Texas Ranks High Where Americans Lie the Most

A little white lie never hurt anybody, right?

A new study looking at dishonesty across the United States says the Lone Star State ranks among the most deceitful in the country. According to data analyzed by the online tarot reading site Tarotoo, Texas landed at No. 6 on a list of America’s most deceitful states.

Before Texans start getting defensive, it’s worth noting the study pulled from a mix of data points- and some of them are pretty interesting.

Still, the results make for some entertaining conversation.

READ MORE: Texas Town Named Most Welcoming in America

Texas Ranked No. 6 for Dishonesty

To create the rankings, researchers looked at several factors tied to dishonest behavior. That included things like:

• Fraud reports
• Romance scam losses
• Identity theft rates
• Google searches for phrases like “how to lie” or “fake doctor’s note”
• Traffic to Ashley Madison, the dating site known for people seeking affairs

After crunching the numbers, Texas came in at No. 6 overall.

Nevada topped the list as the most deceitful state, followed by Rhode Island and Florida. Arizona, Alabama, and Louisiana also ranked ahead of Texas.

READ MORE: Texas Named One of the Most Fatigued States 

So while Texas made the top 10, I guess the good news is that at least we didn’t take the top spot!

Americans Admit They Lie More Than You’d Think

The research also shared a few interesting stats about honesty in general. According to experts cited in the analysis, Americans tell an average of about 11 lies per week.

Online dating appears to be one of the biggest areas for dishonesty, with about 90% of users admitting they’ve lied on dating profiles at some point.

Even in more serious settings, people aren’t always completely truthful. Around 30% of patients say they’ve lied to their doctor about health-related issues.

In other words, a little dishonesty seems to be pretty common everywhere.

Texas May Tell Tall Tales, But It’s Not the Worst

Before anyone starts side-eyeing Texans, it’s worth remembering that this kind of ranking is meant to be more fun than scientific. The study itself wasn’t peer-reviewed academic research, and some of the data comes from internet searches and fraud reports rather than direct surveys.

But it still raises an interesting point: every state has its share of tall tales and questionable excuses. And if Texas made the list… well, at least we’re not No. 1!