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Which U.S. States Are Home to the Grumpiest and Happiest Travelers?

RewardExpert

RewardExpert analyzes user review data to determine which state’s residents are the grumpiest while they are traveling

Everyone develops an opinion concerning the nature and disposition of tourists and fellow-travelers, whether it has been acquired through their own experiences or through second-hand accounts. We come to a partially-informed perspective as to who are the most grumpy or good-natured, usually according to where they call home.

RewardExpert set out to answer the question: which state’s residents are the grumpiest when traveling? RewardExpert took a look at the hard data to come up with a definitive and objective ranking. This ranking relies on hotel reviews that include both the reviewer’s location and a numerical rating.

Our analysis is based on a set of 878,561 user reviews of a total of 4,333 hotels in the United States. We ranked states by three key metrics: 1) the number of one- and two-star reviews proportional to population, 2) the number of one- and two-star reviews as a proportion of all reviews from that state in our data set, and 3) the overall average rating for all reviews by users from that state. We then combined these three into composite scores for grumpiness and happiness.

The Grumpiest States

Washington, D.C. takes first place as the home of the grumpiest tourists nation-wide. While its license plates may read “taxation without representation,” D.C. is the most over-represented in our set of negative hotel reviews, with 882 more than we estimated based on its 0.2% share of the US population. DC also ranked second lowest average hotel rating, with 14.25% of all reviews being 1 or 2-star.

Second to DC in crankiness are tourists hailing from the state of Colorado, who are distinguished by having the lowest average hotel rating in the country (3.82 on a five-point scale out of 4696 reviews). Coloradans ranked third in terms of the total percentage of reviews that were negative, and came in sixth for the number of negative reviews over the number expected based on its population share.  

Coming in at number three on our list is Oregon. With 14.98% negative reviews, 33% more negative reviews than expected, and an average rating of 3.88, Oregon ranked consistently high on all three indicators that we evaluated. As the rest of our top ten will show, the Left Coast as a whole is home to a sizable number of disgruntled travelers.

With the third highest excess negative review rate of 44.47% over the number expected based on its 12.15% of the US population and the total number of reviews in our data set, California only comes in fourth due to its lower scores on our other two metrics. With “only” 14.40% of the 42,111 reviews by Californians were negative, with the average review modestly higher than D.C., Oregon & Colorado, at 3.91, California ranks seventh and sixth by these measures.

Barely edged out by California, Arizona is 5th in the nation for less-than-happy tourists. While Arizona’s 14.81% grumpy reviews beats California (and Nevada as well) for number 5 on this metric, its average review rating of 3.93 (8th) and its 281 excess 1 and 2-star reviews (4th with 39.37% of an expected 755) keep its composite ranking below that of California.  

While Nevada is only modestly over-represented in our excess negative reviews category (ranked 11th), it comes in at number six on our list due to its relatively high percentage of poor reviews (14.78% grumpy of 2509 total reviews; ranked 6th) and an average review of 3.89 (lower than both California and Arizona, ranked 5th).

At number seventh in the nation, we have Massachusetts. Despite middling marks for average hotel review (3.97) and negative reviews proportionate to the number of reviews in our data set (12.65% of 10,769 reviews), Massachusetts ranked second in number of one- and two-star reviews over and above the number expected by population (a whopping 1362 grumpy reviews, as opposed to the 742 expected).

Ranked eighth in the country for discontent travelers is Washington State, with an average hotel rating of 3.93 over 7575 reviews (9th), a 13.31% negative review rate (13th), and 28% more negative reviews than expected. At this point, a common thread has emerged: seven of the top eight states with the orneriest tourists have recently legalized recreational cannabis use. Of all states that have done so, only two did not make our top ten: Alaska (21st) and Maine (32nd).

Unsurprisingly, New York makes the top ten. Yet some may be surprised that the Empire State comes in at a perhaps unexpectedly low number nine. New York is modestly overrepresented in our data set, with the eighth most one- and two-star reviews over the baseline expected for its population share (6.11% of the total US population), and an average rating of 3.97.

Last on our list, but certainly not the least grumpy – at least on one metric – is of Kentucky. With one of the highest average hotel ratings of 4.09 (eighth highest), and fewer total one- and two-star reviews than expected in our data set proportional to population (ranked 23rd), it is on the strength of sheer crankiness that Kentucky appears at number 10 on our list. With fully 19.10% of the 2047 reviews in our data set, Kentuckians rank 1st on this metric.

The Happiest State

First on our list of states home to the happiest and most satisfied of tourists is Louisiana. Louisiana earned its place at the top of our list on the strength of its highest national average hotel rating of 4.18. Louisiana sealed the deal with its low number of negative reviews authored by its residents, both in proportion to its population share and the total number of reviews authored by Louisianans in our data set – both of which ranked 44th nationwide.

With one exception, states that made the cut as homes of the top ten happiest tourists are 1) in the South Atlantic or Midwestern regions, and/or 2) have small populations. Coming in at number two, Mississippi is not that exception. With the second highest average rating (4.125), the fourth lowest percentage of negative reviews in our data set (9.84%), and the second lowest rate of negative reviews than expected, Mississippians appear to be quite content when away from home.  

Tourists from New Hampshire come in third on our list, primarily on the strength of their lowest national rate of one- and two-star reviews in the data set we analyzed (8.76%), supported by their sixth highest average hotel rating (4.095). While there were fewer negative reviews than expected for New Hampshire’s population, New Hampshire was in the middle of the pack on this metric.  

Comparable in both size and population to New Hampshire, and likewise a state with both geographically and demographically larger neighbors, Delaware comes in closely behind New Hampshire as number four on our list. Travelers who call Delaware home have the second lowest rate of negative reviews in our data set, and rank third on average hotel ratings (4.099). Again, like New Hampshire, Delaware was only modestly underrepresented in terms of expected negative reviews.

At number five, we have the state of Iowa. As with their northerly rivals, Minnesotans, Iowans are known for their “nice” temperament. Our data bears out this tidbit of cultural-geographic knowledge: Iowa ranks fifth on two metrics (average review numerical rating, and fewest negative reviews vs. population-expected), and sixth on the third, with only 9.98% of Iowans’ reviews being one- or two-star, versus the national average of 12.64%.

For number six on our list of home-states of the happiest tourists, we have another Southern state: Alabama. Like Louisiana and Mississippi, Alabama performed consistently on all three metrics, ranking fourth in average hotel review rating, third in fewest negative reviews as compared to what is projected for its population, and eighth lowest percentage of reviews from state residents that were negative.

At number seven, North Dakota makes our top ten on the merits of its third highest average hotel rating (4.1), and its third lowest number of one or two-star reviews as compared to our population-based estimate. North Dakota did not rank higher due to the percentage of negative reviews authored by North Dakotans being only 0.53% below the national average (21st grumpiest).

The eighth state to make our list is certainly an exception, and may surprise many of our readers. While some cultural stereotypes about New Jersey don’t shine its residents in a favorable light, they glide over the fact that New Jersey is both the most highly educated and the wealthiest state in the country (as well as the most densely populated). Tourists who call New Jersey home are among the most content, with the third lowest rate of negative hotel reviews in our data set, nearly 3% below the national average of 12.64% at 9.75%, and an average rating that ranks in the top ten, nationwide.

Coming in at number nine is the state of Wisconsin. On the measure of negative reviews relative to all reviews by its inhabitants, Wisconsin ranks just behind its neighbor to the southwest, Iowa, at sixth least grumpy (while the number of poor reviews lies closer to that which would be expected for the state’s population), and 11th highest average hotel rating, 4.066 (above the national average of 4.015).