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The Luckiest States and Provinces/Territories in the US and CA

Some individuals just seem to have luck on speed dial, consistently hitting the relationship jackpot, effortlessly climbing the career ladder and scratching off that winning symbol on a $1 lottery ticket. We’ve all been there, wondering ‘Why not me?’.

This got us thinking, what if certain locations are inherently luckier than others? Places where a considerably smaller number of accidents occur? Where marriages end in happy-ever-after and lottery tickets in big wins. With that in mind, we revealed the luckiest, and unluckiest states and province/territories in USA and Canada.

We compared each state and province/territory across 10 different factors, including life expectancy, safety ranking, lightning strike injuries, Powerball and Mega Million winners, natural hazards risk, wildlife incidents, divorce rates, astronomical occurrences and finally, your likelihood of bumping into a celebrity.

US INFOGRAPHIC

US key findings:

  • California is named the ‘luckiest’ state in America
  • Minnesota is the second ‘luckiest’ state, just behind California
  • New Hampshire and New York tied for third place
  • Mississippi is named the ‘unluckiest’ state, scoring lowest on the index

With an impressive index score of 100/100, California is coined the ‘luckiest’ state in the US. Predominantly thanks to having the second highest number of previous Mega Millions winners, at 36 to date. Similarly, when it comes to bumping into celebrities, it comes as no surprise that the Golden State gives residents a high chance, sitting at 4.96 celebrities per 100,000 people. Looking to be lucky in love? Well, California’s divorce rate ranked low on the scale, at 7.45 per 1,000 marriages.

Next in line for the ‘luckiest’ title is the North Star State, Minnesota with an impressive 97.3. They ranked in the top 3 states for Power Ball winners, currently sitting at 22 wins. When it comes to living a long, healthy life – Minnesotans can count their lucky stars, as the average life expectancy falls within the top 3, at 79.1 years.

In joint third place we have New Hampshire and New York scoring 91.6. New Hampshire residents should count themselves lucky, as they had one of the lowest lighting strike injuries over the years, with a recorded 8 incidents. They also scored highly for their safety ranking, at 63.99/100.

New York on the other hand, saw luck when it came to Mega Millions winners, as they have had the highest number of wins in their state, at 40. Unsurprisingly, their chances of bumping into a celebrity are high – at 15.18 per 100,000 people.

Some honorable mentions go to Vermont, for the highest safety ranking of 68.79/100. As well as Hawaii, boasting the longest life expectancy at 80.7. Finally, there’s Georgia, who had the lowest natural hazards risk, at 5/100.

The cursed land: revealing America’s unluckiest states

It’s hard luck for Mississippians, as we kick off the ‘unluckiest’ rankings in the Magnolia state, who ranked dead last (0/100). With 0 previous Power Ball or Mega Millions winners, and the second lowest safety rating, at 32.52 (out of 100) they evidently don’t have luck on their side. When analyzing their average life expectancy, it turns out it is the lowest of all 50 states, at 71.9.

As the saying goes, misery loves company - and in second place we have Florida, which ranked as the second least ‘lucky’ state on the index, at an index rating of 6.3/100. Florida can be coined the misfortunate mecca, thanks to the sheer amount of lightning strike injuries (495) and having one of the highest natural hazard risks (95.23/100).

CA INFOGRAPHIC

Canada key findings:

  • Manitoba is named the ‘luckiest’ province/territory in Canada
  • Northwest Territories is the second ‘luckiest’ province/territory
  • Alberta ranked in third place
  • Ontario unfortunately is named the ‘unluckiest’, scoring the lowest on the index

We’ve had a look at the most and least lucky states in the US, but how does Canada compare?

It seems Manitoba is blessed with the most favor and fortune, scoring a sparkling 100/100 on the lucky index. Thanks to its low number of wildlife incidents/attacks (7 recorded) and its life expectancy age of 80, combined with the low number of lightning strike injuries/fatalities (4 recorded) luck is striking gold for Manitobans.

Next up on the leaderboard, named the second most fortuitous province/territory is Northwest Territories at 88.6/100. With zero recorded lightning strike injuries/fatalities and a respectable natural hazards risk, they took home the silver trophy with pride.

Alberta is named the third luckiest province/territory in Canada, with an index score of 77.4. Thanks to its high proportion of lottery winners (32) and a hearty life expectancy of 81.5, Alberta exudes good fortune. Although, it seems they might need a bit of luck in love with its divorce rates, standing at 9.7 per 1,000 marriages (7.3% higher than the national average).

Struck by bad luck: Canada’s most unlucky province/territory

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the unluckiest of them all? Well, the cards are stacked against those living in Ontario who ranked dead last. Officially coined the ‘least’ lucky province/territory in Canada, was all thanks to a combination of their low number of lottery winners (1) and highest lightning strike injuries/fatalities (89). Ontario also falls short on chances of bumping into a celebrity, 2.3 per 100,000 population. A recipe for a rather bitter slice of unlucky pie!

Summary:

Whether you find luck at every turn, or you’re constantly hoping for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, there’s a chance that luck isn’t always as random as it seems. Your chances of hitting the jackpot (in all aspects of life) could all hinge on the place you call home!

Methodology:

UTo determine the ranking of US and Canada’s luckiest states and provinces/territories, we gathered official data on 9 different factors. Each factor was weighted according to its relevance towards ‘luck’.

Highest weighting – 15

  • Life expectancy
  • Safety ranking
  • Lightning strike injuries / fatalities
  • Lottery winners

Middle weighting – 8

  • Natural hazards risk
  • Wildlife incidents/attacks

Lowest weighting – 3

  • Divorce rates
  • Best places for stargazing / shooting stars / astronomical occurances
  • Likelihood to bump into a celebrity

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