RANKING · 2023 ACS · 51 SHOWN OF 51

Most socially vulnerable, US states

US states ranked by the share of people with three or more social-vulnerability risk factors in 2023, from the Census Bureau's experimental Community Resilience Estimates (CRE). An experimental, modeled measure of how hard a community would find it to prepare for and recover from a disaster. Mississippi leads at 26.0%. 51 states qualify in total.

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SAME RANKING BYCounties

RANKPLACESTATEPOPSOCIAL VULNERABILITY RATEVS –

USUnited States332,387,54020.4%–

01Mississippi, MSMS2,946,77926.0%–

02New York, NYNY19,852,36625.5%–

03Louisiana, LALA4,611,96124.7%–

04New Mexico, NMNM2,120,24624.5%–

05Arkansas, ARAR3,049,39123.6%–

06Alabama, ALAL5,086,76823.5%–

07West Virginia, WVWV1,778,37323.0%–

08Oklahoma, OKOK4,028,63422.6%–

09Kentucky, KYKY4,534,82422.0%–

10Florida, FLFL22,416,07721.9%–

11Texas, TXTX30,188,42421.7%–

12Tennessee, TNTN7,066,38321.3%–

13South Carolina, SCSC5,296,22521.0%–

14Pennsylvania, PAPA13,018,63920.8%–

15District of Columbia, DCDC681,29420.8%–

16New Jersey, NJNJ9,343,80920.7%–

17Nevada, NVNV3,184,61220.4%–

18Delaware, DEDE1,021,19120.3%–

19Rhode Island, RIRI1,101,80120.3%–

20Arizona, AZAZ7,378,83820.2%–

21Ohio, OHOH11,810,29320.2%–

22Illinois, ILIL12,694,79820.1%–

23North Carolina, NCNC10,730,40420.1%–

24Michigan, MIMI10,077,76120.1%–

25Alaska, AKAK735,70620.0%–

26California, CACA39,287,37719.8%–

27Indiana, ININ6,851,07319.4%–

28Montana, MTMT1,116,87519.4%–

29Georgia, GAGA10,940,40719.4%–

30Oregon, OROR4,254,29319.3%–

31Wyoming, WYWY582,39719.2%–

32South Dakota, SDSD907,42819.1%–

33Missouri, MOMO6,191,81419.1%–

34Hawaii, HIHI1,445,23518.9%–

35Connecticut, CTCT3,624,50818.9%–

36Wisconsin, WIWI5,914,87218.5%–

37Maine, MEME1,387,81718.4%–

38Massachusetts, MAMA7,044,05618.4%–

39Maryland, MDMD6,206,01118.3%–

40Kansas, KSKS2,947,19718.0%–

41Virginia, VAVA8,705,17017.8%–

42Iowa, IAIA3,210,50717.8%–

43Washington, WAWA7,816,11617.3%–

44North Dakota, NDND784,84117.3%–

45Idaho, IDID1,934,26217.2%–

46Nebraska, NENE1,978,70717.0%–

47Minnesota, MNMN5,739,44516.7%–

48Vermont, VTVT647,10616.5%–

49Colorado, COCO5,862,18915.8%–

50New Hampshire, NHNH1,394,86815.6%–

51Utah, UTUT3,392,33113.2%–

SHOWING 1–51 OF 51

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UPDATED 2026-07-15 · DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU ACS 5-YEAR ESTIMATES

Frequently asked

Which state has the highest social vulnerability rate?

Mississippi ranks #1 with 26.0% (2023 American Community Survey).

What are the top 5 states by social vulnerability rate?

Mississippi, New York, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arkansas.

How many states are in this ranking?

51 states qualify after filtering for population minimums and data availability. The ranking covers 2023 ACS 5-year data.

How is social vulnerability rate measured?

Share of people estimated to have three or more of ten risk factors that make it harder to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a disaster, from the Census Bureau's experimental Community Resilience Estimates. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2023).