The Insufferable Index: America's Worst Winners and Sorest Losers, Ranked
Whether it's a backyard cornhole tournament, a heated round of Monopoly, or your team pulling off a last-second touchdown, competition brings out something primal in all of us.
For some people, though, that something is a whole lot less gracious than others. In order to find out which states house the country's worst winners and sorest losers, the team at Free Bets surveyed nearly 2,000 Americans.
Key Takeaways
- Georgia tops the Insufferable Index with a perfect score of 100, driven by sky-high sore loser behavior and top-tier bad winner energy
- Oregon claims the #1 Worst Winner ranking, while Mississippi earns the #1 Sorest Loser spot
- Texas and Pennsylvania residents are the nation's most gracious competitors, sitting at the very bottom of the Insufferable Index
- 53% of Georgia respondents admit to accusing someone of cheating after a loss, the highest rate in the nation
- 20% of New Yorkers say they're still holding a grudge right now over a competitive loss
- 43% of Georgians have cheated outright to win, and 28% of Minnesotans say they've let a relationship suffer over competition
Ranking Every State from Absolutely Insufferable to Refreshingly Gracious
We built the Insufferable Index by combining two separate scores: a Worst Winner score and a Sorest Loser score. Worst winners gloat until it hurts, and sore losers sulk until it's uncomfortable for everyone else. Each score is measured on a 0 to 100 scale using adapted Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire data alongside self-reported behaviors, and the average of those two gives us the overall Insufferable Index.
Here's how every state (plus DC) stacks up.
EMBED:No state scores higher than Georgia, which tops the Insufferable Index at 100 thanks to finishing 6th among the worst winners and 2nd among sorest losers. This tells us that emotions run high in the Peach State, no matter the outcome. Slightly less salty, Washington (93.9) comes in second, ranking 4th for worst winners and 5th for sorest losers, making it one of the only states to crack the top five in both categories. Oregon and New York tie at 92.4, but they get there in very different ways. Oregon ranks 1st overall for worst winners but drops to 25th in sore losing, while New York takes 2nd for worst winners and 22nd for sorest losers. In other words, those two states handle a win far worse than they handle a loss.
On the flip side, Texas lands at the very bottom with a score of 0, and Pennsylvania is right there at 1.5. Interestingly, they mirror each other almost exactly. Texas ranks 50th for worst winners and dead last (51st) for sorest losers, while Pennsylvania flips it, finishing dead last (51st) for worst winners and 50th for sorest losers. Neither state has much interest in gloating or grudges, apparently. If you want a clean, drama-free game night, you know where to host it.
Oregon tops the Worst Winner sub-index with a score of 100, with New York (97.3) and Ohio (82.2) not far behind. On the other side, Mississippi leads the Sorest Loser sub-index at 100, followed by Georgia (97.6) and California (94). Then there are states like Maryland (82.1 sorest loser score, just 11 on worst winner) and Tennessee (72.6 sorest loser, 13.7 worst winner) that tell a lopsided story. They're perfectly pleasant when they win. They just can't handle the alternative.
What Happens After a Tough Loss
Losing stings. That's not news. But what people actually do after a loss? That's where it gets revealing.
We asked respondents what they've done after a tough loss in a game or competition, and the answers ranged from petty to genuinely alarming.
When it comes to accusing someone of cheating, Georgia leads again at 53%, followed by Illinois (49%) and Minnesota (47%). Over in the property damage department, 61% of North Carolinians admit to throwing or breaking something after a loss. Minnesota (55%) and Georgia (54%) aren't far behind.
And the silent treatment? New Mexico takes that crown at 67%, with Utah (66%) and New York (61%) proving that sometimes the loudest response is saying nothing at all.
America's Grudge Holders
Some people lose and move on. Others carry it with them for days, weeks, or apparently forever. We asked respondents how long they hold grudges after losing, and a surprising number of people are still simmering over losses from who knows when.
A full 20% of New Yorkers say they're currently holding a grudge over a competitive loss. Right now. Today. Minnesota (17%) and Washington (14%) round out the top three for active, ongoing resentment. For grudges lasting a month or more, Illinois leads at 49%, with Michigan (47%) not far behind. And for the "give me a week" crowd, New Jersey tops the list at 38%.
It's worth noting how much overlap there is in these top states. Minnesota, New York, and Washington keep showing up across categories, which tracks with their high placements on the overall Insufferable Index. These aren't states with one bad habit. They've got the full package.
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How Far Will People Go to Win?
Losing badly is one thing. But how far are people willing to go to avoid losing in the first place? We asked respondents about the most extreme thing they've ever done to win, and the honesty was almost impressive.
Georgia leads in outright cheating at 43%, followed by Colorado (38%) and Illinois (33%). Whether it's a card game, a fantasy league, or a bet with friends, nearly half of Georgia's respondents have crossed that line. Missouri tops the list for secretly looking up answers mid-game at 42%, with Ohio (40%) and Wisconsin (37%) also copping to it. And then there's the relationship damage. 28% of Minnesotans say they've let a relationship suffer because of competition, followed by New York (25%) and South Carolina (24%).
That last one hits different. We're not talking about a bruised ego or a temporary cold shoulder. We're talking about friendships, partnerships, and family bonds that took real damage because someone couldn't handle the stakes, whether those stakes were a Fantasy Football trophy or bragging rights at Thanksgiving.
What This Actually Tells Us
Competition is baked into U.S. culture. We are constantly measuring ourselves against each other. And for most people, that's a healthy part of human nature. It pushes us, motivates us, and gives us something to rally around.
Here's the thing: competition is one of those rare forces that cuts across every demographic. It doesn't care about your age, your income, or your zip code. A game of cornhole at a cookout or a packed bar during March Madness can connect people who might not have much else in common. The best competitors know that. They play hard, keep it fun, and make sure everyone wants to come back for the rematch.
And when they win? They’ll make sure everyone knows about it, and will bring it up at every opportunity they get - ‘remember that time when?’.
Methodology
To determine America's Worst Winners and Sorest Losers, we surveyed 1,957 U.S. residents across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. about their competitive behavior, emotional reactions to winning and losing, and attitudes toward competition in sports, gaming, and everyday life.
Our survey incorporated an adapted version of the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, a peer-reviewed psychological instrument that measures aggression across four subscales: physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility. Alongside the Buss-Perry questions, respondents were asked about specific winning and losing behaviors, grudge duration, extreme measures taken to win, and whether competition has ever damaged a personal relationship.
From the results, we built two indices. The Worst Winner Index combines verbal aggression and hostility subscores with weighted winning behavior scores, self-reported importance of winning, and the severity of extreme measures taken to win. The Sorest Loser Index combines anger and hostility subscores with weighted losing behavior scores, grudge duration, emotional investment in sports outcomes, and relationship impact. Each behavior was assigned a weight based on severity, with all weights established prior to data collection.
Individual scores were averaged by state and normalized to a 0–100 scale, where 100 represents the worst winners or sorest losers, and 0 represents the most gracious. The Insufferable Index is the average of both indices, also normalized to 0–100.
All respondents were residents of the United States of America and aged 21+. The survey was conducted in February 2026.
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