Have you ever wondered which U.S. states resemble countries more closely than others? The Country – US State Comparisons are designed to quantify just that — measuring how similar each U.S. state is to different countries around the world relative to the United States. This index provides a data-driven way to make those comparisons. It equally weights five major factors: demographics, culture, politics, technology, and geography. Over 1,000 different data points are used to generate the results.
Top 10 Countries More Similar to Ohio than the US
The five countries that resemble Ohio much more than the United States overall are all located in Eastern Europe. Not only do these nations have a similar climate to Ohio, but but they also share many social, economic, and infrastructural traits.
- Moldova has a temperate climate and relatively flat terrain, similar to Ohio. In addition, a high percentage of their people work in industry. Their governments have many laws to protect the rights of workers. Ohio and Moldova allow abortion and also decriminalized marijuana. They use a mix of coal and natural gas to produce electricity.
- Latvia is similar to Ohio as well. They have four distinct seasons and significant snowfall. Politically, their governments are not especially conservative or liberal. Furthermore, they each have a mix of Protestants and Catholics. However, religion is much less important in Latvia than it is in Ohio.
- Bosnia & Herzegovina has many similarities with Ohio as well. Both have high levels of gun ownership. Their farmlands are similar as well. Ohio and Bosnia tend to grow a lot of corn. In addition, they have aging populations with slow growth. Both had a history of mining iron, but now those industries are closed.
- Lithuania and Ohio have robust manufacturing sectors. They both produce a remarkable number of engineers, technicians, and IT specialists relative to population size. Their landscapes have about the same percentage of farmland and forested land as well. Their terrain is relatively flat as well.
- Serbia’s economy is divided between manufacturing (especially automotive and machinery) and agriculture (including many corn farms). This matches Ohio’s economic composition. Furthermore, they have similar rates of gun ownership. Serbia and Ohio are also known for producing many professional basketball players.
- Montenegro, 7. Romania, 8. Hungary, 9. North Macedonia, 10. Czechia
Top 10 Countries Less Similar to Ohio than the US
Interestingly enough, four of the five nations with significantly fewer similarities to Ohio than the United States overall border the Pacific Ocean. These countries have a lot of coastline and four of the five are quite mountainous.
- Australia has a much drier climate than Ohio. Politically, Australia is more liberal on environmental policies and social issues compared to Ohio. It is also less densely populated than Ohio and has a lower percentage of forested land.
- Mexico is located directly south of the United States. Mexico’s long coastlines on both oceans the contrast sharply with landlocked Ohio. Mexico has a warmer and more varied climate overall, with deserts, tropical regions, and mountain ranges.
- Chile is a Spanish-speaking country in South America. It has a massive amount of coastline, in contrast to Ohio. In addition, Chile’s climate varies dramatically from north to south, while Ohio has a temperate climate.
- China diverges significantly from Ohio via its vast landmass and megacities with high-speed rail—none of which parallel Ohio’s democratic institutions, diverse population, or midsize post-industrial cities.
- Argentina borders Chile and is quite similar. It has a lower percentage of forested land than Ohio too. A greater proportion of its population is concentrated in one big city (Buenos Aires), while Ohio’s is spread among several large cities.
- New Zealand, 7. Canada, 8. Panama, 9. United Arab Emirates, 10. Belize
Full Ranking of Countries and Territories More Similar to Ohio than the US
All data accurate as of 2025.