- Are you ready to find out which state has its pants on fire?
We’ve all cheated at something at one point or another in our lives. But have you ever wondered where the biggest cheaters in America live?
Well, now we know.
A recent study revealed which U.S. states have the most and least cheaters. The survey asked participants to answer when, where, and how they had cheated, and whether they regretted it.
The surveyors scored each answer, calculated average scores per state, and then adjusted them to fit a scale of 0 (no one in the state has ever cheated) to 100 (everyone cheats, all the time). And presto — we now know which state has the biggest cheaters.
Without further ado, let’s look at the results.
States with Most Cheaters
Let’s start with the tally that everyone is most curious about. Which states have the most cheaters in America?
The Top 10 U.S. states for cheaters (and their cheater scores) are:
- New York (98.04)
- Arkansas (97.54)
- Alabama (95.69)
- Kentucky (95.36)
- Illinois (92.86)
- Kansas (92.20)
- Wisconsin (91.48)
- Maryland (91.23)
- New Mexico (90.56)
- Florida (89.78)
Sadly for the Empire State, it appears that New York residents are the most prolific cheaters in the state. In particular, New Yorkers are most likely to swindle their way out of work-related tasks. They also apparently really like to cut in line.
It seems being a cheater is a natural state for the residents of the Natural State, as Arkansas ranked second in the prevalence of cheating. However, Arkanites’ cheating is fairly harmless, as they are most likely to cheat while playing single-player games, like solitaire. That said, they do also tend to abuse business reward or ordering systems to their benefit.
In the third place is Alabama. About half of Alabamians admitted that they have used photo manipulation to make themselves look more attractive on dating apps or social media.
States with Fewest Cheaters
Well, that was the naughty list. Next, let’s take a look at the most honest states in America.
The Top 10 U.S. states with the fewest cheaters are:
- North Carolina (71.33)
- Minnesota (71.51)
- Maine (71.84)
- Mississippi (76.87
- Missouri (78.15)
- Nebraska (79.69)
- California (80.58)
- Washington (81.63)
- Oregon (81.67)
- Oklahoma (82.24)
These are the places to be if you want to be among upstanding and reliable folk. Still, we’re a little bummed that the survey data doesn’t detail in which ways these states cheat, if they do. Maybe they lied on the survey answers to make themselves look good.
Things Americans Cheat Most Often On
We now know where cheating is the most and least common, but what about the kinds of things Americans cheat on most often? The survey included that data as well, and the results are:
- Diet (77.92% of Americans)
- Schoolwork (69.34%)
- Store checkout (45.31%)
- Cutting in line (44.67%)
- Age (41.18%)
- Single-player games (40.98%)
- Work-related tasks (39.29%)
- Romantic partner (37.44%)
- Manipulated photos on social media (35.74%)
- Multiplayer games (34.6%)
We can all breathe a small sigh of relief in that the first five entries are relatively mild stuff. Still, it’s a bit concerning to see that more than a third of Americans will and have cheated on their partners or in their jobs.
The survey does include some data on the prevalence of different types of cheating. In terms of cheating on your diet, the residents of Kansas, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania are the most guilty.
Meanwhile, Colorado, New Mexico, and Oregon (two of which were on the most honest list) are the most prolific cheaters at the cash register. Finally, if you’re in a relationship with someone from Florida, Georgia, or Oklahoma, you might want to keep an eye on them, as these states have the highest rates of cheating on partners.
Oh, and the rarest form of cheating in this survey was tax evasion, which only 14.06% of Americans had done. Most of those people, though, come from California, Illinois, and Kentucky.
Things Americans Regret Cheating On
As the last topic, the survey data details what kinds of cheating cause the most regret in the guilty party. Curious? Here are the results:
- No regret (30.41%)
- Partner (26.12%)
- Diet (20.64%)
- Schoolwork (17.25%)
- Health/lifestyle change (9.92%)
- Cutting in line (8.13%)
- Work-related tasks (6.68%)
- Store checkout (4.94%)
- Multiplayer games (4.74%)
- Age (4.59%)
Shockingly, almost a third of the respondents said they don’t regret cheating on anything, ever. That’s not a particularly flattering revelation about America.
As a silver lining, cheating on your partner comes as a solid second on the list of regrets. At least people have the good sense to be ashamed of breaking someone’s heart.
Let’s end things on a positive note, though. The survey also asked whether people aim to cheat less, as much, or more in the future. The vast majority (79%) said they were trying to lead more honest lives.
That is, if they weren’t just cheating when answering the question.