New study shows West Virginia is 10th most underrated state, leads the nation in strip clubs per capita
By Matthew Young, RealWV
Over the past six weeks, The RealWV has been examining West Virginia’s national rankings within various metrics. Unfortunately, the Mountain State has consistently ranked at-or-near the bottom in categories such as SAT scores, firearm and overdose death-rates, median household income, infrastructure, and healthcare availability.
Our previous reporting can be viewed here:
- Report shows West Virginia to be the ‘least happy’ state in the nation
- New study shows West Virginia to be among the worst states for infrastructure, attractivity to business
- Research shows West Virginia has lowest SAT scores in the nation, higher firearm death rate than New York and Illinois
- West Virginia’s median household income of $54k ranks 49th in nation
However, thanks to an Aug. 10 report from Faiq Zafar with Insider Monkey, there is finally some news about West Virginia that’s a bit more optimistic. According to Zafar’s reporting, West Virginia is the 10th most underrated state within the United States.
To compile their list, Insider Monkey analyzed the tourism industry of all 50 states. In 2023, West Virginia was in the bottom half of the nation with regard to tourist arrivals. To determine their final rankings, Insider Monkey assigned those bottom 25 states a maximum of 30 points based upon three separate criteria: the state’s natural beauty, tourism infrastructure, and online reviews and ratings. West Virginia scored 18 of the 30 possible points.
The report further states that West Virginia is “one of the least visited states in the U.S.,” a claim which is supported by online travel magazine thrillist.com. According to Thrillist, with 15.9 million visitors in 2023, West Virginia is the 39th most visited state in the nation.
While being labeled “underrated” would typically be considered to be a good thing, one particular category that West Virginia surprisingly leads the nation in, depending on your outlook, may or may not be considered as such.
Thrillist references the Mountain State’s “stunning outdoor attractions,” and “epic” mountain trails as evidence of West Virginia’s status as “almost Heaven.” However, it also states that West Virginia “boasts the most strip clubs per capita of any state in the Union.” Another source, talkelections.org, shows that West Virginia currently has one strip club for every 22,176.46 residents, making it the most in the nation by far. However, RealWV has not confirmed this statistic through any other sources.
The top five underrated states, according to Insider Monkey’s reporting, are Vermont, Alabama, Missouri, Indiana, and Idaho.
