STATE ENLIGHTENMENT RANKINGS* Ever wonder where all the other enlightened people like yourself hang out? Worried that a move might bring you next door to an apathetic, illiterate, tobacco-chewing, cockfight-watching, snakehandling, gonorrhea-carrying axe murderer? Check out the State Enlightenment Rankings below. (For detailed information concerning any of the enlightenment factors listed below, click on the factor of choice.) HOMEPAGE FACTORS: CIVIC PARTICIPATION PERCENTAGE VOTING IN LAST ELECTION EDUCATION PERCENTAGE OF COLLEGE-EDUCATED ADULTS LIBRARY BOOKS IN CIRCULATION PER CAPITA RANK IN SAT/ACT TEST SCORES HEALTH INFANT MORTALITY GONORRHEA RATE CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE AND CIRRHOSIS RATE CRIME AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE PRISONERS PER 100,000 POPULATION VIOLENT CRIME RATE LIFESTYLE PERCENTAGE LIVING IN MOBILE HOME AND TRAILERS BIRTHS OUT-0F-WEDLOCK AS PERCENTAGE OF ALL BIRTHS PER CAPITA SPENDING BY NEA *Based on 1999 statistics from the Congressional Quarterly, World Almanac, and other trusted sources of information |
RANK | STATE | OVERALL SCORE* |
1 | MINNESOTA | 110 |
2 | NEW HAMPSHIRE | 117 |
3 | VERMONT | 123 |
4 | UTAH | 124 |
5 | NORTH DAKOTA | 139 |
6 | WASHINGTON | 171 |
7 | NEBRASKA | 181 |
8 | IOWA | 185 |
9 (TIE) | MAINE | 190 |
9 (TIE) | MASSACHUSETTS | 190 |
11 (TIE) | IDAHO | 197 |
11 (TIE) | OREGON | 197 |
13 | WISCONSIN | 198 |
14 (TIE) | COLORADO | 199 |
14 (TIE) | KANSAS | 199 |
16 | MONTANA | 205 |
17 | HAWAII | 208 |
18 | WYOMING | 233 |
19 | CONNECTICUT | 243 |
20 | SOUTH DAKOTA | 252 |
21 | RHODE ISLAND | 258 |
22 | MISSOURI | 298 |
23 | NEW JERSEY | 304 |
24 | VIRGINIA | 310 |
25 | ALASKA | 313 |
26 | MARYLAND | 316 |
27 | NEW YORK | 318 |
28 | OHIO | 328 |
29 | ILLINOIS | 345 |
30 | PENNSYLVANIA | 348 |
31 | INDIANA | 349 |
32 | CALIFORNIA | 360 |
33 | KENTUCKY | 361 |
34 | NEW MEXICO | 369 |
35 | WEST VIRGINIA | 376 |
36 | DELAWARE | 382 |
37 | OKLAHOMA | 388 |
38 | MICHIGAN | 394 |
39 | ARIZONA | 416 |
40 | TEXAS | 425 |
41 | ARKANSAS | 433 |
42 | NEVADA | 437 |
43 | TENNESSEE | 441 |
44 | GEORGIA | 446 |
45 | LOUISIANA | 449 |
46 | NORTH CAROLINA | 457 |
47 | ALABAMA | 458 |
48 | FLORIDA | 467 |
49 | MISSISSIPPI | 495 |
50 | SOUTH CAROLINA | 541 |
KEY TO MAP BELOW: overall score 200 or less-RED (most enlightened); overall score 201-300--YELLOW; overall score 301-400--GREEN; overall score above 400--BLUE (least enlightened).
FOR COMPARISON, SEE THIS 2011 NEW YORK
TIMES MAP OF "WELL-BEING" BY CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
(DISTRICTS WITH THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF WELL-BEING ARE IN THE ORANGE
TONES, LOWEST LEVELS IN THE BLUE TONES)
The NYT map is based on a composite of all the 2010 Gallup-Healthways
indicators.