Georgia and South Carolina Among The Worst Places to Die in the U.S.

Worst Places to Die - Funerary urn with ashes of dead and flowers at funeral. Burial urn decorated with flowers and people mourning in background at memorial service, sad and grieving last farewell to deceased person.

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While no one likes to think about death, a new study shows both Georgia and South Carolina are among the worst places to die in the United States. But, let's be honest, is there really any good place to die? No, didn't think so.

But, according to Policy Genius, there are certain states that are worst than others when it comes down to a variety of factors.

“But where you live can have major implications on your quality of life when you’re near death, as well as your family’s financial well-being after you pass away,” Elissa Suh said in her piece at PolicyGenius.com. “Being able to easily settle an estate, for example, can benefit everyone during a difficult time.”

For the study, Policy Genius look at a number of things while ranking the "best" places to die, which includes:

Funeral costs
Funeral services (number of options, etc.)
Green burial options
Palliative care (including hospice) options
Medicare providers
Deaths at home
And Probate shortcuts (how easy it is to settle your estate after you die)

When it came down to all of those factors, Georgia ranked 45 out of the 50 states, making it one of the worst places to die. South Carolina didn't rank much better, coming in at 43 out of 50.

What led to the rankings? For Georgia, it seems to be funeral home density and green burial options. And for the Palmetto State, it seems Medicare options and palliative care affected its ranking.

Let's take a look at the best and worst places around the United States to die, according to Policy Genius:

The Top 10

These are the "best" places to die.

1. Vermont

Jessica Sterner/Getty Images

How's this for a final resting place? (Getty Images)

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
1	Vermont	71.7%	$8,984	72.6	10.3%	8713	100.0%	38.0%

2. Utah

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
2	Utah	70.3%	$7,536	24.3	4.3%	8166	92.9%	44.2%

3. Idaho

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
3	Idaho	60.3%	$7,288	30.8	3.8%	7108	66.7%	42.0%

4. Ohio

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
4	Ohio	59.7%	$7,195	66.1	0.9%	7607	84.8%	29.4%

5. South Dakota

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
5	South Dakota	59.4%	$7,748	70.5	3.4%	8973	88.9%	21.6%

6. Maine

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
6	Maine	59.1%	$8,999	58.0	4.0%	8880	76.9%	37.0%

7. Illinois

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
7	Illinois	58.9%	$7,419	56.2	0.6%	8854	81.6%	32.7%

8. Colorado

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
8	Colorado	58.9%	$8,132	22.2	3.8%	9573	80.6%	36.0%

9. New Hampshire

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
9	New Hampshire	58.3%	$8,380	42.7	16.7%	8556	100.0%	36.1%

10. Washington

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
10	Washington	57.4%	$8,620	22.7	2.4%	7544	84.0%	40.2%

The Bottom 10

42. Connecticut

Elm Grove Cemetery in Mystic, Connecticut, in late-afternoon autumn light

BergmannD/Getty Images

Connecticut doesn't rank well on the best places to spend your last day. (Getty Images)

The Top 10 Most Sinful States?

Let's face it... there's a lot wrong with the U.S. It doesn't take a genius to see that. Just watch the news. It's always one side blaming the other, right? But at the end of the day, we all have our own vices. And the same goes for each state!

WalletHub put together a list of the most sinful states in America. When it comes down to it, of course things like drugs and gambling are factors in some states. For other states, it may be smoking, drinking or some other harmful behaviors.

And, yes, some states are way more well-behaved than others. So WalletHub took a look at each state and used 47 key indicators of immoral or illicit behavior. The data they accumulated ranges from violent crimes per capita, excessive drinking, gambling and more.

We can only imagine that after 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of these states' vices have only increased. On a personal level, many have found ways to cope with the unending stress that the pandemic continues to cause.

Some of the Findings

Georgia and South Carolina rank in the top 10 most sinful states in the United States. With Georgia coming in at number 8 and South Carolina falls right behind it at number 9.

Source: WalletHub

When it came down to Most Violent Crimes per Capita, you've got Alaska, Arkansas, Louisana, New Mexico and Tennessee all tied for 1st. New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine were at the bottom of that list for the fewest violent crimes per capita.

As far as most thefts per capita? South Carolina unfortunately ranked number 5 on this list. Louisiana, New Mexico, Colorado and Washington were the top 4.

The research also looked at gambling, time spent on adult entertainment sites, beauty salons and the percentage of adults who don't exercise. To learn more about these factors, scroll down to the bottom.

Here are the Top 10 Most Sinful States in the United States:

10. Illinois

WalletHub Vice Index: 48.77

Anger & Hatred: 10

Jealousy: 11

Excesses & Vices: 32

Greed: 46

Lust: 11

Vanity: 7

Laziness: 15

9. South Carolina

WalletHub Vice Index: 48.82

Anger & Hatred: 3

Jealousy: 10

Excesses & Vices: 12

Greed: 16

Lust: 21

Vanity: 26

Laziness: 10

8. Georgia

WalletHub Vice Index: 48.92

Anger & Hatred: 11

Jealousy: 3

Excesses & Vices: 29

Greed: 49

Lust: 17

Vanity: 10

Laziness: 9

7. Pennsylvania

WalletHub Vice Index: 49.96

Anger & Hatred: 34

Jealousy: 29

Excesses & Vices: 22

Greed: 12

Lust: 4

Vanity: 5

Laziness: 23

6. Tennessee

WalletHub Vice Index: 50.02

Anger & Hatred: 2

Jealousy: 14

Excesses & Vices: 6

Greed: 5

Lust: 13

Vanity: 21

Laziness: 21

5. Louisiana

WalletHub Vice Index: 50.14

Anger & Hatred: 4

Jealousy: 8

Excesses & Vices: 1

Greed: 25

Lust: 12

Vanity: 34

Laziness: 3

4. Florida

WalletHub Vice Index: 50.90

Anger & Hatred: 38

Jealousy: 9

Excesses & Vices: 44

Greed: 41

Lust: 3

Vanity: 3

Laziness: 11

3. Texas

WalletHub Vice Index: 51.85

Anger & Hatred: 30

Jealousy: 12

Excesses & Vices: 37

Greed: 29

Lust: 1

Vanity: 6

Laziness: 24

2. California

WalletHub Vice Index: 54.07

Anger & Hatred: 12

Jealousy: 16

Excesses & Vices: 38

Greed: 24

Lust: 2

Vanity: 2

Laziness: 25

1. Nevada

WalletHub Vice Index: 57.17

Anger & Hatred: 9

Jealousy: 1

Excesses & Vices: 7

Greed: 1

Lust: 7

Vanity: 27

Laziness: 4

Key Dimensions Factored In

Anger & Hatred: takes into account violent crimes, sex offenders, bullying, hate-crime, and more.

Jealousy: this factor looks at thefts, identity theft and fraud.

Excesses & Vices: looks at obesity rates in adults, fast-food restaurants, excessive drinking, drunk driving, smokers, coffee drinkers and more.

Greed: relates to casinos, gambling arrests, charitable donations, embezzlement and more.

Lust: time spent on adult entertainment websites, teen birth rates, prostitution and more.

Vanity: this refers to beauty salons, plastic surgery searches and expenses related to personal care products and services.

Laziness: the amount of adults who don't exercise, weekly hours worked, volunteering, time spent watching TV, graduation rates and more.

Video from WalletHub

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
42	Connecticut	41.4%	$9,689	56.1	0.6%	7639	95.8%	28.7%

43. South Carolina

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
43	South Carolina	39.7%	$7,512	46.7	1.7%	5891	61.4%	37.5%

44. North Carolina

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
44	North Carolina	39.7%	$7,404	45.2	1.9%	6775	67.6%	33.2%

45. New Jersey

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
45	New Jersey	39.4%	$9,154	49.3	0.6%	7098	91.8%	29.9%

46. Georgia

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
46	Georgia	39.4%	$6,924	37.3	0.7%	7041	65.0%	33.2%

47. New York

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
47	New York	38.9%	$10,355	51.7	1.0%	7131	80.8%	29.7%

48. Hawaii

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
48	Hawaii	38.3%	$15,203	11.8	3.7%	5079	66.7%	37.4%

49. Texas

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
49	Texas	38.0%	$7,148	31.3	0.6%	6173	52.2%	33.0%

50. Alaska

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
50	Alaska	37.1%	$9,913	17.2	0.0%	14566	42.9%	43.4%

51. Florida

Rank	State	Final score	Funeral costs	Funeral home density	Green burial	Medicare	Palliative care	Deaths at home
51	Florida	30.9%	$7,667	28.4	0.8%	4257	64.5%	29.2%

Georgia and South Carolina Also on the Most Sinful States List

Burial Death Funeral

CodyEditor

“Cody” Blaine Jackson is one half of the Kicks Wake Up Krew on Kicks 99. Her passions include fitness and anything to do with animals, as she has two fur babies, her dogs, Harley and Waylon. Cody likes to write about pets, fitness, and Augusta local events.