AUSTIN (KXAN) — If you’re planning a trip to West Virginia anytime soon, here are some tips for you: Don’t break any mirrors, avoid black cats, and definitely don’t travel on Friday the 13th. West Virginia was named the unluckiest state in the nation, according to a report by TopUSCasinos.com.
The casino news and review site ranked each state based on a number of factors to determine which was America’s unluckiest.
West Virginia ranked last on the luck meter, with an unlucky score of 75.08 out of a possible 100. New York was the nation’s luckiest state, with a score of 28.26.
Oregon scored 46.99, good enough for 26th on the list, and Washington came in with 38.21 for a 39th place finish.
Ten factors were considered, including deaths from lightning strikes, accidental deaths, Powerball and Mega Millions winners and divorce rates among couples younger than 30.
West Virginia ranked dead last in three of the metrics: lowest happiness among residents, highest accident mortality rate and lowest life expectancy.
Several other Southern states — Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Alabama — rounded out the top five unluckiest states.
Among the luckiest, New York topped the list thanks to its low divorce rates under 30, low accident mortality rate and high life expectancy.
Minnesota, Maryland, California and New Jersey were the other lucky states that get a spot in the top five.
Here’s a look at some of the metrics used in the report:
- West Virginia ranked lowest in the happiness of its residents, while Utah ranks highest.
- Florida had the most lightning fatalities since 1952 (515), while Alaska and Hawaii have the fewest (0).
- Texas had the most disaster declarations since 1953 (365), while Delaware has the fewest (25).
- West Virginia had the most accidental deaths per 100,000 since 2014 (92.1), while New York had the fewest (34.0).
- West Virginia had the lowest life expectancy (74.8), while Hawaii had the highest (81.4).
- Arkansas had the highest divorce rate at 30 years old (19.5%), while New York had the lowest (5%).