Which State Best Represents America as a Whole? Iowa Ranks Here

With all that's going on in the world, perhaps you, like me, have been mainly nestled in a bubble not really paying attention to life outside it. Here's a question for you, what U.S. state do you feel best represents the country as a whole? Do you think it's Iowa? If you're curious about this like I was, there's a new study from WalletHub that ranked all 50 states according to how 'American' they are. Iowa is on the list, but not number 1. So who was, and where did we rank?

The state the best represents the U.S. is...

Researchers looked at about 30 factors, like age, diversity, income, unemployment, religion, and party affiliation. With those metrics and others in mind, what state should be in the top spot? When the study was complete, the state that most represents America as a whole is our neighbor to the east: Illinois.

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But how did Iowa finish? Out of 50 US states, Iowa finished #17 out of 50. Iowa ranked low in religious diversity and not so well in the wealth gap. Otherwise, with a 17th ranking, Iowa's still closer to the top in terms of representing American than it is the bottom.

As far as the full top ten states to rep the country, the top ten are:

• Illinois
• Florida
• Michigan
• Arizona
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Virginia
• Delaware
• North Carolina
• Indiana

The LEAST-representative state is Vermont. It's followed by Mississippi, Utah, West Virginia, and Massachusetts.

If you are going to travel, might want to make a trip to the top breweries in the U.S.