Worst State for a Zombie Apocalypse

(2m 18s read)

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The Walking Dead, Zombieland, I Am Legend, World War Z.

For whatever reason, people are fascinated with zombies, and given recent world events, I believe we need to discuss what matters most: where are the best and worst places to be to survive a zombie apocalypse. This post will be all about where you don't want to be during the zombie takeover.

Apologies to my international friends. This installment of 'What if,' is going to focus specifically on the United States, but fear not! If you're interested in finding out what country is the best to be in during the apocalypse, that's already compiled in a two-part story you can find here & here.

Now, let's dig into it.

When I first considered this situation, I thought of California, Florida, Hawaii, & New York as being easy choices. These states have a lot of people and big metropolitan areas. Then I put some more thought into it and realized the answer may not be so straightforward.

Considering three key areas was crucial to determining the worst state for surviving a zombie apocalypse.

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1. First, we have population density. Rumor has it, viruses spread quickly around larger groups of people, so a sparsely populated area is much better for you.

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2. The next thing to consider is cropland. Suppose the world's infrastructure collapses and you can't run to Mac Dons or Whole Foods. You need to have access to usable land.

3. Rounding out our third area of consideration, we have gun ownership. You can't politely ask a zombie to not eat your face.

Now before we get to which states would be best, here are the

5 Worst States to be in during a Zombie Apocalypse

5. Rhode Island (131) - Little Rhody ranked somewhat in the middle for population density (33) but third to last in gun ownership (48) and dead last for cropland (50). Let's say when the outbreak starts, individual states would seal off their borders. With a decent population density but a small amount of land for a renewable food source, I wouldn't feel confident spending my days here.

4. Hawaii (131) - Close to the bottom ten in the population density category (39), The Aloha State will be saying aloha-goodbye quick! Cropland ranks towards the bottom (45) and gun ownership is in the bottom 5 (47). When the zombies begin running amok, there will be nowhere to hide on this group of islands and even if you can, good luck.

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3. Connecticut (140) - Connecticut is one of the 3 highest densely populated states in America (48), so if you're trapped in Connecticut it will be hard-pressed to find isolation. The bottom five for cropland (47) and 45th in gun ownership make for a bleak outlook for The Constitution State.

2. New Jersey (140) - The Garden State is last in population density, second to last in gun ownership, and bottom ten in cropland. Sorry, but there will be face-eating on the Jersey Shore not fist-pumping.

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1. Massachusetts (145) - Red Sox fans, you are out of luck. Last in gun ownership, second to last in population density, and bottom five in cropland. This translates to no definitive way to kill zombies, far too many people close together, and little vegetation to forage. I'm not going to say you have a zero percent chance of surviving the apocalypse here, but I will say, statistically, I'd rather be in 49 other places.

These five states are home to over 20 million people...

Better start planning.