To be called a nerd these days is a good thing. Nerds make technology, video games and movies — the things everyone enjoys. In a world where technology rules our very existence, it’s no stretch to say with conviction that “Nerds rule the world.”
So, Kansas should be proud that it’s one of the nerdiest states in the nation.
BetKansas.com took a break from Kansas sports betting and used data from Comic-cons.xyz, Publishersweekly.com and Google Trends to construct a weighted scoring system (based on number of annual comic book/anime conventions and number of bookstores per capita for a Cool Things Score, and Google search volume on queries such as “Live Action Roleplaying,” “Comic books stores near me,” and “Tabletop Games” to come up with the Average Nerdy Search Volume) to create a Nerd Index to rank the states.
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Top 10 Nerdiest States
| State | Avg. NerdySearch Volume | Cool Things Score | Nerd Index |
|
| 1. Alaska | 100 | 43 | 143 |
| 2. Maryland | 92.5 | 15 | 107.5 |
| 3. Kansas | 55 | 43 | 98 |
| 4. Wyoming | 25 | 50 | 75 |
| 5. South Carolina | 30 | 45 | 75 |
| 6. West Virginia | 36 | 37 | 73 |
| 7. Wisconsin | 44.5 | 28 | 72.5 |
| 8. Tennessee | 15 | 57 | 72 |
| 9. Montana | 17 | 51 | 68 |
| 10. Georgia | 20.7 | 47 | 67.5 |
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Top 10 Least Nerdy States
| State | Avg. NerdySearch Volume | Cool Things Score | Nerd Index |
|
| 41. New York | 12 | 18 | 30 |
| 42. Arizona | 11.5 | 17 | 28.5 |
| 43. South Dakota | 0 | 28 | 28 |
| T-44. Idaho | 5 | 21 | 26 |
| T-44. Rhode Island | 22 | 4 | 26 |
| 46. Nevada | 8 | 14 | 22 |
| 47. North Dakota | 0 | 21 | 21 |
| 48. Delaware | 9 | 11 | 20 |
| 49. New Jersey | 11 | 7 | 18 |
| 50. Hawaii | 0 | 7 | 7 |
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Kansas Ranks Third for Nerdiest State
Kansas comes in behind only Alaska and Maryland as the nerdiest state in the country with some balanced scoring on the Nerdy Search Volume at 55 and a Cool Things Score of 43 for a total Nerd Index of 98.
The bookselling by state graphic from PublishersWeekly.com shows Kansas ranks No. 9 in the country in bookstores by capita with 160 stores for 2.8 million residents. That produces a per capita number of one store for every 18,037 people.
Montana tops that chart, while neighbors Nebraska, Arkansas, Colorado and Missouri are all ranked in the top 10.
The state must rank high on the Cool Things Score (as it does for Kansas sports betting apps) because of searches, because Comic-cons.xyz only lists one upcoming convention in Kansas. That is the Air Capital Comic Con making its return scheduled for Oct. 28-29 at the Century II Convention Center in Wichita.
The event is still gathering vendors and the guest list will be available sometime in the near future. Tickets in advance will be $23 for a weekend pass for adults and $15 for children.
And if that’s not your nerdy thing to do, just know in Kansas you’re free to choose whatever nerdy activity you’d like. Because in Kansas, the third-nerdiest state in the country, no one is going to judge you. In fact, they’ll cheer you on.
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Author
Douglas Pils has been a sports journalist for 30 years in Texas, Arkansas and New York having worked for the San Antonio Express-News, the Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News and Newsday. He currently runs the Student Media Department at Baylor University.
