10 Most Sinful States in America: They’re Tops for Lust, Vanity, and Sloth

Feb 23, 2018

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Calling all sinners! Don’t worry, we’re not here to give a lecture about how you should swear less, smile more, and be a better person. No, it’s that we’ve found a place where you should live, a haven where your vices can thrive and flourish. (Just stay on the right side of the law, mmkay?) According to a new survey, your personal mecca is Florida.

That’s according to a new study by WalletHub, which sized up all 50 states based on variables related to the seven deadly sins from the Bible—you know, things like sloth (measured by residents’ activity levels), lust (time spent on adult entertainment sites), vanity (number of beauty salons), and other indicators like rates of gambling, excessive drinking, and drug use.

Surprise! The more obvious pits of depravity—such as New York and Nevada (home of “Sin City,” aka Las Vegas)—were goody two-shoes compared with the Sunshine State.

Florida is famed for its gorgeous beaches, juicy oranges, and family-friendly vacation destinations like Disney World, The Most Magical Place on Earth! (The recent tragic school shooting in Parkland, FL, occurred after this ranking was created and is in no way a part of it.) Given bragging rights like that, how did Florida end up sinking so low on the morality scale?

To be sure, some of the blame goes to those vacationers who flock to Florida for a margarita—or five—to escape the cruel winters in more “upstanding” states (the least sinful state, according to WalletHub, is Vermont, followed by North Dakota and Maine).

“Because so much of the draw to Florida is its beaches and warm weather, it can foster a party atmosphere to a degree in that people are drawn to relax by the sand or on their boat, with beverage of choice in hand,” says Florida real estate agent Cara Ameer. Furthermore, “the fact that it is a haven for retirees may push the score up a bit in terms of people that are more sedentary.”

But is sin bad for real estate? On the contrary, it could actually be good to be bad … or certainly not a deterrent.

“I don’t think this will discourage anyone from moving to Florida due to our lower cost of living, no state income tax, and a more favorable weather climate,” Ameer continues. “Those are staples of what has made and continue to make the Sunshine State so attractive to people relocating from all over the country.”

Florida’s real estate ace

Florida also possesses another real estate perk that might attract wayward sorts.

“Florida has an unlimited homestead exemption in bankruptcy,” says Atlanta-based real estate agent and attorney Bruce Ailion. “You can owe everyone in the world, liquidate your assets, buy a huge home in Florida for cash, live there the short statutory period to claim the homestead, file for bankruptcy, discharge all your debts, and still keep your home. That is probably the worst sin.”

Ameer concedes that some people don’t move to Florida just for the sandy beaches.

“Florida can also draw some element of the population that come here to ‘start over’ after leaving a shady past somewhere else—think mobsters from New York that fled here and had to get a new identity,” she says.

And homestead exemption aside, the sheer volume of people flocking to Florida could be the very reason it has more than a few bad apples.

“States that are less sinful like Vermont are almost little islands unto themselves that tend not to have an influx of people relocating there versus places like Florida, California, and Texas, which are all ripe with continually moving in and out of those areas,” Ameer says. “You would be very hard-pressed to find an abundance of true natives living in Florida. So, when they come to Florida, they bring their baggage with them—both good and bad habits and everything else.”

Here’s a full rundown of the most (and least) sinful states below.

10 most sinful states