New poll shows Americans like Nevada more than California

The clearly completely objective ranking of every U.S. state according to Americans has been officially determined in a new poll, which should presumably prompt no arguments whatsoever.

The poll in question was released Tuesday by YouGov, and it showed how all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. are ranked according to Americans. This was determined by asking respondents to pick the "better" state in a series of matchups, so the ranking is based on how often a given state won in these head-to-head duels.

At the very top of the list was Hawaii, as it won 69 percent of its matchups. Colorado, Virginia, Nevada, North Carolina, Florida, Arizona, New York, Georgia, and Texas, rounded out the top ten in that order, with each of those states winning 58 percent of the time or more. They were followed by Maine and California, with the latter winning 57 percent of matchups.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Meanwhile, at the very bottom of the list was Washington, D.C., which lost the majority of its match-ups, though YouGov noted that it wasn't entirely clear whether it scored so poorly in part just because it isn't actually a state. The lowest-ranked states were Alabama and Mississippi, both of which won 38 percent of their match-ups, though New Jersey, Arkansas, Iowa, and Indiana were in that ballpark, too.

"Panelists did not provide context for their choices," YouGov said, which may very well have been a major missed opportunity to spark even more anger on Twitter than the list itself. Check out the ranking, and either lament or take a victory lap over your state's placement, below. Brendan Morrow