Texas
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: 2 percent
State pride: 68 percent
States that hate it: Alaska, California, New Mexico, Oklahoma
Population of states that hate it: 46,297,568
Hatred Index: 758
1 | New Jersey
ShutterstockPopulation change compared to the U.S. average: -0.3 percent
State pride: 28 percent
States that hate it: New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut
Population of states that hate it: 35,820,837
Hatred Index: 818
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