How We Rank All 50 States — And Why Every Number Has a Source

Every map on this site answers one simple question — how does each state rank on X? — but getting that right involves more discipline than it might look. Here is exactly how we do it.

One source, one metric, one period

The single most important rule: every ranking comes from one authoritative source, measuring one thing, over one time period, for all 50 states. We never stitch together a number from one state's 2024 report and another's 2019 estimate and call it a ranking. If we cannot get clean, comparable data for all 50 states, we do not publish the map.

Our sources are government and official statistical agencies first:

• CDC BRFSS — the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a large state-representative survey, for health metrics like diabetes, obesity, smoking, and binge drinking.
• U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) — for electricity bills.
• AAA — the de-facto standard for daily, all-50-state gas prices.

How we handle ties

When two states report the identical value, we rank them in distinct, sequential slots (ordinal ranking) and break the tie alphabetically by state name. We disclose this on every map and state page so there is never any mystery about why two equal numbers sit one rank apart.

How we handle a missing year

Occasionally a state has not reported the most recent year yet. Rather than guess or leave a gap, we use that state's most recent available year and label it explicitly. On several of our 2024 CDC maps, for example, Tennessee appears with its 2023 value — and the page says so, right on the row.

Why we are this strict

This site grew out of a social-media account, and the whole reason people share these maps is that they trust the numbers. The moment we fabricate or fudge a single figure, that trust is gone. So we built the opposite habit into everything: a missing number is missing. We pick a different metric before we ever invent one.

You can read the full sourcing rules on our methodology page, and every map links directly to the underlying government data so you can check our work.