Most Sinful States in America (2025)

Red states and blue states may like to point to one another as the source of all that is wrong with the U.S., but the truth is that each of the 50 states has its own virtues and vices. For example, New Mexico has the worst drug problem, and it certainly comes as no surprise that Nevada is the most gambling-addicted.

The cost of state sins is something we have to share as a nation, though. Gambling alone costs the U.S. about $5 billion per year. That’s nothing compared to the amount of money we lose from smoking, though – over $600 billion per year. Harmful behavior on the individual level can add up to staggering economic costs on a national scale.

Some states are more well-behaved than others, though. In order to determine the states that most give in to their desires, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 54 key indicators of immoral or illicit behavior. Our data set ranges from violent crimes per capita to excessive drinking to the share of the population with gambling disorders.

“People across the nation have their own moral struggles, from violent outbursts and bullying to compulsive gambling, excessive lust and self-destructive consumption. While individual cases of negative behavior may only affect a few people, when these behaviors are exhibited by a high share of a state’s population, the majority of the state’s residents suffer as a result. States should invest in resources to help people curb vices, such as robust rehabilitation programs for people with gambling and drug addictions.”

Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst

Main Findings

Most Sinful States in the U.S.

Notes: *No. 1 = Most Sinful
With the exception of “WalletHub Vice Index,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the worst conditions for that metric category.

Violent Crimes per Capita

Most

• T-1. New Mexico
• T-1. Alaska
• T-1. Tennessee
• T-1. Arkansas
• 5. Louisiana

Fewest

• 46. Hawaii
• 47. Rhode Island
• 48. Connecticut
• 49. New Hampshire
• 50. Maine

Best State vs. Worst State: 7x Difference

New Mexico vs. Maine

Thefts per Capita

Most

• 1. Washington
• 2. New Mexico
• 3. Colorado
• 4. Louisiana
• 5. Oregon

Fewest

• 46. Rhode Island
• 47. Massachusetts
• 48. Maine
• 49. New Hampshire
• 50. Idaho

Best State vs. Worst State: 4x Difference

Washington vs. Idaho

Excessive Drinking

Most

• 1. Montana
• 2. Hawaii
• 3. Iowa
• 4. South Dakota
• 5. Wisconsin

Least

• 46. New Jersey
• 47. New Mexico
• 48. Kentucky
• 49. Maryland
• 50. Utah

Share of Population with Gambling Disorders

Highest

• 1. Mississippi
• 2. Minnesota
• T-3. Kansas
• T-3. New Jersey
• 5. Nevada

Lowest

• T-43. New Mexico
• T-43. New York
• T-47. Connecticut
• T-47. Florida
• T-47. Kentucky
• 50. Michigan

Best State vs. Worst State: 8x Difference

Mississippi vs. Michigan

Persons Arrested for Prostitution and Commercialized Vice per Capita

Most

• T-1. Nevada
• T-1. Arizona
• 3. Texas
• 4. California
• 5. Oklahoma

Fewest

• 46. Vermont
• 47. Kentucky
• 48. New Mexico
• 49. North Dakota
• 50. Hawaii

Beauty Salons per Capita

Most

• 1. New York
• 2. Florida
• 3. California
• 4. Pennsylvania
• 5. New Jersey

Fewest

• 46. Mississippi
• 47. Vermont
• 48. Wyoming
• 49. South Dakota
• 50. Alaska

Best State vs. Worst State: 10x Difference

New York vs. Alaska

% of Adults Not Exercising

Highest

• 1. Mississippi
• 2. Arkansas
• 3. Oklahoma
• 4. West Virginia
• 5. Louisiana

Lowest

• 46. Oregon
• 47. Montana
• 48. Washington
• 49. Colorado
• 50. Utah

Best State vs. Worst State: 2x Difference

Mississippi vs. Utah

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In-Depth Look at the Most Sinful States

Nevada

Nevada ranks as the most sinful state in America, which shouldn’t come as much of a shock given that its largest city, Las Vegas, is also known as “Sin City.” At the heart of Nevada and Sin City is gambling, as the Silver State leads the nation in both the number of casinos and the number of gambling-related arrests per capita. Nevada also has the fourth-highest rate of adults with gambling problems.

Gambling is not the only vice that plagues Nevada and its residents, though. The state also has the most prostitution arrests in the U.S. and the second-highest number of fast food restaurants, showing that lust and gluttony both have a hold.

Sadly, Nevada’s pre-occupation with its vices leaves little room for altruism, as the state has the second-lowest volunteer rate in the country. The state also suffers from the second-highest rate of disconnected youth (young people who are not in school or working).

California

California is the second-most sinful state in America, thanks largely to the prevalence of violence. The state has the third-most mass shootings and the most elder abuse complaints. It also has the third-highest rate of bullying on school property, and a very high number of aggravated assault arrests per capita. It’s clear that residents’ biggest sins include anger and hatred.

Golden State residents are turning to the Internet to fuel their vices, searching Google for terms relating to strip clubs, pornography, and affairs more than people in any other state.

In keeping with its Hollywood lifestyle, California also leads the nation when it comes to vanity. The state tops the rest of the country in Google searches for plastic surgery, liposuction, breast augmentation, and other terms concerned with physical appearance.

Florida

The third-most sinful state in America is Florida, partly because of its high rate of white-collar crimes. Greed rears its ugly head in the state, as it ranks second when it comes to the number of identity theft and fraud complaints per capita. Violent crimes fueled by anger and hatred are also a problem, as Florida has the fifth-highest number of mass shootings.

In addition, many Floridians show lust in their online habits. Sunshine State residents rank fourth overall in searching Google for terms related to adultery, prostitution, and pornography. Florida ranks high for vanity-related Google searches for terms such as liposuction and breast augmentation, too. The state also has the second-most beauty salons and personal care services per capita.

Ask the Experts

It’s not enough just to know where certain problems lie. The important next step is figuring out how to fix them and improve each state’s quality of life. For advice on how to reverse some of these bad trends, we asked the following questions to a panel of experts:

1. What makes some states more sinful than others? Law? Culture?
2. What are the most efficient measures that federal and state authorities can utilize to curb the obesity epidemic? Is something like a “soda tax” a valid approach?
3. What advice do you have for people trying to quit vices (excessive drinking and eating, gambling, unnecessary spending etc.)?
4. Given that U.S. hate crimes are on the rise, what can be done to reverse this uptick?
5. How can federal authorities combat human trafficking? Is legalizing prostitution a good idea?

Ask the Experts

Deana A. Rohlinger
Ph.D. – Mildred and Claude Pepper Distinguished Professor of Sociology; Associate Dean, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy – Florida State University
Read More

Brent M. Shea
Ph.D. – Professor of Sociology (Emeritus & Adjunct) – Sweet Briar College
Read More

Dr. Kristina J. Thompson
Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology – Georgia Southern University
Read More

Murray Fortner
Ph.D. – Adjunct Professor and Department Chair of Psychology & Sociology – Tarrant County College
Read More

C.N. Le
Director, Asian & Asian American Studies Certificate and Senior Lecturer II, Department of Sociology – University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Read More

Andrew Burnstine
Ph.D. – Associate Professor, College of Business and Management – Lynn University
Read More

More Experts

Methodology

In order to determine the most sinful states in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states across seven key dimensions: 1) Anger & Hatred, 2) Jealousy, 3) Excesses & Vices, 4) Greed, 5) Lust, 6) Vanity and 7) Laziness.

We examined those dimensions using 54 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of sinfulness. For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), the square root of the population was used to calculate the population size in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across states.

Finally, we calculated the overall score, or WalletHub Vice Index, for each state based on its weighted average across all metrics and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.

Anger & Hatred – Total Points: 14.3

• Violent Crimes per Capita: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
• Sex Offenders per Capita: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
• Bullying Rate: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
• Share of Public-School Students in Grades 9–12 Who Carried a Weapon on School Property: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
• Hate-Crime Incidents per Capita: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
• Hate Groups per Capita: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
• Share of Maltreated Children: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the prevalence of physical, psychological or sexual abuse and maltreatment among children.
• Teen Dating Violence: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
  Note: This composite metric includes the percentage of teens that:
  • Were ever physically forced to have sexual intercourse
  • Experienced sexual violence by anyone
  • Experienced sexual dating violence
  • Experienced physical dating violence
• Share of Internet Comments that are Hostile: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
• Road Rage Ranking (Share of Rude Drivers): Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
• Discrimination Cases Filed per Adult Population: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
• Number of Mass Shootings: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
• Deaths due to Firearms per Capita: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
• Share of Persons Arrested For Aggravated Assault: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)
• Share of Elder-Abuse, Gross-Neglect and Exploitation Complaints: Full Weight (~0.95 Points)

Jealousy – Total Points: 14.3

• Thefts per Capita: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)
• Identity-Theft Complaints per Capita: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)
• Fraud & Other Complaints per Capita: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)

Excesses & Vices – Total Points: 14.3

• Share of Obese Adults: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Fast-Food Establishments per Capita: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Excessive Drinking: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the age-adjusted prevalence of binge and heavy drinking among the adult population.
• Share of Adults Who Reported Having Driven After Drinking Too Much: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Share of Adult Smokers: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Share of Adult Coffee Drinkers: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the percentage of adults who drank ready-to-drink coffee in the past six months.
• Share of Population Using Marijuana: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the percentage of residents age 18 and older who used marijuana in the past month.
• Retail Opioid Prescriptions Dispensed per 100 Persons: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
• Drug Overdose Deaths: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the number of deaths due to drug poisoning per 100,000 residents.
• Debt-to-Income Ratio: Full Weight (~1.43 Points)

Greed – Total Points: 14.3

• Casinos per Capita*: Double Weight (~4.77 Points)
• Gambling-Related Arrests per Capita: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
• Charitable Donations as Share of Income: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
• Share of Population with Gambling Disorders: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)
• Persons Arrested for Embezzlement per Capita: Full Weight (~2.38 Points)

Lust – Total Points: 14.3

• Teen Birth Rate: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the number of births per 1,000 female residents ages 15 to 19.
• Google Search Interest Index for “XXX Entertainment”: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)
  Note: This metric measures search interest for online adult entertainment.
• Persons Arrested for Prostitution and Commercialized Vice per Capita: Full Weight (~4.77 Points)

Vanity – Total Points: 14.3

• Number of Plastic Surgeons per Residents Aged 18 and Over: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
• Number of Barbers, Hairdressers, Hairstylists and Cosmetologists per Capita: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
• Number of Manicurists and Pedicurists per Capita: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
• Number of Skincare Specialists per Capita: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
• Beauty Salons per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
• Personal Care Services per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
• Nail Salons per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
• Diet and Weight Reducing Centers per Capita*: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
• Google Search Interest Index for “Top 5 Plastic Surgeries”: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
  Note: This metric measures search interest for the five most common plastic surgery procedures (breast augmentation, liposuction, abdominoplasty, blepharoplasty and mastopexy).
• Average Daily Time Spent on Personal Care: Full Weight (~1.30 Points)
• Consumer Expenditures per Household on Personal Care Products and Services: Half Weight (~0.65 Points)
• Consumer Expenditures per Household on Apparel & Services: Half Weight (~0.65 Points)

Laziness – Total Points: 14.3

• Share of Adults Not Exercising: Full Weight (~2.60 Points)
• Average Weekly Hours Worked: Full Weight (~2.60 Points)
• Volunteer Rate: Half Weight (~1.30 Points)
• Average Daily Time Spent Watching TV: Full Weight (~2.60 Points)
• High School Graduation Rate: Full Weight (~2.60 Points)
• Share of Disconnected Youth: Full Weight (~2.60 Points)
  Note: “Disconnected Youth” refers to the population ages 18 to 24 who are not attending school, not working, and have no degree beyond high school diploma.

 
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of January 27, 2025 from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Trade Commission, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, TransUnion, National Council on Problem Gambling, Esri’s Updated Demographics (2024 estimates), Parents For Megan's Law Inc., The Crime Victims Center, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Wired, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Gun Violence Archive, Fraser Institute, U.S. Department of Commerce, AmeriCorps, The American Board of Plastic Surgery, National Center of Education Statistics, Google Ads, Kars4Kids, The Annie E. Casey Foundation and The Southern Poverty Law Center.

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