and as you examine these, you might consider why you might want to be in a BLue state versus a Red state
States ranked by average income:
Top 10
MD
AK
NJ
CT
MA
NJ
VA
OH
DE
CA
The only Red state is Alaska, which is somewhat deceptive given the incredible high cost of living there, and the fact of the oil income distributed to residents.
By the way, DC would, surprisingly, be 5th were it a state.
And at the other end, the bottom ten states, from 41-50 in average income?
OK
SC
NM
LA
TN
AL
KY
AR
WV
MS
Only NM is a Blue state. FWIW, it has the highest percentage of Latinos of any state in the nation, and also a reasonably high percentage of Native Americans.
Please keep reading.
My next list will be of states by percentage of adults 25-34 with at least a college degree, as of 2010
Top 10:
MA 54.4
ND 50.8
MN 49.8
NY 49.6
NH 46.0
CA 45.9
IA 45.5
MD 45.5
VT 44.5
PA 43.9
you will note only ND is a red state, and they are an odd state - they have a strong populist tradition, which includes the only state-owned bank, and are willing to elect Dems statewide - Heidi Heidekamp having just kept the Senate seat of Kent Conrad
and the bottom 10:
ID 32.7
TX 32.2
MS 32.1
AL 31.5
OK 30.8
LA 30.3
WV 24.5
NM 28.7
AR 28.6
NV 28.4
Two Blue states out of those ten, NV & NM.
Worth noting that were DC a state, it would rank first, with 68.8 - and in case you have forgotten, DC is the Bluest jurisdiction of the 51
In 2011, the following states had obesity rates of < 25%:
AZ
CA
CO
CT
MA
MT
NV
NJ
NY
UT
Red among these are AZ, MT, and UT. If DC were a state it would be in this group.
States with obesity rates >30% :
AL
AR
IN
KY
LA
MI
MS
MO
OK
SC
TX
WV
The only Blue state among these 12 is MI
Percentage of Households in poverty (US is 12.6% households)
Least:
NH 5.6
NJ 6.8
VT 7.6
MN 8.1
HI 8.6
DE 9.2
UT 9.2
VA 9.2
CT 9.2
NE 9.5
REd states of UT and NE make the top ten
Bottom 10
SC 15.0
AZ 15.2
WV 15.4
OK 15.6
AR 15.9
TX 16.2
AL 16.7
NM 17.9
LA 18.3
MS 20.1
NM is only Blue state in the bottom 10.
DC ranks the worst, with 21.3% of its households in poverty
(NOTE - many poor households have more family members, which is why the percentage of Americans in poverty is somewhat higher than percentage of households)
RIGHT TO WORK LAWS or Constitutional provisions:
Among the BLue states, the only ones with such provisions are FL, IA, NV, VA
Among Red states that do NOT have such provisions are only MT, MO, WV
By now you should see a pattern.
You are likely to be healthier, wealthier, at less risk of poverty, better educated, and better able to collectively bargain to protect your rights in a Blue state than in a Red state.
It is also worth noting that several states of the Old Confederacy are decreasingly Southern in their orientation, the Blue states of VA and FL, and the still barely Red state of NC.
Make of this what you will.