These are the most hated states in America, and #1 is not a surprise

• Each of the states in the U.S. has been ranked based on a hatred index to determine which is the most hated state in the country.
• Can you guess what #1 is? Of course you can.
• If your state ranks high on the list you have to move away immediately… just kidding this list doesn’t really mean anything, but it’s fun to look at.

How much do you love your home state? How much do you hate other states? For most of us, it’s something we probably don’t think about that often, but the folks at BestLife? Well, they’re on top of it, and they’ve crunched the numbers to come up with a ranking of the 50 U.S. states based on how much they are hated.

The “Hatred Index” that BestLife came up with is based on a number of factors, including surveys where residents expressed how much (or little) pride they had in their state, how many people are moving into or out of the state, and a poll where people picked which state they hate the most, whether it was their own home state or a different one.

Okay, so it’s not the most scientific collection of metrics in the world, but it’s something, and using all that data the website ranked all the states to determine which are the most hated and which are the least hated.

Let’s start with the positive side, because it’s been a rough year and we could all use a bit more positivity these days. Here are the least hated states, according to the data:

1. Idaho
2. Utah
3. Washington
4. Nevada
5. Arizona
6. Colorado
7. Oregon
8. South Dakota
9. Montana
10. Wyoming

Okay, so a lot of the states with lower population figures seem to be ranked pretty highly in terms of likeability. That makes sense, especially when you see that a lot of these states didn’t rank on the poll of which states other people hate the most. I mean, what is there to hate about Wyoming? Big open spaces?

On the other hand, the most hated states tend to have higher populations, and people seem to have stronger opinions about them. We have no way of knowing why people seem to hate the following states so much, but sports teams, politics, and other factors likely play large factors. Here are the most-hated states, according to the data:

1. New Jersey
2. Texas
3. California
4. Oklahoma
5. Florida
6. Michigan
7. Kentucky
8. Indiana
9. Alabama
10. Kansas

Okay so to the top spot being taken by New Jersey isn’t surprising in the least. I don’t say that because New Jersey is a state that I hate — I don’t really have an opinion of it one way or another if I’m being honest — but New Jersey tends to be the butt of many jokes, and it’s probably a fallback for a lot of people who couldn’t think of an answer that meant anything to them personally.

You can check out the rest of the list to see where your state ranks if you don’t see it on either of these lists, but wherever your state ranks, don’t take it too rough.