These Are The 10 Dumbest States In America For 2017


We used science and data to determine which states are real dummies.

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Americans like to think they’re the best when it comes to just about everything when measured against other nations. While we’re certainly the richest, most freedom loving, and pretty much the bodyguards for the poor and defenseless, we’ve known for years that we’re certainly not the smartest country on earth.

Recently, we ranked 28th when it came to math and science scores, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

We’re really smart, people. Just not the smartest. And we’re working on it.

We wanted to measure the states to see where the most dummies live.

So, how do you decide which state is the dumbest? By measuring the college graduation rate of the entire population, that’s how.

After analyzing every state in America, we came up with this list as The Dumbest States in America:

  1. West Virginia (Photos)
  2. Mississippi (Photos)
  3. Kentucky (Photos)
  4. Arkansas (Photos)
  5. Alabama (Photos)
  6. New Mexico (Photos)
  7. Louisiana (Photos)
  8. Nevada (Photos)
  9. Indiana (Photos)
  10. Tennessee (Photos)

Are we seeing a pattern here? The south isn’t ideal for intelligence (Roy Moore anyone?).

Also, we’re not saying the people in these states are bad. We’re just making an observation that as a majority, they’re not the brightest bulbs in the room. And, interestingly enough, the dumbest cities in the country come from states nowhere near the top ten here.

Read on below to see where your state ranked. Or for more reading, , check out:

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What stupid criteria did we use?

In order to rank the dumbest States in the USA of A, we had to determine what criteria define a dumb person.

We started by getting data from the 2011-2015 American Community Survey for every we state. We then looked at our criteria:

We ranked each state from 1 to 50 with 1 being the state with the lowest number of college grads. As it turns out, the dumbest states in America mostly voted for Trump. Who woulda guessed?

Here’s a look at the top ten with a detailed chart to follow for the whole country.

1. West Virginia

West Virginia

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 1,851,420
Percent With College Degree: 11.7%

2. Mississippi

Mississippi

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 2,988,081
Percent With College Degree: 12.9%

3. Kentucky

Kentucky

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 4,397,353
Percent With College Degree: 13.1%

4. Arkansas

Arkansas

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 2,958,208
Percent With College Degree: 13.6%

5. Alabama

Alabama

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 4,830,620
Percent With College Degree: 14.8%

6. New Mexico

New Mexico

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 2,084,117
Percent With College Degree: 14.8%

7. Louisiana

Louisiana

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 4,625,253
Percent With College Degree: 14.8%

8. Nevada

Nevada

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 2,798,636
Percent With College Degree: 15.2%

9. Indiana

Indiana

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 6,568,645
Percent With College Degree: 15.4%

10. Tennessee

Tennessee

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 6,499,615
Percent With College Degree: 15.9%

So there you have it

If you’re measuring the states in America where there are a low number of college grads, this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious enough, here are the least stupid states in America. Or, the smartest, if you will:

  1. Colorado
  2. Massachusetts
  3. New Jersey

We also wrote about the worst cities in America if you didn’t happen to see it.

Detailed List Of The Dumbest States In America

Rank State % With A Degree
1 West Virginia 11.7%
2 Mississippi 12.9%
3 Kentucky 13.1%
4 Arkansas 13.6%
5 Alabama 14.8%
6 New Mexico 14.8%
7 Louisiana 14.8%
8 Nevada 15.2%
9 Indiana 15.4%
10 Tennessee 15.9%
11 Oklahoma 16.1%
12 Ohio 16.4%
13 South Carolina 16.5%
14 Michigan 16.5%
15 Missouri 16.9%
16 Wyoming 17.1%
17 Arizona 17.3%
18 Pennsylvania 17.4%
19 Florida 17.5%
20 Idaho 17.7%
21 Delaware 17.8%
22 Alaska 17.9%
23 Georgia 18.1%
24 Texas 18.2%
25 Iowa 18.2%
26 North Carolina 18.4%
27 Wisconsin 18.4%
28 Maine 18.7%
29 South Dakota 19.0%
30 Rhode Island 19.1%
31 Oregon 19.3%
32 New York 19.4%
33 Nebraska 19.6%
34 California 19.8%
35 Illinois 19.9%
36 Montana 20.0%
37 Kansas 20.0%
38 North Dakota 20.1%
39 Hawaii 20.4%
40 Maryland 20.6%
41 Utah 20.8%
42 Washington 20.9%
43 Connecticut 21.0%
44 Virginia 21.0%
45 Vermont 21.7%
46 New Hampshire 21.8%
47 Minnesota 22.5%
48 New Jersey 22.8%
49 Massachusetts 22.8%
50 Colorado 24.1%