The new year is the perfect time to reflect on what we've achieved in the past 365 days and what we want to accomplish in the year ahead. Of course, some new year's resolutions are about tangible gains, like job promotions or weight loss, but the close of one year and the start of another is also a time for reflection on our own virtues, too. What you may not realize is that where you live could be playing a role in where you fall on the naughty or nice list. At Best Life, we crunched the numbers to determine where folks are more concerned with their own lives than those of others—and we've found the most selfish state in America.
For our Selfish Index, we started with the Fraser Institute’s generosity index, which scored each state based on the charitable giving trends of its residents on a scale from 1 to 10. Then we looked at the most recent data from AmeriCorp to establish what percentage of residents in each state volunteer in a given year.
Finally, we used a recent study published in the Journal of Research in Personality, which scored each state based on its capacity for empathy—the closer the empathy score is to 4, the less selfish the state is considered. We then gave each metric a weighted value and ran them through our exclusive algorithm to see how each state scored on our Selfish Index.
Utah came out as the least selfish state, with the largest generosity index score and the highest volunteer rate. But generally, states in the Northeast ranked as less selfish, while the South, Midwest, and West were more varied. The most selfish state was notable for both its low volunteer rate and low empathy score. Read on to discover which state it is, and find out where yours falls in the mix. And for the place the runs rampant with a similarly distasteful quality, This Is the Most Dishonest State in America.
Read the original article on Best Life.
50 | Utah
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 8.8
Volunteer rate: 51.0 percent
Empathy score: 3.74
Selfish Index Score: 0.00
49 | Oregon
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 5.7
Volunteer rate: 43.2 percent
Empathy score: 3.76
Selfish Index Score: 25.75
48 | Minnesota
iStockFraser generosity index score: 5.6
Volunteer rate: 45.1 percent
Empathy score: 3.67
Selfish Index Score: 29.47
47 | Montana
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 4.5
Volunteer rate: 38.8 percent
Empathy score: 3.78
Selfish Index Score: 34.12
46 | Connecticut
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 6.8
Volunteer rate: 31.8 percent
Empathy score: 3.72
Selfish Index Score: 42.43
45 | Massachusetts
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 5.9
Volunteer rate: 32.6 percent
Empathy score: 3.74
Selfish Index Score: 42.44
44 | Rhode Island
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 4.5
Volunteer rate: 30.7 percent
Empathy score: 3.78
Selfish Index Score: 43.89
43 | Maryland
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 7.7
Volunteer rate: 36.3 percent
Empathy score: 3.67
Selfish Index Score: 44.00
42 | North Carolina
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 5.1
Volunteer rate: 35.1 percent
Empathy score: 3.74
Selfish Index Score: 45.02
41 | Washington
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 4.9
Volunteer rate: 35.7 percent
Empathy score: 3.74
Selfish Index Score: 45.69
40 | Georgia
iStockFraser generosity index score: 7.5
Volunteer rate: 26.5 percent
Empathy score: 3.71
Selfish Index Score: 46.59
39 | Vermont
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 3.4
Volunteer rate: 36 percent
Empathy score: 3.77
Selfish Index Score: 47.84
38 | Maine
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 3.2
Volunteer rate: 38.7 percent
Empathy score: 3.76
Selfish Index Score: 48.64
37 | Virginia
Clupton / ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 6.1
Volunteer rate: 34.0 percent
Empathy score: 3.70
Selfish Index Score: 49.98
36 | Illinois
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 5.0
Volunteer rate: 28.1 percent
Empathy score: 3.75
Selfish Index Score: 51.50
35 | Wisconsin
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 4.5
Volunteer rate: 37.4 percent
Empathy score: 3.72
Selfish Index Score: 51.75
34 | California
iStockFraser generosity index score: 5.7
Volunteer rate: 25.4 percent
Empathy score: 3.74
Selfish Index Score: 52.52
And for the place where marriage vows don't seem to mean all that much, This Is the Most Adulterous State in America.
33 | New York
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 6.0
Volunteer rate: 25.3 percent
Empathy score: 3.73
Selfish Index Score: 53.20
32 | Arkansas
iStockFraser generosity index score: 5.4
Volunteer rate: 30.0 percent
Empathy score: 3.72
Selfish Index Score: 54.38
31 | New Jersey
Thierry GRUN - Aero / AlamyFraser generosity index score: 6.3
Volunteer rate: 26.1 percent
Empathy score: 3.71
Selfish Index Score: 55.45
30 | Colorado
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 5.2
Volunteer rate: 32.4 percent
Empathy score: 3.71
Selfish Index Score: 55.54
29 | Nebraska
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 4.6
Volunteer rate: 40.2 percent
Empathy score: 3.69
Selfish Index Score: 55.65
28 | Idaho
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 5.2
Volunteer rate: 37.9 percent
Empathy score: 3.68
Selfish Index Score: 56.88
27 | Iowa
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 4.5
Volunteer rate: 41.5 percent
Empathy score: 3.68
Selfish Index Score: 57.43
26 | South Carolina
iStockFraser generosity index score: 5.2
Volunteer rate: 30.8 percent
Empathy score: 3.70
Selfish Index Score: 60.13
25 | Oklahoma
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 4.2
Volunteer rate: 32.0 percent
Empathy score: 3.72
Selfish Index Score: 60.36
24 | Hawaii
Shutterstock/ssguyFraser generosity index score: 4.1
Volunteer rate: 28.0 percent
Empathy score: 3.74
Selfish Index Score: 60.56
23 | South Dakota
iStockFraser generosity index score: 3.4
Volunteer rate: 36.3 percent
Empathy score: 3.72
Selfish Index Score: 60.76
22 | Arizona
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 4.8
Volunteer rate: 30.0 percent
Empathy score: 3.71
Selfish Index Score: 61.23
21 | Missouri
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 4.4
Volunteer rate: 31.9 percent
Empathy score: 3.71
Selfish Index Score: 61.74
20 | North Dakota
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 2.6
Volunteer rate: 37.4 percent
Empathy score: 3.73
Selfish Index Score: 62.37
19 | Michigan
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 4.3
Volunteer rate: 29.4 percent
Empathy score: 3.72
Selfish Index Score: 62.79
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18 | New Hampshire
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 3.9
Volunteer rate: 35.7 percent
Empathy score: 3.70
Selfish Index Score: 63.30
17 | Tennessee
iStockFraser generosity index score: 3.8
Volunteer rate: 31.3 percent
Empathy score: 3.72
Selfish Index Score: 63.99
16 | Mississippi
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 4.7
Volunteer rate: 23.8 percent
Empathy score: 3.73
Selfish Index Score: 64.09
15 | Kansas
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 4.4
Volunteer rate: 36.5 percent
Empathy score: 3.68
Selfish Index Score: 64.16
14 | Pennsylvania
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 4.2
Volunteer rate: 34.2 percent
Empathy score: 3.69
Selfish Index Score: 65.67
13 | Texas
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 4.4
Volunteer rate: 28.4 percent
Empathy score: 3.71
Selfish Index Score: 65.96
And for the place where people are the most crazy about cannabis, This Is the Most Stoned State in America.
12 | Wyoming
iStockFraser generosity index score: 4.4
Volunteer rate: 32.7 percent
Empathy score: 3.69
Selfish Index Score: 66.08
11 | Ohio
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 3.7
Volunteer rate: 33.2 percent
Empathy score: 3.70
Selfish Index Score: 67.72
10 | Alaska
iStockFraser generosity index score: 2.5
Volunteer rate: 40.6 percent
Empathy score: 3.69
Selfish Index Score: 69.84
9 | Louisiana
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 3.7
Volunteer rate: 25.8 percent
Empathy score: 3.72
Selfish Index Score: 71.32
8 | Indiana
iStockFraser generosity index score: 3.5
Volunteer rate: 34.9 percent
Empathy score: 3.68
Selfish Index Score: 72.38
7 | Florida
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 4.7
Volunteer rate: 22.8 percent
Empathy score: 3.70
Selfish Index Score: 73.27
And for the part of the country that is most active between the sheets, This Is the Most Promiscuous State in America.
6 | Delaware
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 4.9
Volunteer rate: 31.8 percent
Empathy score: 3.65
Selfish Index Score: 74.30
5 | Alabama
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 5.6
Volunteer rate: 27.4 percent
Empathy score: 3.65
Selfish Index Score: 74.72
4 | New Mexico
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 3.2
Volunteer rate: 27.1 percent
Empathy score: 3.71
Selfish Index Score: 75.91
3 | West Virginia
ShutterstockFraser generosity index score: 1.8
Volunteer rate: 28.1 percent
Empathy score: 3.73
Selfish Index Score: 79.17
2 | Kentucky
Jim Lane / AlamyFraser generosity index score: 4.0
Volunteer rate: 28.1 percent
Empathy score: 3.67
Selfish Index Score: 79.74
1 | Nevada
Prisma by Dukas Presseagentur GmbH / AlamyFraser generosity index score: 4.4
Volunteer rate: 24.4 percent
Empathy score: 3.60
Selfish Index Score: 100.00
And for a ranking all you shoppers will want to check out, This Store Has the Worst Customer Service in America.
