Hey, it could happen — Nevada second-worst state for surviving a zombie apocalypse
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Where will Americans have their final stand against zombie hordes? Not Nevada, according to one recent study.
A mishmash of numbers assembled by NoDepositDaily.com ranked Nevada as the second-worst state for surviving a zombie apocalypse.
The study, which looked at several survival indicators, gave Nevada a score of 32.05 out of 100 for making it through the horror-movie scenario, with a decent ninth-place score for its low population density, but a dead-last ranking on access to food.
The Silver State trailed only Hawaii, whose remote location was deemed a detriment due to the state's reliance on food, medicine and weapons resources from the mainland.
To the west, California was ranked third-worst thanks to dense population centers and low access to weapons. Rounding out the bottom 10 were Arizona, New York, Illinois, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah and Indiana.
The best states for survival were states with relatively high amounts of food and water resources per capita; Vermont, Maine and Louisiana finished in the top three spots.
Factors that the study took into consideration:
- Weapons and security
- Supplies and survival resources
- Population density
- Medical services
- Gas and vehicle supplies
- Climate
- Access to fresh water
- Access to food
But if you have to be somewhere, Reno's not too bad
On the other hand, Reno and Las Vegas fared pretty well in a completely different hodgepodge of numbers from lawn care service site LawnLove.com.
Reno was deemed the 60th-best city for survival thanks to a solid No. 22 overall for protection (hunting gear and ammunitions stores) and a No. 39 score for mobility (campsites and hiking/cycling friendliness), but a terrible ranking for hideouts (198th out of 200, thanks to our relative lack of basements).
Las Vegas finished eighth overall in the study; nearby Henderson (131st) and North Las Vegas (198th) were well down the list.
Houston ranked as the top city for zombie apocalypse survival; Miramar, Florida, ranked last.
Factors that the study took into consideration:
- Vulnerability (population density, medical facilities and overall health)
- Hideouts (basements, plumbing and off-the-grid friendliness)
- Supplies (supermarkets, pharmacies and hardware stores)
- Protection (hunting, weapons and outdoor gear stores and firearm training facilities)
- Mobility (walk scores, cycling/hiking friendliness, campsites, seaports and airports)
Resources fair, regardless of zombie presence
All in all, the region is pretty well set to survive 2024, with or without a zombie apocalypse.
Infrastructure: Of Washoe County's 338 bridges, only seven are deemed "structurally deficient" by the U.S. Department of Transportation — and two of those, the Sierra and Keystone bridges over the Truckee River, are in the process of being replaced. Overall, Nevada received an eighth-place score for infrastructure in the latest annual study by U.S. News and World Report, with above-average road conditions and renewable energy use.
Health care: Washoe County's health outcomes ranking is a bit better than the state average and solidly better than the national average, according to countyhealthrankings.org. However, 16% of the county reports being in poor or fair health, compared with 14% nationwide; and our life expectancy is 77.3 years, a tad lower than the national average of 77.6.
Water resources: The Sierra snowpack was at 99% of normal as of April 23, thanks to a Miracle March, according to California Water Watch. Lake Tahoe, the main water supply for the Reno-Sparks area, was at 202% of its historical average, and other reservoirs are doing very well.
Agriculture: Despite our solid water supply for this year, Nevada remains the driest state in the U.S — so it's a bit of an accomplishment that we rank as high as 41st in the USDA's state-by-state rankings of farm gross receipts. Our top commodities: cattle, dairy, sheep and hogs, along with alfalfa hay, potatoes, barley, wheat and corn.
In other words, we stand a fighting chance. Zombies? Bring 'em on.