At a time when some religions are celebrating their most revered holidays, a report by WalletHub reminds us that there is still a lot of "sinning" taking place in the U.S.
Wallethub weeded through government and private research to assess how U.S. states are dealing with the seven deadly sins: anger and hatred (crimes and maltreatment); jealousy (thefts); excesses and vices; greed (casinos and gambling); lust (teen birth rates and adult entertainment); vanity (beauty salons and search queries for plastic surgery); and laziness (share of adults not exercising, volunteering or graduating from high school).
The report noted that each state differs in its characteristics. Southern states like Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama and Louisiana, for example, have some of the highest averages for time spent on adult entertainment, according to WalletHub.
Meanwhile, western states such as New Mexico, Washington and Alaska were at the top of the list for most thefts per capita, and Vermont has the nation's worst drug abuse problem. Nevada, perhaps not surprisingly, is the state that struggles the most with gambling addiction.
When it comes to the states that had the most "sinful" characteristics when all seven categories are considered, it was a mixed bag in terms of regions.
This is the list of the states at the top of the sin list, in ascending order:
10. Louisiana
The state has some of the most violent crimes and thefts per capita. The annual Mardi Gras celebrations also contributed to Louisiana's high rank.
9. Arkansas
This state has the highest percentage of inactive adults, according to Wallethub. And it jis tied with Louisiana for the most thefts per capita.
8. Michigan
Michigan is the least greediest state on this list because of its low number of casinos and gambling disorders, but it ranked high in jealousy (thefts) and anger (violent crimes and maltreatment of one another).
7. Illinois
Greed may not be Illinois’ top sin, but Wallethub ranked the state high for vanity.
6. Tennessee
Wallethub placed Tennessee near the middle of the list for its moderate display of greed and vanity. But the state received first place for anger and hatred, and third place for excesses and vices.
5. Georgia
This state shows the least greed, but Georgia ranked higher in lust and jealousy than half the nation.
4. Texas
Texas ranked high in lust, vanity and jealousy. But the state seems to be handling sins such as greed and vices well.
3. Nevada
The home state to Las Vegas also ranked as the greediest state, and also ranked high in laziness.
2. California
Vanity, lust and jealousy are three sins that plague the state the most, according to WalletHub.
1. Florida
The state ranks high in gambling disorders, has the fifth highest percentage of inactive adults and is the second highest in most beauty salons per capita,
The entire report can be viewed here.
