Least Racist States

Racism, a societal issue deeply ingrained in the fabric of our nation, has long been a significant cause of social division and injustice. Tallied through the lens of racial prejudice, discrimination, and antagonism, the scopes of racism differ vastly from state to state, indicating the polarized stance on this issue across the United States.

• Topping the list as the least racist state is Vermont, closely followed by New Hampshire and Idaho.
• Analyses show a trend among the northern states, including North Dakota, Minnesota, and Maine, depicting lower levels of racism, tangibly contrasting with southern states such as Mississippi and Louisiana, which score higher on the racism metric.
• West Coast states Oregon and Washington demonstrate relatively low racism scores, indicating more inclusivity in these progressive strongholds, while East Coast states reveal mixed results, with New York considerably outperforming Delaware.
• It's notable that states with a historically significant indigenous population, such as Idaho and Alaska, show lower racism scores, potentially suggesting more harmonious racial relations.

Our analysis was conducted from March 1st, 2023, to June 30th, 2023. To determine the level of racism in each state, five core inputs were analyzed:

1. Frequency of racial profiling incidents from publicly available crime data
2. Housing and Employment data to determine discriminatory frequencies
3. Racial disparities in education and healthcare outcomes
4. Usage of racial slurs on Twitter
5. Use of racial slurs on Google Searches

Each was weighted and adjusted for the state's population. The cumulative scores were added up and adapted to determine the racial level of each state relative to the holistic dataset.