Vermont ranked: Times VT landed on the top and bottom of national lists

Clearly Americans have an obsession with rankings − and Vermont is no different.

National lists comparing states come out all the time but lack important context and studies are often commissioned to boost a business's product. Taken together, however, starts to paint a picture of who we are as Vermonters or how the world sees us − the highs, the lows and the idiosyncrasies.

The rankings paint an interesting, and certainly exaggerated, picture. Is it accurate? You be the judge.

Here are 24 times Vermont ranked in the top or bottom five in lists this year.

Note: Because of Vermont's small population, it often makes it into the top or bottom of lists due to outsized percentages among smaller datasets. The Free Press only did a cursory vetting of methodology of the data that informed these rankings.

The positive: Where Vermont ranked favorably in the top five on rankings

• #1 Smartest Vermont was listed as the smartest state overall in a ranking by Test-Guide. Among the data that contributed to the ranking, Vermont was first in educational expenditures per student and reading interest. The state ranked third for high school graduation rates, fourth for IQ scores, tied for sixth for exam scores and was tenth for percentage of residents with a bachelor's degree.

• #1 for Launching a used clothing kingdomIncome Nerd tracked internet search volume for people looking to buy used clothing and found Vermonters search rate to be 229 per 100,000 residents. This rate was 74% higher than the national average. Not only that, the list also ranked cities. And, Burlington ranked third and South Burlington was sixth.

• #1 Least stressed about work (#49 of 49 on a worst of list)Leafwell took on analyzing data to determine which states' residents were stressing most about their jobs and Vermont was the least stressed about work. Unemployment rates, household income, work commute times, housing price increases, number of uninsured, and internet search terms related to stress relief, depression and insomnia factored into the ranking.

• #3 Nutritional well-beingHealth Reporter compiled a 2023 Nutritional Well-Being Index in which Vermont ranked third due to its scores in 20 indices in four key areas: nutrition, mental health, physical health, social connections and lifestyle. Massachusetts and Utah ranked highest.

• #4 for Business growthU.S Bureau of Labor Statistics data from Dec. 2021 to Dec. 2022 were used to compare business growth rate percentages by Venture Smarter. Vermont tied for fourth with Montana with a growth rate of 10.2%. The two states were beat out by Georgia, Virginia and Arizona, which had stronger growth during that period.

• #4 Least sleep deprived (#47 of 50 on a worst of list)Leafwell also conducted this research into which states were the most sleep deprived based upon 97 internet search terms related to sleep problems and comparing CDC data on short sleep duration by state. Vermont ranked near the bottom. The states getting more sleep were South Dakota, Montana and Idaho.

• #5 Least court casesAccording to Tribeca Lawsuit Loans, Vermont filed the fifth fewest court cases per capita between March 2022 and March 2023. In that period, Vermonters had 224 case filings for a population of 643,077. That works out to 35 court cases per 100,000 people in the state. The states less likely to be seen in court were Idaho, Iowa, North Dakota and Utah.

• #5 Least stressed about medical billsPersonal injury law firm Anidjar & Levine used the Urban Institute Data Catalog data to find the percentage of people with medical debt in collections and the median amount owed in each state. Vermont ranked among the best with 4.71% of people with medical debt and a median of $482 owed. The states with less medical debt included Minnesota, South Dakota, Alaska and Massachusetts.

Where Vermont fell short on rankings, had some of the worst outcomes

• #1 Highest college tuitionVermont was found to have the highest average college tuition fees among public and private colleges at $32,947, which is 66% above the national average of $19,812. The ranking by Venture Smarter also evaluated earning potential, financial burden and job opportunities to place Vermont as third worst state for college degree value.

• #1 Porch piracyVermonters had the most packages stolen from their porches per capita, according to search data evaluated by Vivint home security. Vermonters searched Google more for terms related to stolen packages and how to prevent against packages being stolen per 100,000 residents than any other state between July 2022 and June 2023.

• #2 Worst tap water (#47 of 48 on a best of list)Great Green Wall took Environment Protection Agency data of public water system violations per one million residents to determine which states had the cleanest water. Vermont was nearly dead last; only Montana was worse. Michigan − which you may recall the Flint water crisis involving toxic levels of lead − was nine spots higher on the list than Vermont.

• #2 Pet diseaseVermont had the second highest rate of infection for dogs and cats based on the number of positive test results at 6.17% in 2022. "The most common issues among dogs are the tick-borne diseases anaplasmosis and Lyme disease at rates of 21.06% and 12.63% respectively, while roundworm was most common in cats at a rate of 5.58%," the Forbes Advisor study said of Vermont. The rest of New England were also in the top 10 − Maine was highest − mostly due to the blacklegged tick's prevalence in the region.

• #3 Worst teacher "opportunity and competition" (#49 of 51 on best list)In a Wallet Hub ranking of the best states to be a teacher, Vermont was sixth from the bottom (at 46). However, Vermont ranked that low mostly due to its third from worst performance on the index for "opportunity and competition." This index evaluated salary, starting salary and salary after 10 years − all adjusted for cost of living − as well as pension, competition and enrollment growth. Vermont also had the second worst teacher turnover rate. On the other hand, Vermont ranked very high for spending per student and student-to-teacher ratio.

• #5 for Fatal car crashes involving phonesZinda Law Group took vehicle crash data when at least one person died and calculated the proportion of those that were caused by mobile phone usage. Vermont had the fifth highest percentage of fatal crashes involving phones, at 3.4%. Wyoming was worst followed by North Dakota, Kansas and Minnesota.

Vermont performed poorly on many lists related to alcohol or drug use

• #1 Booziest state Quote Wizard named Vermont the booziest state. The company analyzed CDC data about alcohol consumption rates, percentage of heavy drinking prevalence (men having 15 drinks a week and women having 8 drinks per week) as well as DUI rates. Vermont was 6th overall for DUIs per 10,000 drivers, had 332 alcohol related deaths per year on average, and 8.6% of adults were considered heavy drinkers.

• #1 Underage drinkingVermont had the highest rate of underage alcohol use in an analysis from Addiction Treatment Magazine. Data came from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health which asked participants ages 12-20 how much alcohol they consumed over a month and how many engaged in binge drinking − consuming four or more drinks at a time. Nearly 25% of underage Vermonters consumed alcohol and 14% participated in binge drinking.

• #3 Seeking rehabAddiction Treatment Magazine also analyzed Google search data to determine which states were seeking drug and alcohol rehabilitation the most. Vermont averaged 303 searches per 100,000 people per month with "AA meetings near me" coming in as the most popular search term. Indiana and New Hampshire residents searched for rehab more and east coast states took six of the top 10 spots.

• #4 Drunk drivingDrunk driving was responsible for one in five fatal traffic accidents in Vermont, according to Simmrin Law Group. The data came from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System from 2017 through 2021. In that time 92 out of 428 Vermont drivers in fatal crashes had consumed alcohol, a rate of 21.5%. Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming had more drunk driving deaths.

Hobbies and the arts: How Vermonters spend their time

• #1 for UFO sightingsVermonters have the highest likelihood of a UFO sighting, according to SuperCasinoSites. Analysts took National UFO Reporting Center data and found 86 sightings per 100,000 Vermont residents among the 557 sightings since the year 2000. California, however, was the location with the most sightings overall at 13,757 instances.

• #1 Producer of writers and visual artistsWriters and visual artists are more likely to come from Vermont than any other U.S. state. Why is that? A Washington Post article posits it may be due to climate − so much time indoors during winter for restless minds to create − combined with higher income and higher share of advanced college degrees.

• #1 Looking for game rulesHearts.land says Vermonters are the most confused by games based upon Google searches for rules, "how to play" and tutorials of the 650 most popular board, card and video games. However, Vermonters may just be more interested in games than other states. Either way, the state averaged nearly 11,000 searches per month with 1,684 searches per 100,000 residents. Cribbage rules were searched most often in Vermont followed by pickleball, king's cup (a drinking game), poker and rummy.

• #2 Online gamersIn that same vein, Vermont was found to have the second most Google searches related to online gaming, according to Casino Alpha. Vermont had 43,787 monthly searches per 100,000 people. The most popular searches in Vermont were for Wordle, Roblox, Sudoku, Chess and Minesweeper in that order. Massachusetts topped the list and New England states dominated in online game interest, taking the top six spaces.

• #2 most likely to spy on a partnerBonus Finder conducted a survey of 5,000 Americans who had suspicions their partner was cheating. More than 44% of Vermonters who responded admitted to spying on their partner, garnering the second highest rate, just after Alaskans. The percentages may be skewed by the small amount of respondents which correlated to the relative population of each state; Just nine Vermonters contributed to the survey. Vermonters who spied on their partners did so most frequently by tracking online use. The second highest surveillance method was a six-way tie for checking social media accounts, installing spyware, GPS tracking, checking pockets and going through their things, unexpected visits to their work or social events and checking for presence on dating apps.

• #4 CBD-obsessedVermont is the state fourth most obsessed with CBD (tied with South Carolina), according to Google search data over one year. Nature and Bloom took popular search term frequency and population data to create the ranking. "Vermont has the highest number of searches for 'Buy CBD' in America and the second highest number of searches for 'Cannabidiol' and 'CBD' in the country," the study concluded. Overall, Alabama, Mississippi and West Virginia were more CBD-obsessed.

There you have it. Seen through the lens of the rankings:The average Vermonter has a UFO encounter to recount, uses CBD and is certain their dream of opening a secondhand clothing store will be successful. They are smart but paid too much for their college education, while their K-12 teachers were underpaid. They love games and rules but also spy on their partner and steal packages. They are healthy but their pets are not and the water quality is poor. The booze, however, is free-flowing: drunk driving, car fatalities involving alcohol, underage drinking and the need for rehab dominate their lives. But, they're less stressed about work and medical bills and sleep soundly.

Maybe they know it's all fodder for the book they're writing.

Contact reporter April Barton at abarton@freepressmedia.com or 802-660-1854. Follow her on Twitter @aprildbarton.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: When Vermont was on the top and bottom of the list on national rankings