Most 'Sinful' States 2020: How Wisconsin Compares To Illinois

MILWAUKEE, WI — Whether it’s booze, smoking or gambling, there is no shortage of possible vices in the United States. America is a land of diversity, though, and each of the 50 states has its own propensity for certain sins.

Wisconsin was ranked as the 35th most “sinful” state in the country, according to a new report from the personal-finance website WalletHub. But as the report shows, Wisconsin's just a nicer place to live, with much, much nicer people.

Compared to Illinois, the Badger state is less angry, not as jealous, does not indulge in as many excesses (except maybe when it comes to sharp cheddar and muenster cheese) and is altogether less greedy, according to the report.

Our Patch editor in Minnesota wrote a story about how Minnesota compares with Wisconsin in terms of sinfulness.

In his Minnesota version of this story, people from the land of 10,000 lakes are nicer across the board, according to the study. Minnesota was ranked as the 42nd most-sinful state in the U.S., perhaps giving credence to the term "Minnesota nice." Given Wisconsin's more sinful status, one can assume we don't want to hear about it.

Wisconsin

Anger & Hatred Rank: 28
Jealousy Rank: 44
Excesses & Vice Rank: 34
Greed Rank: 26

Illinois

Anger & Hatred Rank: 13
Jealousy Rank: 23
Excesses & Vice Rank: 22
Greed Rank: 17

Nevada lived up to its reputation and ranked as the most sinful state in the nation for 2020, according to WalletHub, followed by Texas and Florida.

At the other end of the spectrum, Vermont finished as the least sinful state in the United States. The bottom five were rounded out by Wyoming, Idaho, Maine and New Hampshire.

Overall, harmful behavior on the individual level can result in staggering annual economic costs, according to WalletHub, considering that gambling addiction costs the United States about $5 billion annually, which is paltry compared to the $300 billion that smoking costs the country per year.

Methodology

WalletHub compared the 50 states across 47 key indicators of “immorality,” including violent crimes per capita, the amount of excessive drinking per capita and the population with a gambling addiction.

Each relevant metric was then listed with its corresponding weight, and the states were subsequently graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most sinful state possible.

Here are the top 10 most sinful states:

1. Nevada: 55.99
2. Texas: 55.53
3. Florida: 55.05
4. California: 55.02
5. Georgia: 53.76
6. Tennessee: 51.88
7. Louisiana: 50.42
8. Illinois: 49.00
9. South Carolina: 48.46
10. Mississippi: 46.46

The 10 least sinful states are:

41. North Dakota: 30.87
42. Minnesota: 30.72
43. Utah: 30.58
44. Iowa: 30.26
45. South Dakota: 30.03
46. New Hampshire: 29.41
47. Maine: 29.14
48. Idaho: 28.30
49. Wyoming: 27.74
50. Vermont: 25.67

The full report on the most sinful states in the nation is available on WalletHub.