It’s inarguable, psychopaths are among us.
The question remains: how many might there be?
A study published by Southern Methodist University last month ranked the continental United States and the District of Columbia by “state-level estimate of psychopathy.”
“Among the typical predictions made regarding psychopathy, the variable with the closest univariate relationship with this new statistical aggregate is the percentage of the population in the state living in an urban area,” the study’s abstract reads. “There is not a clear univariate relationship with homicide rates.”
Illinois comes in ninth place, with neighboring Indiana at 40th.
Washington, D.C. would come in a number one, according to the ranking.
“The presence of psychopaths in District of Columbia is consistent with the conjecture found in Murphy (2016) that psychopaths are likely to be effective in the political sphere,” the report reads.
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Psychology Today defines psychopathy as a broad and nuanced personality ranging from uncaring and selfish to violent and “emotionally shallow” people.
Here’s the study's ranking of the continental U.S.:
1 Connecticut
2 California
3 New Jersey
4 New York
4 Wyoming
6 Maine
7 Wisconsin
8 Nevada
9 Illinois
10 Virginia
11 Maryland
12 South Dakota
13 Delaware
14 Massachusetts
15 Arizona
16 Florida
17 Iowa
18 Colorado
19 Texas
20 Ohio
21 Utah
22 Arkansas
23 Idaho
24 North Dakota
25 Michigan
26 Alabama
27 Pennsylvania
28 Rhode Island
29 Louisiana
30 Kansas
31 Georgia
32 Minnesota
33 Missouri
34 Washington
35 Kentucky
36 Nebraska
37 South Carolina
38 New Hampshire
39 Oregon
40 Indiana
41 Mississippi
42 Montana
43 Oklahoma
44 New Mexico
45 North Carolina
46 Tennessee
47 Vermont
48 West Virginia
