States With The Most Preppers as a Percentage of Population

Have you ever wondered which states might have the highest percentage of preppers as compared with their state population? This might shed some light on a given state’s demographic or its appeal to the preparedness-minded.

My method is somewhat unscientific. But it was interesting nonetheless. I did this just for fun. Here’s how I did it.

I ran a poll (original poll was back during 2016) asking our readers to let us know which state they live in. My assumption was if they’re reading this and responding to my poll – well, they’re probably a prepper (e.g. preparedness-minded) since they’re on this site.

I tallied all the votes for each state. Then, normalized the results according to that state’s population.

I know, I know… there are lots of holes in this method. But like I said, I thought it was interesting.

More than 1,000 people participated in the poll, What State Do You Live In, And Why (check that poll to see which states had the most respondents). I sorted the number of raw votes per state and charted them (see the referenced post for raw vote chart).

HOWEVER, each state has its own population statistic. To discover the representative ranking of states with the highest percentage of preppers (given each state’s population), I divided the votes by the population of each state and then came up with a number of ‘preppers per million’ of those who participated in the poll…

In other words, the results have been ‘normalized’ to the population of each state (naturally, you would expect more ‘votes’ from a state with 27 million people than from a state with 1 million people).

I know, this does not reveal an accurate preppers-per-million among any given state population (because not everyone in the state is participating in this poll!). However the poll will reveal at least a hint…

With that said, here are the ‘normalized’ results:
preppers-per-million-per-state

Ordered List of States, Number of Preppers Per Population

STATE – VOTES/POPULATION (PPM of poll participants)

1. New Hampshire (13.8)
2. Wyoming (13.3)
3. Vermont (11.7)
4. Idaho (8.8)
5. North Dakota (8.8)
6. Alaska (8.6)
7. Arkansas (7.0)
8. Montana (7.0)
9. Tennessee (6.8)
10. Washington (6.5)
11. Colorado (6.2)
12. Maine (6.2)
13. Alabama (5.8)
14. Iowa (5.8)
15. West Virginia (5.6)
16. South Dakota (5.6)
17. Oregon (5.3)
18. North Carolina (5.2)
19. Oklahoma (5.1)
20. Utah (4.7)
21. Missouri (4.6)
22. South Carolina (4.3)
23. New Mexico (4.3)
24. Kansas (4.1)
25. Nevada (3.8)
26. Virginia (3.7)
27. Nebraska (3.7)
28. Indiana (3.6)
29.Wisconsin (3.6)
30. Georgia (3.4)
31. Michigan (3.3)
32. Minnesota (3.3)
33. Kentucky (3.2)
34. Ohio (3.1)
35. Arizona (3.1)
36. Texas (2.9)
37. Louisiana (2.8)
38. Maryland (2.3)
39. Mississippi (2.3)
40. Illinois (2.3)
41. Florida (2.3)
42. Pennsylvania (2.3)
43. New Jersey (2.2)
44. Connecticut (2.2)
45. Delaware (2.2)
46. Hawaii (2.1)
47. Massachusetts (1.9)
48. Rhode Island (1.8)
49. New York (1.4)
50. California (1.3)

STATEVOTESPOPULATIONvotes/pop
Texas7927,500,0002.9
North Carolina5210,000,0005.2
California5239,100,0001.3
Washington477,200,0006.5
Florida4620,300,0002.3
Tennessee456,600,0006.8
Ohio3611,600,0003.1
Georgia3510,200,0003.4
Colorado345,500,0006.2
Michigan339,900,0003.3
Virginia318,400,0003.7
Illinois3012,900,0002.3
Pennsylvania2912,800,0002.3
Alabama284,800,0005.8
Missouri286,100,0004.6
New York2719,800,0001.4
Indiana246,600,0003.6
Arkansas213,000,0007.0
Oregon214,000,0005.3
South Carolina214,900,0004.3
Wisconsin215,800,0003.6
Arizona216,800,0003.1
Oklahoma203,900,0005.1
New Jersey209,000,0002.2
New Hampshire181,300,00013.8
Iowa183,100,0005.8
Minnesota185,500,0003.3
Idaho151,700,0008.8
Utah143,000,0004.7
Kentucky144,400,0003.2
Maryland146,000,0002.3
Louisiana134,700,0002.8
Massachusetts136,800,0001.9
Kansas122,900,0004.1
Nevada112,900,0003.8
West Virginia101,800,0005.6
New Mexico92,100,0004.3
Wyoming8600,00013.3
Maine81,300,0006.2
Connecticut83,600,0002.2
Vermont7600,00011.7
North Dakota7800,0008.8
Montana71,000,0007.0
Nebraska71,900,0003.7
Mississippi73,000,0002.3
Alaska6700,0008.6
South Dakota5900,0005.6
Hawaii31,400,0002.1
Delaware2900,0002.2
Rhode Island21,100,0001.8

132 Comments

  1. Florida.

    Sad. Really sad. I figured most of the supposed preppers are only talk.
    This proves it.

    1. Florida has a huge elderly population and many of them naively swallow whatever the lame-stream media dishes out….there will be a massive die-off in Florida when SHTF because most of them depend on lots of prescription medications and live in tiny condos with very little food in the pantry. Gonna have piles of bodies to burn…ugh!

      1. @Goatlover the heat in the condos will just mummify the bodies over a few months. No big deal.

    2. It does not surprise me too much. Between the elderly and the young entitled/drug heads there won’t be many left after the first 6 weeks.

      1. OK. Then….. I just stumbled onto this site and I have to tell you I have steam coming out of my ears. I live in Georgia (at least for now) I raise at least half of my own food on eleven acres. My husband and I are in our seventies, and we get out there and work everyday. If the S.H.T.F. we will have food and water, along with many other items needed….And yes, we can shoot. We believed in being prepared before Y-2K. If you insure your home and car, why not your life???? So please don’t put all us silver haired people in the grave just yet. We might just be able to out-survive you!!!

        1. Abigayle:
          Please dont judge the site on one comment 3 years ago.
          We have a LOT of people/GREAT people here

    3. @Slingshot.

      I thought FL would come in a bit higher but really not that surprised.

      Like Goatlover and Medic said it makes sense with the elderly (you would have thought they would have learned from the past) and the drug heads. Man there are a lot of those.

      Good thing is that once you get into the central part of the state (minus the big cities) there are still some good folks there that live the old fashioned way. They aren’t preppers, just living their life like normal.

      Adapt and Overcome.

  2. Ken: I live in Texas and was appalled that we were number thirty six. With 2.9 preppers per million or you talking 2.9 thousand per million or just 2.9 period. Maybe I missed something in the article, because if only three in a million are prepping down here then I’m floating a loan to get more ammo. Seriously 2.9! I’m slack jawed, agape mouth, slapped silly with this info. SHTF is going to be like Tet, don’t aim, just shoot, they are everywhere. God bless and thanks a lot for the grievous info. I’m making out a s*^# list and you are numbers 1,2, and 3.

    1. Those who participated in the poll are not (all) of the preppers in each state (obviously, since not every one of them visit this blog ;) ).

      The 2.9 per million (Texas) is the normalized percentage of the apprx. 1100 participants of our poll (note EVERYONE in the state – since not everyone in the state entered this poll).

      Given that this site represents a very good cross-section of all prepper demographics across the country, the statistical result of state rank is likely close to reality.

      1. I don’t know, but I live in Washington state, which I have desperately been looking for affordable (I’m 67 and only have LOW Social Security income) for years, and Washington did not even make the list. Does NOT surprise me in the least) Which is WHY I am so desperate to get out of here!

  3. After recently traveling to Portland, Oregon and watching the sheeple there which has half the pop. Of Oregon I think probably the figures are close to accurate. I live very rural, 20 miles to town and 52 miles to a town with big box stores, about 85 percent (which isn’t a lot) of my neighbors are very serious preppers, the rest can probably survive for a month or so, the closer you get to Portland the more the population relies on government services.

  4. Many of the population in the fly-over States are rural, farmers, acreage owners, gardeners, – in other words, people that live a more self-sufficient lifestyle but do not identify themselves as preppers. A label is not the best for operational security so many probably would not answer the question in the affirmative.

    1. You statement is “spot on” (yes I use that a lot) the other word for being a ‘prepper’ is ‘country folk’ they can survive when the do-do hits they will be the ones (again) who will supply the barter items of food to the city sheeple this has always been the simple truth throuhout history.

  5. Interesting chart, good job, Ken :)

    Another thought is that even among us here, did everyone in your household vote?
    You see we are 4 in our household so 4 preppers, but I am the only one who voted.

    Could that have made a difference?
    Also, thank God I know another family about 11 miles from us and they are preppers but do not read this site.

    So if say 9 voted versus just lil ol’ me, PA would have been blazing the charts LOL ;)

    So another thought is individual preppers vs. prepper households that could change the #s…

    1. The poll did not allow more than one vote per person and per IP address, so the results are sound. So regardless of the number of people in a household, the vote is “1” – which is likely how most of us look at this…

    2. Our closest neighbors and conservative, in their 50’s, with a mother in her 70’s. None voted in GA. this past term, even knowing how close it would be……They do not prep in the least, and I am worried that they will be at our door. While they are at the big time football games….I am canning. I don’t understand those who do not vote. My father was a Marine in WW II, I have had many friends that went to war. Don’t people understand why others what to get into the U.S.? They complain about the best country on earth, every chance they get.

  6. One more thought….

    Is that generally speaking how many other households do we know who prep given a general vicinity:

    Again the PA results are 2.3 per million who voted on the blog.

    Though in all I could say I know personally that I can think of right now- 7 households counting us (with varying # of people) who prep, I would say that live within our region of the county, again knowing an “average” amount of people.

    That could be an interesting poll too! :)

    1. Well, your logic is such that PA should have more votes because you know others who are preppers? Well, that would apply to everyone else in all other states too… which would statistically ‘even things out’ ;)

      1. Considering that Pennsylvania is #11 for per-capita gun ownership, I seriously doubt that it is really #42 for number of preppers per capita. Preppers who read blogs, on the other hand, I can easily believe…. many of the local people I know who lead a self-sufficient lifestyle tend to avoid computers as much as possible.

  7. City dwellers will bring us all down when SHTF. I don’t have enough ammo !!!

  8. Many states I expected to see in the top 10 are there: Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Vermont, but I expected to see Nevada and Texas much higher than they came in – especially Texas.

    I did not expect CA to do very well, but it was sad to see it ranked last. Taking Los Angeles as an example (not where I live), the population just surpassed 4 million for the 1st time… so statistically, that means only a handful of people in the entire city are preparing. Yikes!

    On a lighter note, Ken has confirmed that I and my fellow preppers living in CA are truly one in a million (or 1.3 to be exact)! ;)

    1. So be careful there, So Cal Gal, if SHTF you will be the first all the others run to!

      1. Patty,

        Yep… not lost on me. Just an attempt at humor to cheer myself up!

      2. Not a chance! So Cal Gal and I are forming a gang. We are working out the hand signs right now. Electric car, perfect for drive-by’s, never hear ya coming..

        Badlands – Represent!

        1. @ McGyver
          Ok Mc, put down the Hash Pipe and smell the Napalm HAHAHAHA Some will understand that, maybe :-)

          Calif will be hell if/when TSHTF. I seriously think 30 million people can escape in less than 3 years….. Been trying to talk So Cal Gal into getting the heck out of there, but, Job and other stuff. So it’s understood to hang tight.

          I just seriously hope nada ever happens……. Oh course I have that Hash Pipe in hand now… :-) :-) :-)

          NRP

        2. McGyver,

          Shhhh… you weren’t supposed to tell until we had all the details worked out… NRP taught me all about OPSEC. ;)

    2. @So Cal Gal, You’re special! One in a million! LOL! Thanks for the laugh (I used to live there too, for a time… NorCAL)

      …went from #50 to #1 ;)

      (Remember, the ppm is based on the apprx. 1100 votes – simply in order to calculate state-rank. There are actually WAY more preppers in each state)

      1. Ken,

        Your jump from #50 to #1 wasn’t lost on me. To be honest, I wouldn’t have thought NH would be #1, I was expecting to see Idaho or Montana in the top spot. Shows you what I know. :)

        1. I too was somewhat surprised that NH turned out #1, although I figured that it would be closer to the top than the middle… I’m glad that I’m here and have been thoroughly pleased since having made the decision – based on lots of criteria…

          There are plenty of great places in this country to be a prepper, however I’m sure that we can all agree that pretty much every state’s ‘cities’ (mostly regardless of state rank) are not the place to be ;)

    3. So Cal Gal…I’m one of the other SoCal preppers here. South of LA…but not far enough away from those crazies. You feel that quake the other night? Arg…still can’t get used to the ground moving on me.

        1. Hi NC,

          I was surprised the CA number came in as high as it did when Ken took the poll. There must be quite a few CA folks who read but don’t comment.

        2. Definitely not the only person in CA. There is probably a good 35 million of us.

        3. I’m here too, close to the gates of Hell in Sacramento

      1. kynase,

        Me, too! No, did not feel the quake, some of our employees who live closer to L.A. did, though. I grew up here and went through a couple of the bad ones – I’ll never get used to it.

        1. Yeah. I heard about the quake but didn’t feel a thing and I’m a light sleeper. Course I also remember Northridge.

    4. I was expecting to see N.C. higher on the list. I would love to live there, but would have to downsize….. The Black Mountain area became popular after the book One Second After was written. Wish I had bought back then. They have gotten “very proud” of land and homes in that area. They do offer preppier camps and have survival stores. I don’t know another prepper near me, which is a lonely existence. There are some people that can take care of themselves in some respects, but not fully prepared. Maybe they just keep their mouths shut. I can garden year long here, with some crop covers and my greenhouse.

  9. I know people who think they are preppers, but 3 cans of Spam and Top Ramen just won’t cut it.

    1. The other side of the coin too, all the people that are fairly well prepped but don’t consider themselves preppers. The avid sportsman with the off-grid hunting cottage. The guy with the whole house generator and a dedicated 500 gallon propane tank to fuel it. The family with the $100k RV they take camping. The entire Amish community near where I live. None of them are going to show up in a prepper poll, but are a lot better off than the oft-heard statistic of the average American only having 3 days of food in the cupboard.

      Nothing against the post, and thanks for taking the time to do the math and write it up Ken.

      1. Yes, there are certainly many ways to pick apart the poll (no offense taken!), however generally speaking, and given the cross-section of MSB readers being fairly representative of this country in our ‘niche’, it’s more or less somewhat sort-of maybe partially possibly seemingly apparently at least a little bit ‘indicative’… ;)

        1. Ken, I meant no disrespect. Just was thinking of some of the people I know who think they are prepared. I have tons of stuff and know I still am lacking!

        2. Wouldn’t that be the point? People who think they have everything they need aren’t prepared. Those who keep going, keep learning, are.

  10. We are on the bottom of the list! Woe is KA

    Where is my sand bucket of shame :-(. Guess it goes to show you, if you keep feeding the baby birds others will flock to the freebies.

  11. Ken,

    I have to disagree with the statistical data for Texas, where I live. For example, in Austin itself I would bet there is no more than 1 real prepper in a city of 1.25 million people. The rest are real dumb asses self consumed with themselves. The same is true of Houston, a city I know well. I have been waiting for a SHTF event for it to just clean up their shxt. However, in the smaller towns there are a lot of folks that are preppers and do not know it.

    1. @No Joke,

      Agreed, the big cities are dragging down the numbers in Texas. As you move out into the more rural areas those numbers would be much better. I think a better poll would be to do a survey to include the size town people live in. I avoid larger cities like the plague, and know lots of preppers in smaller towns.

      The smaller towns, at least in Texas, still have a very independent mindset. That and the fact with all the floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes our state sees most of us in rural areas know that we will be the last that help reaches so we are more inclined to pull up our boot straps and fend for ourselves.

  12. Not surprising that the bottom ten states are homes for the most gun control, and the largest populations of The Free S__t Army.

    Yeah, Big Brother’s gonna take care of you all. Keep dreaming, Grasshoppers.

    This election season is gonna be a regular s__t storm.

    Get what you need, and get what you can, right f__king now.

    Nothing is getting cheaper or easier to source.

  13. No surprise the first two are New Hampshire and Wyoming – almost a tie.

    1. I live in New Hampshire and I’m a prepper.I am not buying these stats for my state.I looked at the original article for this graph and it said they did a poll and based on it that only 18 out of 1.3 million people living in NH are preppers which come out to be 14 per million.No way in hell is there onliy 17 other preppers in my state other then me.This poll had to be done in the southern end of the state where it is more city and populated and rich,the middle and top of the state which make up 2/3 of the state are woods and rural and I don’t think those people were in the poll.I’d bet there is at least 500 to 2000 preppers here in NH,18 is a joke man

      1. And for the umpteeenth time…it’s not a number, it’s a state ranking based on what is acknowledged to be, IN THE POST, a very small sample, with each state adjusted for population.

      2. Mr. Jefferson,

        The percentage is that of THOSE WHO ANSWERED THE POLL (about 1,100 people across America) divided by the population of each of their states (a way to normalize the data).

        Of course there are more preppers in each state (that should be pretty obvious). But since not every single person and prepper in each and every state was contacted (which is impossible), the results (to calculate state rank) were determined by those who participated in this poll (the same type of analysis as any poll that has every existed).

  14. Thanks for the data table Ken. I think my alias reflects my mental status in that like minded people have or are fleeing states where they know they will be that 1 in a million. The Great Recession provided me and my wife with the perfect excuse to leave a state that was on precarious financial footing – California.

    To those that still live there: come join us in another state. There are many scattered throughout the US that “Used to live in California”. Most of our neighbors understand and are like minded. Where in California we were considered “odd” for having pyramids of canned food and lots of ammunition.

    My new location, I am surrounded by like minded couples and families. Being prepared is common sense and many prep themselves but do not call themselves preppers or read this blog. When you live in an area where you can be isolated by a flash flood, ice storm, loss of power for days you realize you do not want to run out of toilet paper and laundry detergent.

    The sad fact is the Nat Geo program Doomsday Preppers kind of gave the movement and the participants a bad name.

    1. Now hold on… think it through. If the Golden State really is dead last with 98.7% not prepared in any meaningful way, this could be a good thing.

      Our period of mayhem and destruction will be immediate, sharp and parabolic. Yeah, the first thirty days will be tough, decaying zombie stink and such. But it should burn out very quickly. Free compost for all who remain!

      Glass half full??

      1. The first little pig saw a glass half full and said “I’m an optimist.” The 2nd little pig saw a glass half empty and said “I’m a pessimist.” The 3rd little pig drank the water and said “I’m a problem solver.”

        1. And the 4th little pig said, “Somebody didn’t follow the specs when they designed that glass. Must have been a government job. Probably ran over budget too.”

    2. What state would you recommend?

      Home is California but…it doesn’t seem like home anymore.

      1. @VaeVictis99,

        Re California, I sadly get the same feeling when I visit, and I was born there! I’m pondering this issue (relocation, BOL), for when I can move (at least a year, might be three.)

        I see a trade-off in pre-SHTF liveability/comfort vs. post-SHTF security:

        Someplace really remote (like in Alaska, reachable only by aircraft; no roads) would certainly keep most raiders/parasites away. But without a working bush plane, pilot and fuel, you’d be on your own, possibly for the rest of your life. And remoteness makes it harder to bring in tools and supplies needed to get to self-sufficiency. I’m not ready to sign up for that, just yet. So, if the zombie plague hits tomorrow, I will have made the wrong decision.

        In general, I’m looking for a region that has high food producing potential, relative the the population density. A measure of remoteness sounds prudent. If I live on a private road that needs a 4WD vehicle to get near, that would probably be a good thing when trouble starts.

        1. Sounds like most states in the Midwest. Good farmland, plenty of water, lots of trees for firewood, and few natural hazards. Start with a map of all major cities, and then just pick a place in the middle (of nowhere).

  15. “State Rank List – Percentage Of Preppers Who Run Their Mouth About It”

    — Fixed it

  16. Just serves to confirm that I’ve made the right decision to Bug Out to a rural setting for my survival.

  17. Ok, my thoughts on the # of preppers per state and the total that are really prepping.

    Somewhere I heard/read that 3-5% of the people are actively preparing, so for argument sake, let’s say 5% total people, including all in each family. 5% of 320 million = 16 million. And were not counting the .gov and the preps they have stolen from the people.

    And let’s say each prepper has 1 year of food/preps, and I’m being generous with the numbers here. So, at 365 days at 3 meals a day = 1095 meals at 16 million people = that’s right around 17,520,000,000 meals stored by Preppers. Now divide that by the population of the US = 54.75 meals per person, or 18 days’ worth of food for the people of the United States that the preppers have…… 18 days, that’s not much people. 320 million people are going to go looking for those 1 in 20 people that may have food and TAKE it if they can. Period.

    Now to my point, there a LOT of preppers out there, the hard part is how to find some locally, WITHOUT blowing your OPSEC….. How does one get those other 3.1 people in my state to travel 300 miles to have a meeting? How do you get to the point of trusting others without risking your own self and family? Yes as Ken has pointed out, they are spread all over the country. How do “you” organize a group in your area?

    I happen to live in a State with around 2 million people, that means there are 4 preppers in a state of 121,598 sq miles, that’s 1 prepper in 30399 Sq Miles…… HAHAHAHA Wish me luck with that one.

    NRP

    1. @ NRP

      Just stand right on the Four Corners and we will find you hahaha

      1. @ homebody

        Ok, now you have me laughing. It seems a few years back, after millions of visitors and billions of photos, they come to find out the HUGE Monument, Big Concrete Marker and all of the Tourist Stuff, at the “Four Corners” is actually about 2 miles from the true intersection of the four states survey location…… OOPS HAHAHA Gata LOVE it.

        NRP

    2. @ McGyver

      Interesting proposal, I guess one could email Ken with email addresses from both parties and have him send the links back, not sure Ken wants to be a social media through.

      I have a “junk email” set up and have shared with a few others (not local) and we harass each other all the time… But on the serious side of things when the Manure Deposit Itself on the Air Circulation Device, than it may be good to have a local or non-local area to bug-out to with pre-decided parameters.

      NRP

      PS; Please clean the Hash Pipe next time when yar finished with it, Thank You :-)

      1. Note: Since the start, I have chosen not to be a ‘go-between’, for various reasons… Perhaps in the future I might implement some way to do this party-to-party.

    3. I have a blog I never use and I’m willing to use it for this purpose until people who are interested have made contact. It’s currently set to public but not crawled or found by search engines. All comments are moderated and I can remove them once people tell me they’ve made contact or traded contact information.

      1. That is a clever idea. Here is another wild thought… Most of us expect that in an emergency, mobile phones, Internet, etc. will likely be down. Many of us have taken the initiative to acquire handheld 2-way radios. It might be a useful thing to establish one or two frequencies for “the group” whoever and wherever they might be. I actually have them in all the cars, yet I’m the only one who (barely) knows how to operate them.

        1. We learned on testing, that I could communicate with my sister at her house (line of sight, about 15 miles away) and we could also reach another sister from her house. We were going to link the whole family in this area, but no one else was interested.

        2. Also, in the case of an emergency make sure you have a specific time to make contact so you don’t run down your batteries.

    4. McGyver,

      I’d be okay with starting up an e-mail group for #50 folks (and anyone else who wants to be part of it).

      I just need to get a separate e-mail set-up. I guess if enough people are interested we can start with that and see where it goes.

    5. McGyver wrote:

      >In all seriousness I would love to network with local, like-minded people,
      > somehow while minimizing risk to both parties.

      Thank you! You’ve summarized an important issue, namely how to communicate with, size up and work with other like-minded (or like minded enough) people. We all need to sleep sometime, so singles like myself have IMHO a real incentive to find other *trustable* folk to take the other watches when TSHTF.

      Postings on some site that has forums and/or private messages are some options, off the top of my head. In my area, there’s a meetup that happens sporadically; I’ll go to the next one.

      Note that communications do have their risks. However, not having somebody to take the next watch (in case of SHTF) is *also* a risk, one we must each weigh for him/herself.

      Open question (if it’s not against the rules):
      What websites (e.g. with forums or private messages) would you recommend?
      Or should we all try for Ham radio licenses or other non-internet ways to network?

      (I don’t like the term network as a verb, but offhand, I can’t think of a better fit here.)

      Thoughts?

      –Larry

  18. It’s nice to see my state of came in on the top 10. But then again, some might’ve skewed the numbers to where their AO really is.. Ya know, OPSEC and all.

    I’m surprised to see Texas so far down on the list. With lots of well organized “units” there, you’d think the numbers would be higher.

  19. I was surprised to see Texas as well. Most people I know garden, can and put up vegetables and store food. Most probably don’t realize they are prepping and I don’t advertise that I am. It is just small town life. Even the younger generation is getting into the gardening. A lot of people are getting chickens and small farm animals.

    Most everyone is talking about how their tomatoes and squash is doing..haha

  20. I am not surprised to see my State near the bottom of the list. Most preppers have moved out of this State already. I really only stay because of family or I would be gone as well.

  21. I have a blog (Blogger) I never use. I’ve used it in the past for things I only want specific people to see. It’s currently set to public but can’t be crawled or found on search engines. I can set it to private and add people one at a time, or leave it as it is and simply delete comments after people notify me they have made contact. Either way works for me.

    If anyone wants to participate I can set up a page for states where people say they are interested in making contact and provide the link.

    1. Oh, all comments are currently moderated. Not that there have been any for the last five years. :)

    2. Lauren, Are you going to give us information on posting on your BLOG? We are considering moving to a more remote location. We can not be seen from the road, and have set up a pretty good mini farm, but feel like we want an easier area to defend, should the need arise (and we think it will).

      1. That blog is now being used for something else. And still no hits for years! : )

  22. Actually it is most likely due to the amount of people that live there. CA alone has more than 38 million people while states like WY have maybe 1 million.

  23. I think there are a lot more peppers then this. Most people are peppers just different degrees. Think about it. Most everyone has a first aid kit so they are ready to put a bandaid on a cut. Over 100 million people have firearms so they can defend themselves. I think most people have a weeks worth of food and water if you count the hot water tank. Hope???

    1. Yes, there are a lot more preppers than this. The poll results and subsequent analysis (preppers per million) are that of the apprx. 1,100 participants. There certainly are more than 1100 preppers in this country…

      With that said, the number of participants lends towards a pretty solid demographic to reasonably determine a fair approximation of state ranking.

  24. My brother is in central Cali – I think there are many people out his way that prep. He is one of 13 homes on his road…. FAR from anywhere, anyone has almost never heard of. (sounds like he’s on the moon! LOL!!)

    My other brother is in central Oregon… I haven’t a clue if he preps… (Sad, but, true).

    I have a cousin is in central Pennsylvania. – Yes, a trend here… centralists! He is online, but, won’t do polls. We talk about SHTF all the time.

    One of my friends stopped by and was astonished… He tries to get people to prep around here. He can’t believe how many people AREN’T Prepping. He said “Back in the day, its just what people did. And now? they do nothing. They run to the grocery store every two or three days!” He is very upset that people don’t care to take out insurance on their home stock. “Preps”

    I tried to get my neighbors on board… They won’t budge.

    I spoke with a friend near Susanville, Cali this morning on the phone. Their job is the Army depot/supplies … their big hot list now is “Tanks and cannons” – I asked “Are you adding any extra cans of food to your stock when you grocery shop? Are you growing a garden this year?” answers: Nope. I don’t have time for any of that…. I said — pick up an extra dozen cans of something every time you shop and before you know it, you’ll have extra stock for when it snows and you can’t get out of your valley…

    I try… I ask about extra cans of food to a LOT Of people. No one seems to care. They like their cell phones and fast food more.

    Politically incorrect but, a quote from the Weeds series: “Fatty McFat Fat”… That woman cracks me UP! LOL! I picture cell phones and fast food all the time when I see that episode!

    Ok… I’ll stop typing… before I offend someone.

  25. Oh man glad to be home! Been the traveling man lately.

    One thing is for sure. No matter what state your in whether your in NH or CA, the percentages are still crap. Not many people are prepared for any thing in any state. It’s gonna be ugly no matter where you are when the SHTF. Better wrap your head around the fact that some of the people you know are going to assume room temperature before it’s over. Family too.
    It’s like triage. You save those you can. The rest are left to die…

  26. I remember once years ago I was chatting with a dog friend that lived in New York. She must have lived somewhere near Cornell as she went to vet school there. Anyway, for some reason the subject of food came up and she said that she had a box of jello, some ketchup and something else, don’t remember anymore. But that was it.

  27. Living in Northern California, I can’t say I’m too surprised at this. The amount of scumbags looking for handouts boggles the mind.

    The wife and I are looking at properties in Idaho, can’t wait to leave this POS state behind!

    1. Rob
      Heads up on the water rights, each state has different rules compared to what we are used to here in CA.
      Idaho has different rules on what those rights are, should you decided to buy make sure you discuss this in length with the realtor before you buy. I understand each county has different requirements and permits.

      1. @ Antique Collector,
        Thanks for the info! That is excellent advise that I honestly hadn’t thought of.

        Rob

      2. Antique collector / Rob

        before you plunk your money down, please consider investigating water rights/availability with other than the realtor. Have run into more than one instance where a realtor has said whatever they thought they needed to to make sale, or omitted pertinent info.

        some suggestions for self research on said topic
        -ask the locals, especially locals with similar type property you are considering
        -ask local officials, local regulators, state regulators
        -google local/state regulations
        -ask the local / state police (or whoever would be in charge of ticketing said offenses…)

      3. Another aspect to consider is the State’s stability (in case the S doesn’t HTF). Pension liabilities are eventually going to bankrupt many states, Illinois and California will probably be the first to go. Wisconsin is a notable exception – almost unique with a fully funded public pension system, and politicians actively working to cut taxes/spending.

        1. @Gilroy, agree with this post content. For Wisconsin, they have the ball rolling the right direction, after one party left the state to avoid a vote (right to work), tried to recall the governor. Once all the political BS subsided seems Wisconsin is being fiscally responsible with the pension funding, taxes and spending work. Of course, no reporting of the positive, only the theater prior to actual work.

    2. Having been born and raised in Butte County, first child was born there as well, we moved to SoCal and raised our kids there, THEN fled, got out, whatever anyone wants to call it. Will never go back, North, South, Central Valley, just can’t do it morally. Rob is absolutely correct, the FSA members and the EBT Entitlement Crowd has always been in abundance even in the more conservative North.
      Have two siblings still living there, neither will budge. When the SHTFm or if it’s another series of fire storms, riots(which will happen all over the state), or a combination of events, California will be NO place to be….anywhere in the state.
      I am surprised more are not involved, thought surely more would be heads up, then HUA, I am truly sorry I was so wrong.

  28. #11. Well, not too bad considering CO has become the DC of the west and all the alphabets are now here!

    Continuing my lifestyle….took delivery today of 12 turkey poults, 6 Guinea keets and 28 easter egger chics to add to the menagerie! What a noisy bunch they are. LOL

    Take care folks and keep up the pantry!

  29. Sounds a little flawed. I do not think there are only 84 preppers in the state of Texas. 2.9 per million. I do not buy it!!!

  30. It’s not numbers. He was using the numbers of people who VOTED ON HIS POLL to create a ranking for the states. If a state has 1000 people and 1 prepper voted, it’s going to rank higher than a state with 10,000 people and 1 prepper voted.

    If you read the article, Ken very clearly states that it’s not numbers. That would assume that every prepper in every state comes to this blog. He believes that the ranking is accurate, based on the number of voters in each state and adjusted for population.

    1. Exactly correct. Not everyone ‘gets’ the math, or ‘gets’ statistical analysis, and/or what I have clearly stated throughout this post…

      1. I understand statistical analysis and yours is flawed. If you are only using the total number of votes cast by readers and what state they’re from than you need to leave out the total population of each states. The total population is not a factor. Your analysis is flawed because is not a random sampling, but targets a specific group on a specific site. That is not a recognized scientific method of statistical analysis. Even your own numbers support my position that your method is flawed.
        “77/ 27,500,000 * 1,000,000 = 2.9 ppm of those who participated in the poll”
        Here is the correct answer based on the above formula: only 2.9 people per million Texans participated in your poll that they were preppers. Anything beyond that is pure speculation and not supported by the poll.
        Your title “State Rank List- Percentage of Preppers per Population” is thus misleading as well!!

        1. I feel that the results are generally indicative, given the cross-section of the poll participants coupled with the 7 year history of the blog, its general popularity among the niche, and the wide range of readers from all over the country (and beyond).

          In addition to simply revealing the raw number of votes, I felt that it would be interesting to dig a little deeper and attempt to normalize the raw numbers, given that some states have enormous populations while others not so much.

          Naturally, a state like Texas (your example) will likely have had more raw votes due to its high population. And similarly, naturally, a state with a relatively low population base will likely obtain fewer raw votes. Logically then, dividing the raw # votes by the state’s population is one way to normalize the data. You may not like it, and it’s not perfect (since it’s impossible for me to contact every person in every state and ask them the question), but that’s okay with me.

          Like someone recently said to me, “it’s kind of like wet thumb windage versus absolute precision”, which is a good way to describe the objective with this poll and general conclusions…

  31. Personally I know enough preppers in Texas to say that the survey is very inaccurate. Remember, it is only based on 1000 people in the entire country. Just the ones I know would boost us to move 30 per million in Texas, and I certainly do not know even a fraction of a percent of the preppers in this state.

  32. Very confusing presentation of this data. At first glance it indicates there are only 90 preppers in Texas. I can believe 2.9 per hundred, but million?

    1. @Travis, Of those who participated in the poll, 79 were from Texas (the most votes from any state – which one might expect given it’s population and character).

      79 / 27,500,000 * 1,000,000 = 2.9 ppm of those who participated in the poll

      Regarding this particular poll, the only way to calculate the preppers-per-million for everyone in the state would be for everyone in the state to participate in the poll. However since that is an impossibility, statistics are calculated from a reasonable number of poll participants (same as in any poll). The ppm was used specifically to calculate state rank based on those who participated in this poll (which actually was an impressive number of participants – 1,057).

  33. So the 2 places that are most likely to be destroyed are the two places that are the least prepared for it.

  34. I hate to spoil your fun. In the county which we live we personally know more than 30 out of a population of about 10,000. Just in our county there maybe 5-7 hundred? The problem with Nebraska it is a way of life and many would not consider themselves Preppers. Most already live in a great bug-out location with their own water, septic, secondary power sources, secondary canning kitchens, animals, large gardens, guns, shops with tools and know-how to fix about anything. We have blizzards, ice storms, floods, and tornado’s. All of which take us off grid from days to weeks without a bitch about where is FEMA or having to open Memorial Stadium up to house the idiots. Instead of going to coffee we had over to the neighbor’s to see if they need help.

    1. Yes, that certainly is logical. There is no doubt that each state has rural populations who already live a way-of-life as you describe (some more than others). And you didn’t spoil the fun ;)

  35. Eastern Oregon is naturally prepared folks, self-reliant producers.

    Eugene is bums and college students and feeders.

    We need more ammo. Simple.

  36. This survey it total BS.

    He ranked New Hampshire #1 based on the responses of eighteen people? Really?

    Anyone who took a high school statistics class can punch holes all over this thing. What a load o’crap.

    1. The rancorous tone of unbridled arrogance suggests that if you were capable of “punching holes all over this thing”, you would do so; yet haven’t.

      By your own words one could then reasonably conclude that you never took a “high school statistics class”, right?

      Beyond expectorating puerile, malodorous phlegm all over a good mans efforts, have you any productive or useful advice to share?

    1. I don’t know whether they’re trolls, or just not reading the information. I’m leaning toward at least one being a troll.

      I suppose if they just looked at the graphs without reading, and then scrolled down to comment without looking at any of the previous comments, they might be serious.

      1. @Lauren, NRP, It seems that some just do not understand the concept of polls and some of the general conclusions that can be made (which of course is imperfect), or they’re pizzed off because their state isnt on top… Or, whatever… I figured that I would take some bullets for this one ?

        Its quite revealing how absolutely insane it will be if the SHTF for real – given the things that people get angry about during ‘good times’. We certainly live on a razor edge of civility…

        1. Wow. A “Poll Troll”. There goes the neighborhood. This website needs a peer review ‘zot’ button.

          It must be general human nature and tendency. I remember playing around on “Bulletin Board Service”, back in the 80’s via Hayes acoustic modem. Even at 300 baud on a green 80 line screen, this special kind of individual would find their way into a happy digital club and proceed to wreck the place. I pretty much stopped producing anything for the nascent intertubes while Reagan was still in office. Been in “consumer only” mode for nearly 30 years; this site being the rare exception.

          Anyway Ken, I ‘get’ what you were doing here, even if I did fail freshman algebra 3 years straight. Logical extrapolation from a limited data set… or something like that.

          I appreciate your efforts Ken and thank you for them, even if my state is dead last because of your no good, BS, conspiratorial, slanted, defective poll HA!

          Onward and awkward!

        2. I built a bridge out of legos in the corner of the chatroom. It has a nice little stream running under it so the trolls should feel right at home. It’s also inside Schrödinger’s box so the rest of us can pretend the trolls don’t exist. If they do.

        3. @ Laurn

          HAHAHA, ok ok, I can just vision that little cuddly place…. LOL

          NRP

          PS; @ McGyver; Only 3 years???? Heck I tell people all the time that 7th grade was the best 4 years of my life….

          Boy ohhhh Boy, did we get off subject with this one….. Sorry Ken.

  37. I’ve read that there are an estimated active preppers in the neighborhood of 3,000,000 in the continental USA.
    I live in Ct. pop. 3,650,000ish…. Im the only one I know… who is active (obsessive) even counting family and friends. Yep…Im the KrAzY Right Wing Nut Case in my family. And I’ve made it very clear that they should forget knocking on my door when they have eaten their last can of Tuna or Ramen Noodles, and they are dumfounded why I wont invite everyone in to eat all my hard work over last three years. Yea…thats a lot of stuff packed away. But…. three years of bugging them and pleading with them to be reasonable, I believe justifies my stance.

    1. Maybe you should record those conversations, and play them on an endless loop on an outdoor speaker while you refuse to answer the door?

  38. They need to do an online poll! Might be more accurate! I live in AL where there are several just in my neighborhood!

  39. After reading all the comments my belief is verified. The big cities are death traps.

  40. Here in rural PA the number would be much higher if you are counting people who can survive without government, then here because of our Amish and Mennonite communities the number would be much higher.

  41. Thanks for sharing this info Ken. To all you stats people out there, yes the poll was not scientific as there wasn’t a large enough sample size, but Ken did do the best he could with the data he had available. I’m curious to know if NH really is a hotbed of prepperdom as I’m considering moving there in the spring. Any NH natives care to comment on this?

  42. I find this difficult to believe that there’s only about 5-600 peppers in the entire USA.

    1. And what makes you think that there are only 5 – 600 preppers in the USA?

  43. Strange how massachusetts and Arizona are so close…there are not that many I was raised in Ma, and now live in Az. night and day!! makes me question the “normalizing” method.

  44. I hate that I missed this article back in ’16.

    Many of the comments help to explain why We The People have voted for and allowed the fools in Congress to FUBAR our Constitution.

    (Printed out some of these comments and heading to the Range to get in some “therapy”)

  45. U get the more literate ones . There are a plentiful number of illiterates you know.

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