Least Visited U.S. States by JetPunkers

Proposal: The same kind of quizes but weighted by the current population of the states.

The closest I came to visiting these 10 is passing by bus through MS.

Same

Got everything but Idaho. Kinda surprised West Virginia failed to make the list, even though I've been there several times myself.

I drove through West Virginia frequently when I lived in Ohio. Personally I don't consider that having "visited" there, but probably others would.

yeah I guess there's that little bit that sticks out to the east that many people drive through when traveling between Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. But at most they might stop to visit a gas station or convenience store.

They are missing some great hiking and white water rafting. Getting to the Carolinas or VA from OH, MI, IN, Western PA or NY etc nearly requires travel through WV.

I guess I'm one of the few of people who actually visited the state.

I also actually visited but only because we have some relatives there.

We have visited a few times, proximity probably help though

Delaware is in a similar situation. I wonder how many people included Delaware because of a trip on I-95 or a stop on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor rather than an actual visit to the state.

I don't know anyone besides vacationers from DC and Maryland and a couple of corporate lawyers who have actually visited Delaware.

I've got a friend who lives in Wilmington and I visited a couple times. Plus, they've got the original Fight Club franchise there.

I think a lot of people go there for business. A lot of corporate HQ are there because of the tax advantages.

Brit here. West Virginia is one of the only states I have visited, but I expect I'm probably an exception.

I'm not very well traveled and I've been to 3 of these states. Granted one is a neighboring state and another is a neighbor of that one. I'm really surprised at how low Alaska is on this list.

i guess i'm apart of the 5% who has been to North Dakota

I was born there. It was really cold and there were a lot of storms all the time.

So less than 10% of "state map filler outers" have been to South Dakota? Bummer. Really owe it to yourselves to spend a bit of time at Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills. Seriously beautiful country, the Badlands are amazing, and some really cool caving as well.

I was a bit surprised by SD being on this list as well, I thought Mount Rushmore was widely visited by Americans.

It is extremely difficult for most of us to get to Mt. Rushmore. I believe the closest truly decent-sized airport is Minneapolis, which is an 8-hour drive away.

South Dakota campaigned to get Mount Rushmore put there precisely because there's no other reason to visit.

The only one here I haven't been to is Alaska, and I'm dying to go. But I think all the states are wonderful, you just need to get to know them.

Quite interesting to see alaska there, I would expect more tourism there since it has so much natural beauty. Also, I lived in Montana for 5 years, reccommended if you like national parks, beautiful state as well

Yes

As the story goes, when Indiana had a contest a few years ago for a new license plate slogan someone submitted "Indiana: Bring Something To Do."

How did you compile this?

Is a country version coming up?

Really surprised not to have Nebraska on there. That whole strip from ND down to OK is on the list, but not Nebraska?

BTDT! Longest drive of my life! Took over 12 hours to get from one side to the other!

I'm really skeptical about a couple of these. Maine, Rhode island and Delaware are tiny and/or really out of the way. I've always heard people say I saw all the New England states in a single day. Maybe it's a matter of perception. To me visited means that you walked outside for a couple of hours, but some may think as long as my car or train went through it or my plane landed there it counts while others might say visited only happens after spending a couple of days. One thing that might skew numbers is foreign travelers. You can fly into New York get a car and hit about 15 states in a week. For someone that might never come back to the country that sounds a lot more appealing than flying into Houston driving the same distance and not hitting another state.

Those state are also close to the most densely-populated area of the country, and they're small, which helps. Lots of people from Boston dip into the other New England states because they're easy to hit. Providence is a 45-minute train ride from Boston. When I lived in Boston, sometimes we'd take the train to Providence just to do something new. Ditto New Hampshire. You've got the skiing in Vermont. Leafpeeping in Maine. People from New York and New Jersey come up with ease too. That area is so tiny that you can drive from anywhere. Compare that to the states on this list, all of which are sparsely populated, enormous (i.e., it's unlikely you'll just pop into and out of one), and whose biggest cities are not really driving distance from any population centers. It's a much bigger commitment to get to them, so fewer people make the effort.

I read leafpeeing... thought wow people go especially to a state for that? Still dont know what it is though..

I love the things people are/get skeptical about

Seems pretty accurate. I've been to all but 10 states, and 7 of those are in this list.

@idontkn1: Maine, Rhode Island, and Delaware are all close to major metropolitan areas, so get a lot of visitors. Maine is the most out of the way, but it still isn't too far from Boston and has Acadia National Park, which is the 7th most visited national park in the country. Rhode Island is an hour or so from Boston, and you have to pass through Delaware to get from Baltimore/DC to Philadelphia/NYC, so almost anyone who lives in any of those cities passes through Delaware pretty regularly.

Genuine question, not trying to be rude. But for those of you who live in these states, why? These all fit the bill of states that if you can leave, you do. But surely that isn't everyone?

I'm from Pennsylvania, and other than the two major cities everybody I know just wants to leave. And PA certainly has more to do than North Dakota or Mississippi. Looking for some insight.

Some people prefer the attractions outside cities. Alaska, Idaho, and North Dakota in particular have strong economies, beautiful natural landscapes, and abundant recreation opportunities.

There are plenty of dive bars to get black out drunk at 8am in any town in north dakota if the population is over 10,000 (there are a few of them and I made a quiz about it), so there is that to do. You're not rude though, I left because, yes, I could and did. Many are flocking there because of jobs though which encouraged me to leave even more. There is much good there to be fair, but I like the travel lifestyle.

quizes by jetpunkers is a good idea

really suprised texas didn't make it

North Dakota represent! You suckers are missing out... on nothing. There is nothing worth seeing in my home state, look away, pass by, nothing to see there... The money spent on add campaigns for tourism is funny though. I've been traveling for work and seen advertisements about "legendary" or what have you and it cracks me up. Oof da.

What's a "North Dakota"?

Yellowstone (Also drive through state, I guess)

I live one of these and been two seven of them Owo

As a South Dakotan, I've been to 4 of these. Never been to North Dakota though, which shows just how boring the state really is.

I am surprised Wyoming is not on the list

I'm guessing that's solely because of Yellowstone.

Alabama is a huge tourist destination??

Jokes aside, it's too bad that states like Montana and Alaska are on here. Neither of them get a lot of publicity, but I've heard both places are beautiful and they've both been on my bucket list. I'm guessing remoteness is probably a factor working against them though.

Ive been to alaska yay :D never been to ND though...