This Is the Most Hated State in America

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.

Population 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.

Population 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

Population 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.

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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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Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population change compared to the U.S. average: 1 percentae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb

State pride: 39 percent

States that hate it: None

Population of states that hate it: N/A

Hatred Index: -39

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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

Population 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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