What Makes Colorado the Second-Most Independent State?

New research has just been released ranking each of the 50 states in terms of how independent they are, and, much to the delight of Centennial State residents everywhere, Colorado was named the second-most independent state in the nation.

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The study took numerous factors into account, and while Colorado scored well in most of these categories, one category saw the Centennial State fail miserably.

What Makes Colorado the Second-Most Independent State in the Nation?

The study, recently released by WalletHub, gives Colorado a score of 61.39 when it comes to independence, a figure only slightly behind the most independent state, Utah, which received a score of 64.71.

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Colorado ranked 5th in the nation for financial independence, 8th for government independence, and 4th in international trade independence.

Unfortunately, it's the job market independence category in which Colorado didn't do so well, ranking 42nd out of 50 states.

In addition, Coloradans seem to have a problem with vices, as the Centennial State came in at 21 out of 50 in that category.

How Independent Are Colorado's Neighboring States?

While Colorado and Utah came in at number two and one in independence, respectively, the other states that border the Centennial State scored surprisingly poorly.

For example, Nebraska was ranked 17th in independence, Kansas was ranked 22nd, Wyoming was ranked 35th, Oklahoma was ranked 38th, and New Mexico was ranked 42nd.

However, the least independent states in the nation seem to all be located in the south, with the study showing Louisiana, Kentucky, and Mississippi as the three states with the worst scores.

Check out the full report from WalletHub here.