The Rudest States In The United States (And The Most Polite)

Rudest States Research Summary

The rudest state in the U.S. is Rhode Island, where the average tip is only 15.3% and 3.1% of the state’s drivers are considered rude.

The least rude state in the U.S. is Mississippi, where the average tip is 17% and only 1% of the state’s drivers are considered rude.

42% of people from Rhode Island believe their state is ruder than most.

60% of Hawaiians believe their state is more polite than most.

How do you measure rudeness?

Sure, you know it when you see it (or worse experience it.) But can rudeness be broken down into numbers? If so, where do you start?

In swear words? In bad tips and worse attitudes? Or maybe it’s the melody of honking that results from a rude driver’s disregard for basic traffic laws.

We set out to make rudeness a science and delved into the data to find the rudest states. Keep reading to see the rudest states, where bad driving and bad attitudes are abundant.

How We Determined This

To determine which states are the rudest, we looked at 4 areas:

Percent of rude drivers
Average tip
Amount of cursing to customer service agents
How rude the rest of the country finds the state

First, we looked at the percentage of rude drivers (defined as drivers with failure to yield violations, failure to stop violations, improper backing, passing where prohibited, tailgating, street racing, and hit-and-runs on their record) according to Insurify. Here that honking? They think you’re a buffoon.

We then turned to the average tip in each state according to Square. Tipping is an unenforced social custom, failure to meet it is pretty rude.

From there, we looked at LivePerson’s ranking of the states where users are most likely to use profanity to poor, helpless customer service reps.

Finally, we turned to a YouGov survey of 75,000 Americans to find what percent of respondents thought each state’s residents were “ruder” than most other Americans. After all, if everyone thinks you’re a jerk, you just might be.

Keep reading to see a ranked list of all 50 states, and where your state lands on the list.

1. Rhode Island

rhode island class=

Average Tip: 15.3%
Percent Of Rude Drivers: 3.1

Rhode Islanders are pretty rude (sorry, but the data doesn’t lie.) Not only are Rhode Islanders mediocre tippers prone to jerk-y driving, they are also pretty rude to customer service reps. Not convinced? Just ask the 42% of people who say people in Rhode Island are ruder than most states. Ouch.

2. Massachusetts

massachusetts class=

Average Tip: 15.0%
Percent Of Rude Drivers: 3.1

In 2nd place is Massachusetts. The average tip in expensive-to-live Massachusetts is only 15%. Yikes. I bet they ask for extra lemons too and split meals, too.

3. Virginia

virginia class=

Average Tip: 16.0%
Percent Of Rude Drivers: 5.0

What makes Virginians so rude? Their driving! 5% of Virginian drivers have driving infractions for rude behavior like tailgating or illegal passing. That amounts to 1-in-20.

4. New York

new york class=

Average Tip: 15.6%
Percent Of Rude Drivers: 4.5

New York, New York, what a rude place! 4.5 percent of New York drivers have no road manners. Maybe that’s why 30% of people say New Yorkers are ruder than most other states.

5. California

california class=

Average Tip: 15.2%
Percent Of Rude Drivers: 3.1

Sunny California could use an attitude adjustment. Not only are they scrimping on the tips, but apparently the rest of the country thinks they are super rude.

6. Washington

washington class=

Average Tip: 16.3%
Percent Of Rude Drivers: 3.1

In 6th place is Washington. 3.1% of Washington folks don’t think basic road rules apply to them.

7. New Jersey

new jersey class=

Average Tip: 15.5%
Percent Of Rude Drivers: 3.6

New Jersey residents are counting cents when it comes to tips. However, manners cost nothing and according to 34% of survey respondents New Jersey residents don’t have those either.

8. Utah

utah class=

Average Tip: 16.6%
Percent Of Rude Drivers: 3.6

Utah is known for being pretty clean-cut and nice-mannered. However, if you ask customer service representatives they might tell you something a little different. This is because Utah residents have potty mouths. In fact, they use swear words on the line more than all but 4 other states. That’s not nice.

9. Illinois

illinois class=

Average Tip: 16.4%
Percent Of Rude Drivers: 3.1

22% of people think Illinois residents are ruder than average.

10. Ohio

ohio class=

Average Tip: 16.7%
Percent Of Rude Drivers: 4.3

In 10th place is Ohio. Ohioans might be the best tippers in the top 10- But that is hardly an excuse for their honk-worthy bad manners on the road.

All 50 states, Ranked from Most Rude To Least

Rank	State	Average Tip	Percent Of Rude Drivers
1	Rhode Island	15.3%	3
2	Massachusetts	15.0%	3
3	Virginia	16.0%	5
4	New York	15.6%	4
5	California	15.2%	3
6	Washington	16.3%	3
7	New Jersey	15.5%	3
8	Utah	16.6%	3
9	Illinois	16.4%	3
10	Ohio	16.7%	4
11	Connecticut	15.9%	2
12	Maryland	15.9%	2
13	Wyoming	16.8%	4
14	Oregon	16.4%	3
15	South Dakota	16.1%	3
15	Wisconsin	16.5%	3
17	Pennsylvania	16.7%	2
18	Florida	16.4%	2
18	Georgia	16.4%	4
18	Iowa	17.0%	4
21	Michigan	16.8%	2
21	Tennessee	15.9%	2
23	Alaska	17.1%	3
24	Colorado	16.6%	3
25	Idaho	17.4%	4
26	Nevada	16.6%	1
27	Kansas	16.8%	3
28	Indiana	17.1%	2
29	Hawaii	14.8%	3
30	Missouri	16.6%	2
30	New Mexico	16.9%	1
30	North Dakota	16.8%	3
33	Montana	16.4%	2
34	Oklahoma	16.8%	2
35	Texas	16.6%	2
36	Arizona	17.3%	2
37	New Hampshire	16.7%	2
38	West Virginia	17.3%	1
39	Nebraska	16.7%	3
40	Alabama	16.6%	2
40	Delaware	17.2%	4
40	Maine	16.0%	1
43	Louisiana	16.6%	2
44	Minnesota	16.0%	2
45	South Carolina	16.7%	2
46	Kentucky	17.0%	1
47	Vermont	16.0%	1
48	North Carolina	16.7%	1
49	Arkansas	16.9%	2
50	Mississippi	17.0%	1

Author

Kathy Morris

Kathy is the head of content at Zippia with a knack for engaging audiences. Prior to joining Zippia, Kathy worked at Gateway Blend growing audiences across diverse brands. She graduated from Troy University with a degree in Social Science Education.

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