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The Best States for Survival: Top 10

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UPDATE 1.29.21: I want to update you on how my survival states handled lockdowns during the virus. Which of my top ten had the least job losses? The answer: Idaho and Utah.

The Best Survival State: Idaho

The Gem State scored 3rd overall in Personal Security, 3rd overall in Disaster Security and 6th overall in Food Security. Idaho tops the nation in homeownership, and has low crime, low population density, reasonable farmland prices with halfway decent yields, and has better than or equal to average scores in all other categories.

The 4th Best Survival State: Utah

Just ahead of Wyoming sits the Beehive State. Utah scored 2nd overall in Disaster Security, 8th overall in Food Security, and 14th overall in Personal Security. Utah is a low-disaster state, with low violent crime, low unemployment and high home ownership. Holding the state back is a higher than average rate of property crime.

What are the best states for survival? Where should you live to avoid natural disaster, social unrest and famine in the face of a world changing disaster? Where would you want to be if an Electromagnetic Pulse Attack struck the United States? Find out here by reading our Best Survival States breakdown.

The Best Survival States rank is made up of a mixture of three groups of inputs. The Best Survival States input groups are:

  • Personal Security
  • Food Security
  • Disaster Security

Scoring well in each of these factor groupings is essential to becoming the Best Survival State.

The 10 Best Survival States

 

The 10th Best Survival State: Montana

Big Sky Country scored 7th best in food security, and 9th in personal security. The state was held back a bit by scoring 15th overall in Disaster Security. Montana is a state filled with wide open spaces. Cheap farmland, low population density, and friendly gun laws pushed Montana into the top 10 overall.

The 9th Best Survival State: Vermont

The Green Mountain State scored best overall in Personal Security, but was held back by scoring 33rd and 30th in Food and Disaster security. Vermont has extremely low crime, and its gun laws, for a North Eastern state are reasonable. Unemployment is also low, leaving few idle hands looking to cause trouble.

The 8th Best Survival State: North Dakota

The Roughrider State scored 7th best in overall Personal Security and 9th best in Disaster Security, but hit 19th in Food Security. North Dakota boasts inexpensive farmland, with very low unemployment and a sparse population. Most people there are too busy to bother you, and those who aren’t are too far away to get to you.

The 7th Best Survival State: Iowa

The Hawkeye State scored 5th best for Disaster Security, 9th best for Food Security, and 11th best for Personal Security. Iowa scored high marks for its farm output and low unemployment.

The 6th Best Survival State: New Hampshire

The Granite State, also well known as the Live Free or Die state, scored 5th best overall in Personal Security, 7th best in Disaster Security, but was held back by scoring 37th best in Food Security. This low number is driven by the high costs and low productivity levels of New Hampshire farmland. But if you’re already the owner of some good New Hampshire farmland, you’re in the catbird seat.

The 5th Best Survival State: Wyoming

The Cowboy State scored 4th in Food Security, 6th in Personal Security, and 20th in Disaster Security. Great gun laws, cheap farmland, and low population density make Wyoming one of America’s most survivable states.

The 4th Best Survival State: Utah

Just ahead of Wyoming sits the Beehive State. Utah scored 2nd overall in Disaster Security, 8th overall in Food Security, and 14th overall in Personal Security. Utah is a low-disaster state, with low violent crime, low unemployment and high home ownership. Holding the state back is a higher than average rate of property crime.

The 3rd Best Survival State: South Dakota

The Mount Rushmore State scored 3rd in Disaster Security, 4th in Food Security, and 8th in Personal Security. Besides the Best Survival State, South Dakota is the only other state to score in the top ten in each category. South Dakota performed better than average in every component category except violent crime.

The 2nd Best Survival State: Maine

The Pine Tree State scored 2nd in Personal Security, 5th overall in Disaster Security, and 18th in Food Security. Low crime, low unemployment, reasonable gun laws, and an overall good showing in most categories drove Maine to second place. One place where Maine fell behind was in farmland productivity. The cold Maine winters and poor soil aren’t very productive, pushing down Maine’s food security score.

The Best Survival State: Idaho

The Gem State scored 3rd overall in Personal Security, 3rd overall in Disaster Security and 6th overall in Food Security. Idaho tops the nation in homeownership, and has low crime, low population density, reasonable farmland prices with halfway decent yields, and has better than or equal to average scores in all other categories.

If you’re already living in Idaho, good, you’ve chosen a great place to raise your family. If you’re not in Idaho, you don’t need move there to do a great job preparing yourself for future uncertainty. But you should attempt to evaluate all the aspects of your home region in order to protect your own life, property and prosperity.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com