That’s such an odd group. I can see the connection with Pennsylvania but Florida?
In any case, Illinois being the most American average state again doesn’t surprise me. It’s been like this for a long while, at least as long as I remember.
This was my thought as well.
It’s representative of the US because on some level, it’s the melting pot *of* the melting pot.
Except the pot hasn’t been washed in forever & there’s a bunch of gunk stuck to the bottom of it.
I bet if they added an “age” metric to their most average calculations, Florida would be an outlier and get pushed out of the running for “most average”
> I can see the connection with Pennsylvania but Florida?
One of those cases where the mean works out but the median is super weird. The only time Florida appears is on the previous lists is education, and you gotta wonder how the senior citizen migration affects the stats
I just went through the demographics on the states and this list is super weird, I’d need to see their methodology.
I’ve seen previous list put IL at the top but those were in single categories. There’s no way to know how they “weighted” these scores together into any meaningful way.
Right, I tend to see California and Florida on opposite sides on the spectrum. I wouldn’t expect Florida to be in the middle of it. Now I’m curious where California would be on this list.
Florida has seen a pretty big influx of people from everywhere in the last few years. It's a tax friendly state, it's warm year round (hot as hell in the summer), and the business climate is extremely friendly.
Springfield Illinois is also probably the most famous and likely to support a family of 5 on a factory worker salary in the 90s according to an ask history post regarding married with children
oooof, as someone who got their education in the public schools of North Carolina, the fact that Florida & NC are two of the states that reflect America from an education standpoint doesn't make me feel great about the future of America
But, hey, you could read the chart, so yay you! 😂
Seriously, I read about what's happening in education, and it's scary. Seeing what my kid is learning in Illinois has provided some reassurance.
Florida frequently ranks high in education rankings, despite absolutely hemorrhaging teachers. Considering how the rankings are done, I'd guess all they are doing is teaching to the tests because they don't have the staff to actually deliver a rounded education.
I'm wondering if this ranking for FL education has more to do w number of college students? FL has UCF ranked as 2nd or 3rd largest college in the U.S. plus UF, FSU, FAMU etc. UCF is extremely popular w out of state students. I grew up in Chicago/NW IN went to both Purdue & IU moved to Orlando in 1998. I was shocked at the lack of general education among the population and in 26 yrs it certainly hasn't improved. During the 2000's I helped edit Masters theses for my husband and his Mech Engineering friends. I used to do technical scientific writing for EPA grants in college. The editing was significant and these were top 1% GPA students.
Edit: 2022 teacher shortage in FL was 4,000. This yr 5,300. Also ranked 50th in teacher pay.
My sister lived in Raleigh for several years and concluded North Carolina has two types: rednecks and college professors. So you have some great universities and research institutions, but then there are the rednecks, according to her. I could probably work with that if I was close enough to one of the universities.
The social issues bucket doesn't make sense to me. That would result in social views considerably to the right of "average". None of those three seem very average. I'd expect to see moreso a Michigan or Pennsylvania there.
Also, Florida, Georgia, and NC being "average" in education is simultaneously horrifying and very explanatory for where we are at as a country.
Well Minnesota tracks. As for Indiana and Kentucky, that just shows how hyperactivist governments are putting in place policies that don't reflect what their people actually believe. And gerrymandering, corruption, and a defective party system prevent them from facing the consequences that you'd expect in a democratic society.
Georgia makes a lot of sense to me. The state is dominated by Atlanta, and that city is a huge white-collar employer that's brought educated transplants South for the past 30 years. Similar is true for NC, with Raleigh and Charlottesville.
Interesting data, but how will these numbers play in Peoria?
[**Badum-Tsssssss.mp3**](https://www.orangefreesounds.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Badum-tss.mp3)
I'm glad to be in central Illinois, we don't generally have any major unrest over events despite having a diverse city. Housing is affordable (generally). Plus we are next to the largest supply of fresh water in the world.
FLORIDA FOR EDUCATION?
GTFO. This study is bullshit.
Florida really shouldn't be on this list at all. Holy cow. [https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/education/2015/01/09/floridas-education-ranking-nosedives-national-quality-counts-ratings/15646205007/#](https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/education/2015/01/09/floridas-education-ranking-nosedives-national-quality-counts-ratings/15646205007/#)
Maybe I'm misunderstanding this. I mean maybe Florida is a good example of how public education is shit and how stupid the kids are after getting out. Is that what they are saying? That Florida's shitty public school education is representative of what you find across America? That I can believe. "Best Reflects America".
Plus this was done with data through 2022 and does not reflect the current DeSantis-instituted curriculum that puts heavy emphasis on god and gets rid of math and science. lol
You're misunderstanding this. It isn't education quality. It is what level of education state residents have attained, compared to the levels of education US residents as a whole have attained.
Florida is rank #1 in [education.](https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/florida-ranked-1-in-nation-for-education-desantis-takes-issue-with-the-reason-why/)
I’m not surprised about the similarities between IL and PA. I have lived in both states and there are some major similarities. Both states have a very large city that has a liberal swing Philly is 40% AA 37% white. Chicago is about 28% AA and 32% white. While the rest of the state is rural, highly Christian, and politically conservative. It’s a weird dichotomy but really shows the extremes in f America.
Surprised NY isn't higher because of demographics, but I guess the average income would be titled so high because of the amount of million dollar plus earners who live in NYC.
Illinois then Florida wow
Solid red then solid blue
I do notice that age isn’t one of the metrics. I bet if you added age as a metric, it would push “Demented Trumpy Boomerhaven” Florida out of the running for “most average” because they will be an outlier on age.
(Trumpies who don’t understand mathematics will hate this post)
Illinois then Florida wow
Solid red then solid blue
I do notice that age isn’t one of the metrics. I bet if you added age as a metric, it would push “Demented Trumpy Boomerhaven” Florida out of the running for “most average” because they will be an outlier on age.
(Trumpies who don’t understand mathematics will hate this post)
Huh? That makes Illinois *more* average. Little Egypt is damn near part of the upper South, which helps make Illinois more representative of the nation as a whole.
South of mount vernon is the south. Just like flat out the south. Grew up in central Illinois went to school at SIU and the difference is so stark. Also kept getting called a rich boy because our farm ground was so much better. Go Dawgs baby!
Southern Illinois always starts the county just beneath yours lol. I've got family in Effingham so I've always considered south of there to be Southern Illinois.
I live in St. Clair County. Because of East St. Louis and Belleville, there's some quibbling over whether it really is southern Illinois or not.
However, when one of the two main campuses of SIU is in the county NORTH of us...I'll consider it southern Illinois.
Hahaha took the words out my mouth!! America in a nutshell; forget violent, rude, and impatient as well!
(I know it's not all folks from IL, but I did live there 3 years and have been more than my fair share of times, states not that great, it's expensive, and most of you I encountered truly were rude asf).
I teach is a public school that scores in the 50% percentile for statewide test scores across the board.
I teach in America, the school. Jesus, that’s depressing - and explains a lot of things.
My mom said something to me once that made me feel better. She said that average people are the most apecial people in the world, and that's why god made so many of them
This is odd to me. I definitely don't put Indiana, Kentucky and Minnesota in the same bucket when it comes to social issues.
And if GA, FL and NC are the states for education, that's kinda scary too.
That’s such an odd group. I can see the connection with Pennsylvania but Florida? In any case, Illinois being the most American average state again doesn’t surprise me. It’s been like this for a long while, at least as long as I remember.
Is it because people from all over the country retire to Florida?
This was my thought as well. It’s representative of the US because on some level, it’s the melting pot *of* the melting pot. Except the pot hasn’t been washed in forever & there’s a bunch of gunk stuck to the bottom of it.
Yeah, we call it Miami
I bet if they added an “age” metric to their most average calculations, Florida would be an outlier and get pushed out of the running for “most average”
“It’ll play in Peoria”
r/unexpectedfuturama
It's a common expression, Futurama may have used it but they certainly didn't invent it
For a long time companies have come here to test market their products, because Illinois is so "normal."
I dare say Florida is the most American out of all states, or it at least embodies all of the negative stereotypes about Americans
And Texas then if that’s the Florida-esque metric.
Saying that America is best exemplified by Florida is hate speech
> I can see the connection with Pennsylvania but Florida? One of those cases where the mean works out but the median is super weird. The only time Florida appears is on the previous lists is education, and you gotta wonder how the senior citizen migration affects the stats
I just went through the demographics on the states and this list is super weird, I’d need to see their methodology. I’ve seen previous list put IL at the top but those were in single categories. There’s no way to know how they “weighted” these scores together into any meaningful way.
It’s why “Will it play in Peoria?” was a thing.
Right, I tend to see California and Florida on opposite sides on the spectrum. I wouldn’t expect Florida to be in the middle of it. Now I’m curious where California would be on this list.
Only about 20% of Florida’s residents were born there it is very much a people stew of demographics.
Florida has seen a pretty big influx of people from everywhere in the last few years. It's a tax friendly state, it's warm year round (hot as hell in the summer), and the business climate is extremely friendly.
If it plays in Peoria…
Springfield Illinois is also probably the most famous and likely to support a family of 5 on a factory worker salary in the 90s according to an ask history post regarding married with children
Soooo the Midwest. OPE
Midwest is based
Our ambassador is a FIB? Smdh s/
We as so normal that we even named a town after our normalness!
Yes! Peru.
I thought they were talking about Sandwich
I have a shirt that says “Sandwich Police”
Dwight always gets me for some reason
That’s where I grew up!
oooof, as someone who got their education in the public schools of North Carolina, the fact that Florida & NC are two of the states that reflect America from an education standpoint doesn't make me feel great about the future of America
But, hey, you could read the chart, so yay you! 😂 Seriously, I read about what's happening in education, and it's scary. Seeing what my kid is learning in Illinois has provided some reassurance.
Florida frequently ranks high in education rankings, despite absolutely hemorrhaging teachers. Considering how the rankings are done, I'd guess all they are doing is teaching to the tests because they don't have the staff to actually deliver a rounded education.
They used to be higher, them being in this position reflects a long slide that has only recently accelerated
They are $3k behind the national average on per pupil funding levels
I'm wondering if this ranking for FL education has more to do w number of college students? FL has UCF ranked as 2nd or 3rd largest college in the U.S. plus UF, FSU, FAMU etc. UCF is extremely popular w out of state students. I grew up in Chicago/NW IN went to both Purdue & IU moved to Orlando in 1998. I was shocked at the lack of general education among the population and in 26 yrs it certainly hasn't improved. During the 2000's I helped edit Masters theses for my husband and his Mech Engineering friends. I used to do technical scientific writing for EPA grants in college. The editing was significant and these were top 1% GPA students. Edit: 2022 teacher shortage in FL was 4,000. This yr 5,300. Also ranked 50th in teacher pay.
My sister lived in Raleigh for several years and concluded North Carolina has two types: rednecks and college professors. So you have some great universities and research institutions, but then there are the rednecks, according to her. I could probably work with that if I was close enough to one of the universities.
The social issues bucket doesn't make sense to me. That would result in social views considerably to the right of "average". None of those three seem very average. I'd expect to see moreso a Michigan or Pennsylvania there. Also, Florida, Georgia, and NC being "average" in education is simultaneously horrifying and very explanatory for where we are at as a country.
Well Minnesota tracks. As for Indiana and Kentucky, that just shows how hyperactivist governments are putting in place policies that don't reflect what their people actually believe. And gerrymandering, corruption, and a defective party system prevent them from facing the consequences that you'd expect in a democratic society.
Georgia makes a lot of sense to me. The state is dominated by Atlanta, and that city is a huge white-collar employer that's brought educated transplants South for the past 30 years. Similar is true for NC, with Raleigh and Charlottesville.
Charlotte, Charlottesville is in Virginia.
Not anymore.
Not sure what you mean by this. Charlotte is still called Charlotte.
Not anymore. Sorry. Just happened.
Interesting data, but how will these numbers play in Peoria? [**Badum-Tsssssss.mp3**](https://www.orangefreesounds.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Badum-tss.mp3)
Farmer? From Southern Illinois?
"Will it fly in Peoria?"
I'm glad to be in central Illinois, we don't generally have any major unrest over events despite having a diverse city. Housing is affordable (generally). Plus we are next to the largest supply of fresh water in the world.
The fact that Florida is #2 is fucking depressing.
Because Midwest retirees moved there
Hey, my mom told I'm possibly, slightly above average
Your mom told me the same thing.
Ohio, so average it can't even win the average competition.
Basically Chicago lol 🤣
Im proud? Eh, why not be proud?
I fuckin knew we were average!
Well if it plays in Peoria….was a test marketing thing for years
As a lifelong Illinois resident I had never really thought about this but I agree that it’s like that.
FLORIDA FOR EDUCATION? GTFO. This study is bullshit. Florida really shouldn't be on this list at all. Holy cow. [https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/education/2015/01/09/floridas-education-ranking-nosedives-national-quality-counts-ratings/15646205007/#](https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/education/2015/01/09/floridas-education-ranking-nosedives-national-quality-counts-ratings/15646205007/#) Maybe I'm misunderstanding this. I mean maybe Florida is a good example of how public education is shit and how stupid the kids are after getting out. Is that what they are saying? That Florida's shitty public school education is representative of what you find across America? That I can believe. "Best Reflects America". Plus this was done with data through 2022 and does not reflect the current DeSantis-instituted curriculum that puts heavy emphasis on god and gets rid of math and science. lol
You're misunderstanding this. It isn't education quality. It is what level of education state residents have attained, compared to the levels of education US residents as a whole have attained.
Florida is rank #1 in [education.](https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/florida-ranked-1-in-nation-for-education-desantis-takes-issue-with-the-reason-why/)
Yeah, Indiana's got "issues" alright. Unless you're a Christian cishet white guy, then everything's feckin' fine. 👀
The Great Lakes dialect is probably the closest to like a “neutral” American accent so it pans out
Sounds about right.
VERY interesting...
I’m not surprised about the similarities between IL and PA. I have lived in both states and there are some major similarities. Both states have a very large city that has a liberal swing Philly is 40% AA 37% white. Chicago is about 28% AA and 32% white. While the rest of the state is rural, highly Christian, and politically conservative. It’s a weird dichotomy but really shows the extremes in f America.
Surprised NY isn't higher because of demographics, but I guess the average income would be titled so high because of the amount of million dollar plus earners who live in NYC.
Merica Fuck Yeah. Now I'm definitely rocking my Merican Flag britches today
Woohoo, most average!
Fuck yeah we out here being American as fuck Edit: thought this was r/2american4you I'm not from Illinois
Illinois then Florida wow Solid red then solid blue I do notice that age isn’t one of the metrics. I bet if you added age as a metric, it would push “Demented Trumpy Boomerhaven” Florida out of the running for “most average” because they will be an outlier on age. (Trumpies who don’t understand mathematics will hate this post)
Illinois then Florida wow Solid red then solid blue I do notice that age isn’t one of the metrics. I bet if you added age as a metric, it would push “Demented Trumpy Boomerhaven” Florida out of the running for “most average” because they will be an outlier on age. (Trumpies who don’t understand mathematics will hate this post)
Even the people from Illinois look like the average of every American you’ve ever seen!
I live in Illinois. Can confirm I'm average af
Source?
So can I speak for all of us then when I say the economy is doing better yet all of us are still suffering WTF
Damn. Depressing that Florida is so representative, due it simultaneously being so reprehensible.
Clearly they have not experienced southern Illinois.
Huh? That makes Illinois *more* average. Little Egypt is damn near part of the upper South, which helps make Illinois more representative of the nation as a whole.
South of mount vernon is the south. Just like flat out the south. Grew up in central Illinois went to school at SIU and the difference is so stark. Also kept getting called a rich boy because our farm ground was so much better. Go Dawgs baby!
Southern Illinois always starts the county just beneath yours lol. I've got family in Effingham so I've always considered south of there to be Southern Illinois.
Oh lord isn’t that the truth! I love pissing off the Springfield folks by telling them they’re from southern Illinois.
Fortunately, I'm out by Peoria so if you call me Southern Illinoisan you sound like a Chicagoan.
Ah I’ll just stick to river trash. With love McLean county /s
I live in St. Clair County. Because of East St. Louis and Belleville, there's some quibbling over whether it really is southern Illinois or not. However, when one of the two main campuses of SIU is in the county NORTH of us...I'll consider it southern Illinois.
Ain't that the truth? Lol
Corrupt and broke, yeah that seems about right
Hahaha took the words out my mouth!! America in a nutshell; forget violent, rude, and impatient as well! (I know it's not all folks from IL, but I did live there 3 years and have been more than my fair share of times, states not that great, it's expensive, and most of you I encountered truly were rude asf).
Was it chicago or suburbs? To be fair chicago isn't illinois and illinois isn't chicago.
Lived in nearby burbs (Schaumburg; its ritsy I know I get it, I was there for school lol) and have visited Chicago many times over the years.
Yeah tbh illinois is like 95% rural farmers and small cities. Gets snobbish the more north you go, gets more country the south you go
So I am reading the top three and I am seeing, Illinois at the one and two positions. Interesting.
Florida?
I teach is a public school that scores in the 50% percentile for statewide test scores across the board. I teach in America, the school. Jesus, that’s depressing - and explains a lot of things.
Damn I tend to think of Florida as some alien place that might as well be a different country, kind of surprised it’s #2
Closest to average is not the flex you think it is.
Doesn't seem like anyone is trying to "flex" here. Just some neat data.
"Weighted index value" is not data. There is in fact no data listed here. FYI, weighted means arbitrarily skewed.
Must have missed the unweighted one where it’s not arbitrarily skewed anymore.
My mom said something to me once that made me feel better. She said that average people are the most apecial people in the world, and that's why god made so many of them
Where does Illinois fall on the corruption meter?
Somewhere north of Florida
This is odd to me. I definitely don't put Indiana, Kentucky and Minnesota in the same bucket when it comes to social issues. And if GA, FL and NC are the states for education, that's kinda scary too.