1999 STATE ENLIGHTENMENT RANKINGS
Ever wonder where all the other enlightened people like yourself hang out?  Worried that a move might bring you next door to an apathetic, illiterate, tobacco-chewing, cockfight-watching, snakehandling, gonorrhea-carrying axe murderer?  Check out the State Enlightenment Rankings below.  (For detailed information concerning any of the enlightenment factors listed below, click on the factor of choice.)
HOMEPAGE
FACTORS:
CIVIC PARTICIPATION
    PERCENTAGE VOTING IN LAST ELECTION
EDUCATION
    PERCENTAGE OF COLLEGE-EDUCATED ADULTS
    LIBRARY BOOKS IN CIRCULATION PER CAPITA
    RANK IN SAT/ACT TEST SCORES
HEALTH
    INFANT MORTALITY
    GONORRHEA RATE
    CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE AND CIRRHOSIS RATE
CRIME AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE
    PRISONERS PER 100,000 POPULATION
    VIOLENT CRIME RATE
LIFESTYLE
    PERCENTAGE LIVING IN MOBILE HOME AND TRAILERS
    BIRTHS OUT-0F-WEDLOCK AS PERCENTAGE OF ALL BIRTHS
    PER CAPITA SPENDING BY NEA
 
RANK  STATE OVERALL SCORE*
1 MINNESOTA 110
2 NEW HAMPSHIRE 117
3 VERMONT 123
4 UTAH 124
5 NORTH DAKOTA 139
6 WASHINGTON 171
7 NEBRASKA 181
8 IOWA 185
9 (TIE) MAINE 190
9 (TIE) MASSACHUSETTS 190
11 (TIE) IDAHO 197
11 (TIE) OREGON 197
13 WISCONSIN 198
14 (TIE) COLORADO 199
14 (TIE) KANSAS 199
16 MONTANA 205
17 HAWAII 208
18 WYOMING 233
19 CONNECTICUT 243
20 SOUTH DAKOTA 252
21 RHODE ISLAND 258
22 MISSOURI 298
23 NEW JERSEY 304
24 VIRGINIA 310
25 ALASKA 313
26 MARYLAND 316
27 NEW YORK 318
28 OHIO 328
29 ILLINOIS 345
30 PENNSYLVANIA 348
31 INDIANA 349
32 CALIFORNIA 360
33 KENTUCKY 361
34 NEW MEXICO 369
35 WEST VIRGINIA 376
36 DELAWARE 382
37 OKLAHOMA 388
38 MICHIGAN 394
39 ARIZONA 416
40 TEXAS 425
41 ARKANSAS 433
42 NEVADA 437
43 TENNESSEE 441
44 GEORGIA 446
45 LOUISIANA 449
46 NORTH CAROLINA 457
47 ALABAMA 458
48 FLORIDA 467
49 MISSISSIPPI 495
50 SOUTH CAROLINA 541
 
* THE OVERALL SCORE IS DETERMINED BY ADDING THE RANK SCORES OF THE TWELVE LISTED CRITERIA.

KEY TO MAP BELOW: overall score 200 or less-RED (most enlightened);  overall score 201-300--YELLOW; overall score 301-400--GREEN; overall score above 400--BLUE (least enlightened).