US Map Shows Which States Are Most Likely To Have Fights At Black Friday Sales

Black Friday is hands-down one of the WORST days of the year to leave your house. Oh sure, you might be able to score a sweet deal on a TV or some other item you’ve had on your wish list all year, but is it really worth it?

Literally the worst of humanity comes out on Black Friday and as a result things often end in fisticuffs. As Bill Burr once pointed out so eloquently, it’s one of the dumbest days on the calendar.

That being said, I know many of you will still be venturing out to score that once-in-a-lifetime sale so I want you to be prepared for what awaits you.

Thankfully, the folks over at Estately have put together a map of America which ranks states by which ones you are most likely to encounter a fight on Black Friday.

To determine just where it’s most dangerous to participate in Black Friday we at Estately sought to determine where people are most likely to be participating in Black Friday sales and where people are most prone to violently attacking each other. Our findings come from ranking each state from 1-50 for these two data sets and then averaging the results.

– Facebook users expressing interest in Black Friday sales — (source: Facebook user data)
– Frequency of aggravated assaults (attempts to cause seriously bodily injury purposely) — (source: FBI Uniform Crime Reports—2014)

Enthusiasm for abandoning one’s family to participate in premature shopping is not a universal interest in America. According to Facebook user data, fewer than 2% of users express any interest in Black Friday sales in California and Hawaii, while over 10% of users in West Virginia and Kentucky do.

As for which states are the most violent that varies widely as well. Tennessee had the highest rate of aggravated assaults (453.2 incidents per 100,000 people), and Maine had the fewest (66.9 incidents per 100,000 people).

In other words, if you live in any of these 10 states you might just want to stay home and chow on some leftovers…

1. Arkansas
2. Tennessee
3. Alabama
4. Louisiana
5. Missouri
6. West Virginia
7. Oklahoma
8. Indiana
9. Kansas
10. South Carolina

Check out the rest of their rankings here.

Black Friday image by Shutterstock