Is Delaware a good place to survive a zombie apocalypse? How the First State fares

Many people pride themselves on their survival skills, assuming they would easily make it out of a zombie apocalypse alive. 

But how well you’ve prepared yourself may not mean much if your location is working against you, especially in Delaware.  

Is Delaware a good state to survive a zombie apocalypse in? 

Casino.org, an online gaming website, compiled data for each state to determine which offered the highest and lowest chances of survival during a zombie apocalypse. They first asked ChatGPT to create general criteria for their Zombie Apocalypse Survival Index and then grouped some of the suggested factors into different weighted categories.

Environmental, weighted at a total of 36%, features:  

• Population density per square mile, weighted at 7%. 

• Firearm ownership rates, weighted at 10%. 

• Freshwater accessibility (Water surface area per square mile), weighted at 9%. 

• Crime rate per 100,000 people, weighted at 4%. 

• Number of gas stations, weighted at 6%. 

Hiding spots, weighted at a total of 25%, features: 

• Number of farms, weighted at 7%,  

• Number of army bases, weighted at 10%. 

• Number of prisons, weighted at 8%. 

Valuable professions, weighted at a total of 49%, features: 

• Number of military and law enforcement workers per capita, weighted at 10%. 

• Number of healthcare professionals per capita, weighted at 12%. 

• Number of scientists and engineers per capita, weighted at 10%. 

• Number of farmers per capita, weighted at 7%. 

Each state was then scored on a scale from 0 to 100 to find the states where residents are most likely and least likely to survive a zombie apocalypse. 

According to the findings, the First State is one of the places you don’t want to be when catastrophe strikes.  

Delaware ranked No. 4, with a score of 17.64, for the worst states for zombie apocalypse survival nationwide. 

Only 5% of Delaware population consists of valuable apocalyptic professions. With Delaware reporting the sixth highest population density and a low firearm ownership rate at 38.7%, Casino.org found that it would be “too crowded and impossible to defend yourself against zombies and traitors.” 

Aside from the factors hindering the survival of Delawareans, the Small Wonder has the second lowest freshwater availability in the nation, along with only 2,300 farms, four army bases and four prisons available for 1.08 million residents to potentially hide in.  

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Best and worst states to survive a zombie apocalypse in 

Along with Delaware, the other states in the bottom five for apocalypse survival are: 

• Rhode Island at No.1, with a score of 0.  

• New Jersey at No. 2, with a score of 10.12   

• Connecticut at No. 3, with a score of 10.97.   

• Nevada at No. 5, with a score of 21.47.   

The states where you will have the best chances of apocalypse survival are: 

• California at No. 1, with a score of 100.   

• Texas at No. 2, with a score of 88.39.   

• Florida at No. 3, with a score of 73.28.   

• Virginia at No. 4, with a score of 66.31.   

• Michigan at No. 5, with a score of 64. 51.   

Got a tip or a story idea? Contact Krys’tal Griffin at kgriffin@delawareonline.com.