The State Similarity Index evaluates 1,000 data points across five equally weighted dimensions—Demographics, Culture, Government, Infrastructure, and Geography—to identify two American states that, in combination, most closely resemble a target state. For each state A, it first selects the state most similar to A, then finds a second state that has attributes of state A that the most similar state does not have. The following is a list of the results. A full explanation can be found on the individual pages of the American state.
Alabama is like if Mississippi was more like Tennessee (+6.6)
Alaska is like if Montana was more like Hawaii (+5.6)
Arizona is like if Nevada was more like Texas (+6.3)
Arkansas is like if Alabama was more like Oklahoma (+6.9)
California is like if Washington was more like Nevada (+5.8)
Colorado is like if Montana was more like California (+11.9)
Connecticut is like if Massachusetts was more like Illinois (+5.6)
Delaware is like if Maryland was more like Louisiana (+3.6)
Florida is like if Georgia was more like Hawaii (+5.2)
Georgia is like if South Carolina was more like Texas (+4.7)
Hawaii is like if California was less like Nevada (-18.2)
Idaho is like if Wyoming was more like Oregon (+9.0)
Illinois is like if Minnesota was more like New Jersey (+8.4)
Indiana is like if Ohio was more like Kansas (+4.0)
Iowa is like if Nebraska was more like Wisconsin (+6.7)
Kansas is like if Nebraska was more like Oklahoma (+8.0)
Kentucky is like if Tennessee was more like West Virginia (+7.5)
Louisiana is like if Mississippi was more like New Jersey (+3.8)
Maine is like if New Hampshire was more like South Dakota (+4.1)
Maryland is like if Delaware was more like Massachusetts (+7.4)
Massachusetts is like if Rhode Island was more like New York (+2.9)
Michigan is like if Wisconsin was more like Ohio (+4.2)
Minnesota is like if Wisconsin was more like Colorado (+4.2)
Mississippi is like if Alabama was more like Louisiana (+1.7)
Missouri is like if Kentucky was more like Nebraska (+9.9)
Montana is like if Wyoming was more like Oregon (+8.4)
Nebraska is like if Kansas and South Dakota were combined
Nevada is like if Arizona was more like California (+3.8)
New Hampshire is like if Maine was more like New Jersey (+4.2)
New Jersey is like if Connecticut was more like Delaware (+3.0)
New Mexico is like if Arizona was more like Illinois (+3.6)
New York is like if New Jersey was more like Vermont (+5.6)
North Carolina is like if South Carolina was more like Virginia (+4.8)
North Dakota is like if South Dakota was more like Minnesota (+2.5)
Ohio is like if Indiana was more like Pennsylvania (+7.4)
Oklahoma is like if Arkansas was more like Kansas (+10.1)
Oregon is like if Washington was more like Idaho (+3.9)
Pennsylvania is like if Ohio was more like New York (+9.8)
Rhode Island is like if Massachusetts was more like Delaware (+3.7)
South Carolina is like if Georgia was more like Indiana (+1.5)
South Dakota is like if North Dakota was more like Nebraska (+4.8)
Tennessee is like if Kentucky was more like South Carolina (+5.5)
Texas is like if Oklahoma was more like California (+8.5)
Utah is like if Idaho was more like Colorado (+1.5)
Vermont is like if Maine was more like New York (+2.8)
Virginia is like if North Carolina was more like Maryland (+6.4)
Washington is like if Oregon was more like Hawaii (+3.3)
West Virginia is like if Kentucky was more like Vermont (+3.2)
Wisconsin is like if Minnesota was more like Indiana (+7.2)
Wyoming is like if Idaho was more like North Dakota (+4.6)
Methodology:
For each state A, let state B be its most similar match. Next, find the state that has the most traits of state A that state B lacks. Then, find the state C that has the most traits of state A that state B lacks multiplied by the amount of similarity squared between the two states.