So you didn’t win Mega Millions. Someone hit your car in the lot. You thought TCU would cover. In other words, you’re unlucky.  Maybe it’s because of where we live. A new report from FloridaBet.com shows Florida is the unluckiest state in the country. And Friday the 13th is coming up fast.

Updated 2023 data from the guys over at FloridaBet.com have analyzed several factors, including life expectancy, divorce rates, disaster declarations, and many more (see methodology), the report names America’s unluckiest states to live – with Florida unfortunately identified as the frontrunners.

According to the updated index, Florida takes the crown as America’s unluckiest state. We received the highest score of 64.7 out of 100. For the Sunshine State, this is a massive jump from the report released in 2022, which ranked the 17^th. In addition, Florida had the 6^th highest % of divorce rates leading up to 2023 at 13%. Florida also reported the most lightning fatalities, with reports of 519 since 1952. And Friday The 13th is coming up fast.

The Mountain state, who topped the board in 2022, now ranked second. Having the highest accidental mortalities (122.2 people per 100,000) further adding to the misfortune, West Virginia also had the second lowest life expectancy (72.8 years) and was ranked as America’s unhappiest state. 

Oklahoma (60.2) Tennessee (58.7) and Arkansas (58) finished off the top five unluckiest states in 2023.

• Below are the top-15 US states in order of unluckiness:

  Rank	State	Index Score
  1	Florida	64.7
  2	West Virginia	64.0
  3	Oklahoma	60.2
  4	Tennessee	58.7
  5	Arkansas	58.0
  6	Mississippi	56.8
  7	Kentucky	56.8
  8	Alabama	56.7
  9	New Mexico	56.3
  10	Vermont	55.4
  11	North Carolina	55.2
  12	Maine	55.0
  13	Louisiana	54.0
  14	Texas	53.0
  15	Washington	52.8

• High-ranking unlucky stats:

  • West Virginia is ranked as the USA’s unhappiest state.
  • Louisiana is named as America’s worst state to live in.
  • Florida has the highest number of lighting fatalities (519).
  • Texas has had the highest number of disaster declarations (365).
  • West Virginia has the highest accidental mortality rate (122.2 people per 100,000)
  • Mississippi has the lowest life expectancy (71.9).
  • Maine has the highest divorce rate at 30 (13.90%).

• Methodology

  To discover America’s unluckiest states, a number of different factors were considered and weighted accordingly.

• Weighted Score of 15:

  • Happiness Index¹
  • Worst States to Live Ranking²

  Due to both rankings considering a number of different metrics (Happiness Index = over 30 metrics / Worst States to Live Ranking = over 70 metrics) from work life and safety to education and infrastructure, both metrics were weighted as 15 with a maximum score of 30.

• Weighted Score of 10:

  • Lightning Fatalities (since 1952)³
  • Powerball Winners (Since 1992)⁴
  • Mega Millions Winners (Since 2002)⁵
  • Disaster Declarations (Since 1953)⁶
  • Accident Mortality Per 100,000 (Since 2014)⁷

  The metrics above were weighted as 10 (the second highest weighting), due to the significantly low probability of each event occurring. The maximum score was out of 50. The Powerball and Mega Millions metrics were scored focusing on fewest winners. 

• Weighted Score of 6.66:

  • Life Expectancy⁸
  • Personal Per Capita Income⁹
  • Divorce Rate At 30 (%):

  The metrics above were weighted as 6.66 (the lowest weighting) with a maximum score of 20. These metrics were weighted the lowest due to possible life decisions swaying the outcomes.

  Following this, each metric was summed and ranked to provide the final index score out of 100.

• Source

  • https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/happiest-states  
  • https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/best-states-to-live-in
  • https://www.weather.gov/media/safety/59-16_State_Ltg_Fatality%2BFatality_Rate_Maps.pdf / http://www.lightningsafetycouncil.org/  
  • https://www.powerball.net/winners  
  • https://www.megamillions.com/jackpot-history
  • https://www.fema.gov/data-visualization/disaster-declarations-states-and-counties
  • https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/accident_mortality/accident.htm
  • https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/alabama/2020/overview
  • https://www.bea.gov/ 
  • https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/divorce-rate-by-state

Sign Up For The Sunny Side-Up Newsletter

Your connection to the music and entertainment news you want and, the community information you need, plus exclusive games and contests.

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.