Loneliness is unfortunately common among older adults in this country, especially for retirees who no longer have the social relationships provided by their jobs. A new study by AgingInPlace.org collected data from the 50 states to rank the loneliest and least lonely states in America. They used factors such as the number of single-person households, the number of widows and widowers, and the number of people searching for friendship on social media apps. The three loneliest states in the country were Maine, with more than 31 percent of households made up of single people and 14 percent of the population being divorced; Florida, with a large percentage of people widowed or divorced; and Ohio, with over three million searches for friendship on social apps in 2021 alone. In case you’re wondering, South Carolina came in as the 23rd loneliest state. The least lonely states? Utah, Alaska, and Hawaii, where there are very low numbers of divorced people, widows, widowers and single-person households.
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