Some of these are a little surprising. We absolutely expected Texas to be Cowboys country, but they seem to have most of the southwest locked down too!
It's no wonder that Georgia went to the Braves, but we can't believe that they're the most popular team in Alabama too! I thought those states were supposed to be mortal enemies? Sometimes the United States ends up surprising you, and that goes double when it comes to sports teams!
You see a lot of Baby Boomers and not too much Gen Z on this map. But as the years go by, this map should get a lot of more light blue popping up.
Gen X looks poised to overtake southern California soon, but, for now, the Boomers still reign supreme in most of the United States. Of all the states in the Union, it looks like Alaska might be the most diverse in terms of generational cohorts. All ages are welcome in the Last Frontier!
The country is divided over the issue of cats vs dogs, but, interestingly, these fault lines don't overlap with the tried and true political divisions of the country. This is one issue where New Yorkers and Nebraskans are in complete agreement.
Despite what's going on in the north, it seems like the South is firmly dog country—except for Florida, where they apparently love their feline friends more than their neighbors. Now we're just anxiously awaiting the follow-up study where researchers poll cats and dogs to figure out their favorite states.
Some people might think this was a complete fail. But I think it was a valiant effort--remember, we can't expect out of New Yorkers what we would expect out of normal, functioning human beings.
While some areas of the country are relatively accurate, there are other spots that are just so incredibly off base. On this map, much of the lower midwest, including Missouri, has simply ceased to exist. It's clear that geography is definitely not this person's strong suit, but they did give it a good effort!
Some of these are no surprise--of course New Mexico is going to go to Breaking Bad. But it was shocking to see that Walker, Texas Ranger beat out Dallas for Texas.
It's also strange to see that The Brady Bunch has managed to beat out all the other countless shows set in California. However, some of these shows had much less competition for state domination. Can you actually name another TV show besides Evening Shade set in Arkansas? We don't think so!
There aren't a ton of shockers on this list, but I imagine that not every state is thrilled with their most famous athlete. Something tells me Texas would get rid of Lance Armstrong if they could...
This map also helps give you a good idea of what states are the best of the best when it comes to sports. Missouri hasn't had a major athlete since Yogi Berra? It doesn't seem like they're exactly pumping out high-caliber athletes down there!
If you don't believe that America is a melting pot, just take a look at the wide variety of things we hate. Whether you hate polo shirts or drinking alone, there's a place for you in the USA!
While some of these are at least partially understandable, some states' hates have left us completely scratching our heads. Why can't Colorado get over N'SYNC? They haven't been a thing for years! And surely California has cooled off about fidget spinners now that they're no longer the current hot thing.
We don't blame the west coast for being such a popular road trip area--it's beautiful. But why doesn't the poor Midwest get any more love?
It's kind of shocking to see just how short and small some of these popular road trips are considering that we've got highways from coast to coast in this country. It's kind of hard to believe that there are so many spots in the United States without some sort of popular route.
Here's the most important sports map of America. It's not about being popular--it's about making money! But not every state in the Union can agree about which retired players' gear to buy.
There really aren't that many surprises on this map that we weren't expecting to see. California can't get enough of Kobe Bryant? John Elway is the most famous in Colorado? Color us so surprised! Americans can be pretty predictable people, and that's especially true when it comes to beloved athletes.
Minnesota has clearly discovered the fountain of youth. Unfortunately, the secret is lutefisk.
New England hasn't done too bad for itself either, but we can't say the same about the life expectancy in the South! That being said, our top pick would have to be Hawaii. With views as beautiful as theirs, we'd want to stick around for a long time to enjoy them too!
Even the states on the lower end of the spectrum seem pretty good. I wouldn't say no to $2300!
No one likes tax season, no matter what state you happen to be from, but a refund check in the thousands of dollars makes things a lot more enjoyable! We don't know what tax secrets they're hiding in Texas, but that seems like the place to be when it comes to giving your due to Uncle Sam.
Whether you drink soda, coke, or soft drinks, you're fine by me. But all you "pop" drinkers better stay away.
We're sure that the Coca-Cola company is just tickled pink that "coke" has become the generic word for sodas down in the South—you can't pay for good marketing like that! And it's also interesting to see that the West and East coasts both ended up on the same side of this argument.
I hate to see the southern states at each other's throats. Texas and Oklahoma shouldn't be hating each other--they should be hating California like good southerners!
It's also hilarious that California is wasting their time hating Texas when the Lone Star State is too busy seething about Oklahoma to even think about Cali! Also, is anyone surprised at all that New Jersey is as listed as hating everyone? There's nothing more Jersey than some indiscriminate scorn!
Let's just say that some states have cooler brands than others. And exactly 0% of the population is surprised about Florida's corporation.
If I had to pick the best of the best, Ohio is definitely going on that list—Wendy's makes some seriously delicious and underrated burgers. It's also hilarious that Starbucks is still associated with Washington state despite there being hundreds of locations in every state at this point.
You might not like the movie your state got, but just remember this--at least you're not in Georgia with Big Mama's House.
It's no surprise that Oklahoma went for Twister—every spring in that state is basically a live reenactment of the film. And considering how many people get murdered in Chicago, Halloween is the perfect fit for Illinois too. Over all, this is a map without too many shocks or surprises.
So most of this map is unsurprising--it's just the other popular religions in the West that aren't Christianity. We're not sure what's going on in South Carolina, but the Baha'is seem to love it!
Overall, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam seem to be the three most prominent religions represented on the map, which isn't at all surprising considering that the three all have a major global presence. But still, Christianity remains the largest religious affiliation for every state in the Union, and it will probably remain that way for some time.
It's clear that the middle of the country is solidly Ford country. But what's going on in Arkansas and Colorado?
It appears that both the West and East coast love their Hondas while Michigan just can't get enough of the Ford Escape. Overall, the car brands themselves aren't that surprising or out of the ordinary, but some of these specific model preferences have left us scratching our heads.
If you hate neighbors and love wide open spaces, this is the map for you. Montana's got the right idea.
Honestly, a lot of these states are being skewed by the major metropolitan areas within their borders. Sure, southern California is going to be packed with tons of people, but there is also plenty of room to roam in other, less populated areas of the state. And let's all just be glad that New Jersey isn't nearly as big as it is on this map!
We'll blame the South's performance on this map on the amazing comfort food down there. Californians and Northerners would be fat if they had any food worth eating.
Nevada isn't doing too good in terms of healthiness either, and we have to wonder if that has something to do with Sin City itself being in the state. There's plenty of unhealthy fun to be had in Las Vegas! Overall though, there aren't many places in the United States that seem to be doing fantastic when it comes to health!
So this a good news/bad news situation. The good news is this--it doesn't look like too many guys born in the 60s got truly insane names. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like many people got very interesting names, either.
Many of the names on this map have been around much longer than the 1960s, so we have a sneaking suspicion that these would still poll very well even today. James may have been able to secure the South, but it's clear that the Davids are the ones running the show in most of the country.
The Susans of the 60s gave it a good try, but they were just no match for the Marys. There's something about her, I tell you what.
The Donnas tried their best to take the eastern seaboard for themselves, but they were just no match for the power and size of the Marys. The most interesting thing on this map is that Idaho is the lone Lori stronghold in the entire country. It's just a good, potato-eating name apparently.
Some of these candy selections are truly terrible. Any state that doesn't have something chocolate as its top Halloween candy should be kicked out of the Union.
We can let the Skittles dominating the South slide, since at least those are loaded with sugar, too. However, we have some harsh words for the southwest and their candy corn and hot tamales. Seriously, Arizona and New Mexico? The only more disappointing region in the country is West Virginia and its bubblegum!
It's nice that they went to the trouble of making this map, but it wasn't really necessary. They basically could have just written "doctors" and left it at that.
However, it is interesting to see all the different regional specialties that doctors have to choose from. Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, and Minnesota must be full of kids with braces! Rhode Island is the lone holdout in the Union, with a non-medical job being the highest-paid in the state.
It looks like the Cowboys have some fans far from home in Montana! Thankfully, Packer fever seems to be mostly contained in Wisconsin--just make sure you're vaccinated before you visit.
Overall, this map unfolds pretty predictably by region—although we weren't expecting a huge holdout of Cowboys fans in Nevada! Florida and South Carolina seem to be the only two states that really can't seem to make up their minds about who they should root for out on the football field.
Walmart may be an Arkansas company, but it's clearly spread beyond state lines. You're going to have a hard time escaping it across most of the country.
However, there are a few states holding out. Although it might seem strange at first, it actually makes sense that the biggest employer in a lot of places is a state university system. You might think of college as just teachers and students, but major universities have a ton of employees working behind the scenes, too.
If you weren't convinced that the economy is just alchemy for people who like spreadsheets, take a look at this map. It looks like the South is the place to be!
If you want your $100 bucks to go the furthest, you're definitely going to want to pay a visit to Alabama or Mississippi. If you find yourself in New York or California, however, your money just isn't going to go as far! Overall, the value of $100 swings almost $20 in either direction across the country.
If you're looking for a public job that pays well, being a sports coach is about the only way to go. For better or worse, these are the employees making the big bucks in the United States.
However, sports aren't for everyone, so you could always become the dean of a medical school or a university president instead. No matter what you pick, most of these "public servant" careers are highly unrealistic for most Americans. Although I'm sure that most of us would be happy to take the paychecks that come with these jobs!
The Southwest has the right idea--get your hottest day out of the way early in the summer. We're not sure why the West coast puts it off so long, but enjoy your sweltering falls!
Don't let the South fool you, though—pretty much every day down there is the hottest day of the year. All in all, this map only tells us what we probably already know: it gets hot in the summer, no matter where you're located! All that matters is if you want to get that day out of the way early or put it off as long as possible.
The temps are going to drop every year regardless. You just have to decide whether you want to get it out of the way in December or January.
Probably the most noticeable thing about this map is in the middle of the country. While everywhere around them has their coldest days in late December, there's a blob of green in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah that hold out until January. Apparently, the Rocky Mountains play by their own rules!
This is an interesting map, but there aren't a ton of surprises on here. The biggest shock was definitely French Creole for Florida.
The high rates of German in the Midwest is to be expected, considering how many immigrants in the region come from this country. And obviously Italian being spoken in New England is not going to surprise many people. Russian for Oregon is a bit of an outlier, though.
Let's hope that Vermont has some less popular attractions that are more fun. Because visiting an ice cream factory is not how I want to spend my vacation.
It's probably not too surprising for most people to see that Disneyland, Disney World, and the Las Vegas strip dominate the tourism industry in the United States, but it is a little shocking to see that the destinations in North and South Carolina see an equal amount of visitors each year.
Our readers in Colorado might want to do a little background check on their financial analysts. That seems like something you'd want to have a degree for.
The closer you look at this map, the more questionable it actually becomes. Mining engineer is a job that doesn't require a degree? And how in the world did dishwasher end up being the most popular non-college job in Maryland? We have lots of questions that probably aren't going to get answered!
We're not sure what counts as a "distinctive" last name, but clearly the Jensens are killing it. Good for them!
Honestly, there doesn't really seem like there's a last name on this list that we would consider out-of-the-ordinary. Surely there are some more distinctive last names out there than Washington, Matthews, or Lopez! This might be one unusual map that we have to take with a grain of salt.
I don't want to inflame tensions between the coastal elites and the flyover states, but how can anyone look at this map and not want to wipe the West coast off the face of the earth? You too, Alaska!
While there's nothing wrong with a nice green salad, the idea that it's the most popular dish at some Thanksgiving tables is just downright unpatriotic! Thanksgiving is supposed to be a meal you regret after eating, not what you eat before a workout! At least most of the country seems to have their dinner table in order.
Forget the state maps--breaking down the country's favorite NFL teams by county is where things really get interesting. It the country was divided up by football, things would look a lot different on our maps!
While some counties across the coutnry buck the trend of the surrounding counties in their state, most places seem to fall in line behind NFL teams en masse. It's also interesting to see that states without an NFL team of their own are just as passionate about professional football as the others!
For college graduates, student loan debts are among the biggest burdens. Combined with the struggle to actually find a job to utilize your degree, student loan debt can be crippling. It can take years to pay off the debt, but to get a good-paying job, it's necessary to get a degree.
Collectively, Americans owe an estimated $1.4 trillion in federal student loan debt. It has become such a problem, that lawmakers have been calling for student debt forgiveness up to $50,000 or at least up to $10,000. While it's difficult to say what will actually happen on that front, here are the current numbers when it comes to student loan debt by state (per borrower).
Another crippling number for many Americans is the credit score. Low credit scores can affect you in numerous ways. They can affect your ability to buy a car, a house, rent an apartment, take out a loan, and so much more. So many Americans are affected by their credit scores, which will basically inhibit their ability to live when their score is too low.
Experian, the well-known consumer credit reporting company, collected data from all 50 states and came up with an average score for each state. Some states fared much better than others, but nobody reached anywhere near 800 or more. the top credit scores, as you can see in this map, were Minnesota, South Dakota, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.
