The Most and Least Angry US States
The least angry states include Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Wyoming, and Alabama and Colorado take the top two spots for the angriest states.
Have you noticed people in your neck of the woods have grown increasingly grumpy over the last few years? If so, you are definitely not alone. That shift in attitudes is making news, thanks to a recent survey highlighting some angry US states.
The publication Best Life developed what they call an Anger Index, which is a way to measure the level of frustration in each state. It sounds a bit funny right off the bat. But they used some pretty solid numbers to generate their rankings.
Here’s how they did it. First, they gathered data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Auto Insurance Center to learn how many traffic-related deaths came from road rage. Then they calculated road rage fatalities per capita.
After that, they “used Wired magazine’s investigation into online trolls to find what percentage of each state’s internet comments were angry and toxic over a 16-month period.” And they topped their data collection off with FBI hate crime statistics (per capita). They weighed each data point before running them through an algorithm to determine how angry US states are.
I bet you are dying to know where your home ranks on the angry US states list. So, let’s dive in. Two places actually came in dead last (aka the happiest states).
Tied for the least angry US states are Oklahoma and Kentucky. Each represented less than 6 percent of all hateful comments on the internet. And they both scored a fantastic zero on the Anger Index.
Coming in hot on their heels is Wyoming. The state fared well, with zero road rage fatalities and just over 5 percent of hateful online comments. Its Anger Index score came in at 1.37.
And rounding out the top five least angry US states are New Hampshire and Idaho. The east coast state scored an Anger Index score of 5.26. Idaho came in slightly higher at 5.55.
Most states did pretty well, coming in with decent Anger Index scores. And that’s probably good news for many residents. So, all the attitude you notice may just be pure frustration bubbling out.
However, five states scored surprisingly high on the scale and took the award home for top angry US states. Leading the pack is Alabama. Although there is no hate crime data available, this southern state still managed to score a whopping 100 on the Anger Index scale!
Alabama had nearly 10 percent of hateful internet comments, and almost 7 percent of its traffic fatalities came from road rage. That’s not good news at all. And its score far surpassed the others in the top five.
Coming in second place for angry US states is Colorado, with a score of 73.32. Its score was due to high numbers in three categories – fatalities due to road rage, hateful internet comments, and hate crimes per capita. South Carolina came in a close third with a score of 70.42.
And last but certainly not least, the fourth and fifth most angry US states are Indiana and Vermont. Indiana has an Anger Index score of 60.42. And Vermont came in with a score of 55.34.
