As if people looking for homes for sale in Boise, Idaho, didn’t need another reason to move here, Idaho has been named the “Least Hated State” in the U.S. by online publication Best Life. Much like the rivalry between New York and Boston, Best Life set out to see which states are the most admired and which ones are not.
To arrive at the results, they calculated the percentage of the population that has moved out of each state. And as they said, “while locals don’t give reviews of their hometowns like they would a restaurant on Yelp, they do tend to vote with their feet.” So they compared the population increase or decrease in each state to the national average of .6 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Next, they looked at a Gallup poll where citizens felt the most pride in their home states. This metric was a percentage of people who agreed with the statement that their state is “the best or one of the best possible states to live.”
Finally, they looked at the findings of Matt Shirley, an Illustrator, who polled his 320,000 Instagram followers to discover which state they hate the most. They then used the collective population of the states that hated on another state to measure the volume of hostility toward that state. They finessed the numbers and arrived at a “Hatred Index,” wherein the higher the number, the more hated the state is.
Coming in at number 50, or the least hated state, was Idaho. The Gem State garnered a Hatred Index of -304 and had a state pride of 54% – showing more than half of its population think this is the best place to live. With so many people moving here from other states, it’s not surprising that there aren’t any states that hate Idaho.
The most hated state in the nation, according to the research, is New Jersey, with a Hatred Index of 818. New Jersey is, not surprisingly, hated by New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut.
In what shouldn’t come as a surprise to Idaho residents, California found its way into the top five most hated states, landing at number three on the list. According to the study, the states that hate California include Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Colorado. The common theme among those states is that many California residents are moving to them, and there seems to be some resentment from natives toward those relocating. Hence the reason for their hatred of California. People leaving California are doing so for their own reasons. Perhaps, they hate California and contribute to the collective hostility toward the state from the states to which they move.
It’s easy to see why Idaho has the respect and admiration of other states, and it’s no wonder there are so many people looking to relocate to Idaho. The findings are another indication of the quality of life Idaho presents current and prospective homeowners, making it a top destination for people from other states.
Photo Credit: iStock.com/Bret-Barton