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 And if you want more state guides to read, sign up for our daily newsletter. 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 percentae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb 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 percent 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 Can’t get enough state guides? 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