BonusFinder conducted a survey of over 6,000 US residents to find out which states have the least trustworthy residents. Whether it’s lying on their CV, harmless untruths to save feelings, or cheating at casino games, we have the complete rundown of the most dishonest states in the USA.
Whether you’re a curious onlooker or a resident of one of these states, buckle up and get ready for a wild ride through the world of dishonesty!
The Most Dishonest States in America
When it comes to honesty and trustworthiness, some states in the United States seem to have a reputation for being less than truthful. Let’s find out once and for all which states have the most dishonest people.
Home to the most liars in the United States is Rhode Island. Although the state is the smallest in the United States in terms of land area, covering just 1,214 square miles, it is the state with the most dishonest people. Four in 10 (40%) of respondents said they often lie, with a further 40% saying they sometimes lie, and 15% rarely lie. Just 5% of Rhode Islanders answered that they never lie.
In second place is Vermont, with over a third (36.36%) of respondents often telling lies. Vermont may be known for its picturesque landscapes, but there’s an ominous trend of lying among residents in the state as 54.55% also said they sometimes lie and 9.1% saying they rarely tell lies — this means the majority of people surveyed admitted to lying in some capacity.
Maine, the northeasternmost state in the US, is the third most dishonest area in America. Like Vermont, 100% of respondents said they lie, with 36% saying they’re often untruthful.
The Mountain State of West Virginia sits firmly in fourth place as 30.30% of those surveyed answered that they’re often found telling lies. However, the majority of people (54.55%) said they’re only sometimes untruthful.
Rounding out the top five most dishonest states is Kansas, another place where 100% of respondents confessed to lying. When breaking that down, we found that this was made up of 29.63% of people saying they lied often, 59.26% revealing they only sometimes lie, and 11.11% declaring they rarely lie.
What are the Least Dishonest States?
While looking for the most dishonest states we were also able to find the most trustworthy areas in the US.
If you’re looking for the truth, head to North Dakota as only 85.71% of those surveyed said they lie in some capacity. No respondents from this area thought they lied often, and an astounding 14.29% boldly said they don’t lie at all.
Although all Montanans did acknowledge they lie, just one in 10 say they’re often untruthful with the majority (65%) saying they only lie sometimes — putting Montana as the second least dishonest state in America.
Hawaii follows this trend, with residents firmly placing themselves in the ‘only lying sometimes’ category (81.48%). However, a few more own up to lying often than those in Montana, at 11.11%.
Falling just behind its northern neighbor is South Dakota as the fourth most trustworthy state. While no respondents could declare they never lie, just 11.78% would say they’re often found lying. Instead, most opted for answering they rarely lie (29.41%), or only sometimes are untruthful (58.82%).
Completing the most truthful states is Idaho in fifth place. An impressive 5.88% of those surveyed said they don’t lie at all and 17.65% just drop rare lies. Building on this, only 14.71% would say they are regular liars.
What Does Each State Lie About and Who Do They Lie to?
The Most Common Lie in Each State
By far the most common lie in the USA is related to education. Whether it’s embellishing their degree, boosting their grades, or even diminishing their schooling accolades, a whopping 32 states said they most often lie about this.
The second most common lie happens on an American’s resume or during a job interview. Slipping in a few fabrications when trying to get a new job is the most common lie in 22 US states, including New Jersey, Indiana, and Arizona.
The third most common lie is something more wholesome. Two states, South Dakota and Delaware, have ‘saying food tasted good when it didn’t’ as something they’re most likely to lie about. So, while this should be good news for anyone hoping for truth on serious matters from residents of these states, always be suspicious if they give glowing reviews on your cooking.
Who Americans Lie the Most to
Our survey findings have shown that Americans are most likely to lie to authority figures. Lying to their boss is the standout result with a huge result of 26 states having their employer as the person they lie most often to.
The second most common recipients of lies in America are parents. The results for 12 states showed US citizens being untruthful to their parents more than their bosses, other family members, and friends.
It’s not just our bosses we lie to in the workplace, as seven states confess that the people they lie to the most are their colleagues. Montana, Nevada and Rhode Island residents all admit to lying to those they work with the most.
If you count on your friends to tell you the truth whenever needed, it’s bad news for residents of 10 US states. If you have friends in Utah, Tennessee, Minnesota or even Ohio, you may want to look out for telltale signs of lying.
Alaska has the most surprising result for who they lie the most to, with two unique entries tied for first place. Over two thirds (61.54%) of Alaskans said they lie to other family members (other than their parents) and the same percentage also said they lie to strangers.
Do Men or Women Lie More?
To truly settle the debate on whether men or women lie more, we can reveal that 26.15% of women admitted to regularly lying while just 18.62% of men said they did — that’s a difference of 7.53%!
Other results seem to prove this trend too, with 5.22% of men saying they never lie (unless they lie about lying!), while just 3.2% of women answered the same.
Those who don’t identify as a man or a woman have the lowest percentage of respondents saying they never lie or only sometimes lie, at 2.36% and 52.76%, respectively. However, they are lower than women for people saying they lie often, with a final percentage of 22.05%.
Which States Lie About Love?
The States That Said ‘I Love You’ but Didn’t Mean It
There could be a number of reasons why a person would lie about loving someone: awkwardness, the feeling of expectation, or even just to avoid conflict. Whatever the reason, we’ve found the states where people lie about their love the most.
As one of the top five states with the most dishonest people, it may not be surprising to see West Virginia so high on this list. Almost two-thirds of respondents from the area said they’ve lied about loving someone in the past, while over half of people from North Dakota and Alaska admit to the same.
South Dakota and Louisiana also made it into the top five, with 52.94% and 50% of those surveyed saying they haven’t been truthful when telling someone they loved them.
The States Most Likely to Be Unfaithful
Lying about love is one thing, but being unfaithful is another. In the USA, certain states have earned a reputation for having higher rates of infidelity than others. We’ll explore which US states revealed they had been unfaithful in a relationship.
Before diving into state-specific results on infidelity, we can reveal that an average of 19.24% of Americans have felt they’ve been unfaithful in a relationship.
While only the 19th state with the most dishonest people, Alaska is number one when it comes to being unfaithful. Over one in three respondents said they have lied about being unfaithful to their spouse.
In second place is South Dakota, one of the top five more trustworthy states in general. So, while you can count on South Dakotans to be truthful about most things, it seems they have a slight tendency to be unfaithful with almost one in three (29.41%) of those surveyed declaring they had done it in the past.
The third state where people are most likely to cheat on their partners is Vermont. As the second most dishonest state overall, you may not be surprised to see this location in this spot. 27.27% of respondents said they have been unfaithful, and have lied about it.
Which US States Lie While Dating?
Dating can be tricky, and the introduction of lies can make it even trickier to navigate. But which states lie the most when trying to impress?
Singles from West Virginia admitted to lying on their dating profiles the most out of all states, with two in five (40%) people saying they weren’t exactly truthful when creating their account.
Just 1.82% lower is North Dakota, with 38.18% of respondents sprinkling in a few lies in order to get matches on dating apps.
Alaska, South Dakota, and Louisiana are the final additions to the top five states with the most dishonest people in terms of dating profiles, all with percentages over 30%.
What Do They Lie About?
While men (30%) are more likely than women (19%) to lie on their dating profile, women are three times more likely than men to edit a selfie to look better (60% vs 21%). If you’ve had some trouble with catfishes in the past, then it may be wise to avoid West Virginia as this is the state where Americans are most likely to edit selfies.
Surprisingly, women lie more about their height than men. One in four (25%) men admit to lying about their height on their dating profile which is unexpectedly lower than the number of women (28%) who confessed to doing it.
However, men are more likely to lie about their sexual experiences than women. This is especially when it comes to revealing how many people they’ve slept with as 11% of men admit they’d be untruthful about this, while the percentage for the women’s answers sits at just 4%.
Lying in the Workplace
Which States Are Most Likely to Lie at Work?
According to our data, 48.7% of Oregon residents admit to lying at work, making it the state with the highest percentage of workplace liars in the US. Almost half (47.4%) of Oregonians would lie to a coworker, and exactly half (50%) would lie to their boss.
South Carolina ranks second in terms of workplace trustworthiness, with a workplace lying rate of 47.9%. When compared to lying to their coworkers, South Carolinians are 20% more likely to lie to their supervisors.
Ranking third is Colorado, where 46.8% of residents lie in the workplace. The difference between lying to their boss and lying to their coworkers is pretty close, at 47.20% and 46.30%.
The States Most Likely to Tell These Workplace Lies
Delaware, South Dakota, Louisiana, Colorado, or Wisconsin are the states most likely to lie about their salary, as over half of the respondents from these five states all admitted to being untruthful about their earnings.
Telling the most white lies about why they were late, or didn’t even show up to work, is South Dakota with 41.2% of people confessing to the lie.
Alaska appears second in the states most likely to lie about personal attributes such as their age (46.2% said they lied about this) or ethnicity (15.4%).
Kansans are the most likely to fabricate facts about their job completely, with 48.1% of respondents saying they’ve lied about their profession.
Which State Cheats the Most While Playing Card and Casino-Related Games?
Although it’s incredibly rare that people are able to cheat in casinos (online or otherwise), our results show some people are guilty of lying when playing games outside of casinos. The games in this study include:
? Slot machines
? Blackjack
? Roulette
? Craps
? Poker
? Pai gow poker
? Sic bo
? Keno
? Bingo
? Baccarat
The state that cheats the most while playing these games is Alaska. Over one in three respondents admitted to cheating while playing, with the highest percentage of cheaters in blackjack, pai gow poker, keno, and baccarat.
Hawaii and North Dakota are in second and third place, with respective totals of 29.63% and 28.57%. While Hawaiians cheat the most when playing poker (7.41%), North Dakotans are more likely to lie while playing craps (7.14%).
In West Virginia, 21.21% of respondents said they have cheated in a game. Blackjack, poker and pai gow poker are all on top as the games most cheated in, with 6.06% of those surveyed saying they’ve done so before.
When it comes to residents playing games in New Jersey, they’re most likely to cheat in pai gow poker but claim to be completely honest when it comes to Sic Bo, keno and bingo. In total, 17.34% of New Jerseyans confessed to cheating while playing games.
After looking at cheating trends across all games, we found that an average of 2.92% of Americans cheat at blackjack, with the highest percentage of cheaters in Vermont at 18.18%. The game people cheat at the least is bingo, with just two states (Missouri and Mississippi) confessing to it.
What Else Do Poker Cheaters Lie About?
Those who cheat at poker are over 7% more likely to say ‘I love you’ when they don’t mean it and they are also 6.39% more likely to be untruthful about their salary. In fact, 33.77% of respondents who said they cheat at poker would describe themselves as a good liar.
However, they are over 12% less likely to lie about their feelings than someone who hasn’t cheated while playing poker — the poker face is well and truly off once the cards are down!
Methodology
1. BonusFinder.com conducted a uStats.org survey which surveyed 6,100 Americans between the dates of Thursday 6 April 2023–14 April 2023.
