STUDY: MAINE MOST PEACEFUL STATE

Where did Washington end up? You might be surprised!

A new study out from the Institute for Economics and Peace called the United States Peace Index found that Maine is the nation's most peaceful state, while Louisiana is the least. The standard for judging a state's peacefulness was absence of violence as measured by murder rate, percentage of population behind bars, small arms availability, number of police officers, and overall violent crime rate. In addition to ranking the states, the study also found that America is getting more peaceful as a whole, mostly due to a substantial decrease in murders and violent crime since the mid-1990s.

Ten Most Peaceful States:

1. Maine
2. New Hampshire
3. Vermont
4. Minnesota
5. North Dakota
6. Utah
7. Massachusetts
8. Rhode Island
9. Iowa
10. Washington

Ten Least Peaceful States:

1. Louisiana
2. Tennessee
3. Nevada
4. Florida
5. Alabama
6. Texas
7. Arkansas
8. Oklahoma
9. South Carolina
10. Maryland