With 20% of students ages 12-18 experience bullying, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s States with the Biggest Bullying Problems, as well as expert commentary.
To identify the states where bullying is most pervasive, WalletHub compared 47 states and the District of Columbia across 20 key metrics, ranging from the bullying-incident rate to truancy costs for schools to the share of high school students bullied online.
| Top 10 States with Bullying Problems | Bottom 10 States with Bullying Problems |
| 1. California | 39. New York |
| 2. Alaska | 40. New Mexico |
| 3. Nevada | 41. Virginia |
| 4. New Jersey | 42. Indiana |
| 5. Louisiana | 43. Utah |
| 6. Pennsylvania | 44. Maine |
| 7. Georgia | 45. District of Columbia |
| 8. Wisconsin | 46. Rhode Island |
| 9. Oklahoma | 47. Massachusetts |
| 10. Wyoming | 48. Delaware |
Best vs. Worst
- Delaware has the lowest share of high school students bullied on school property, 10.20 percent, which is 2.5 times lower than in Alaska, the highest at 25.50 percent.
- The District of Columbia has the lowest share of high school students bullied online, 8.90 percent, which is 2.4 times lower than in New Hampshire, the highest at 21.80 percent.
- Maine has the lowest share of high school students involved in a physical fight on school property, 3.20 percent, which is 4.6 times lower than in California, the highest at 14.70 percent.
- North Dakota has the lowest share of high school students who missed school because they felt unsafe at school, 4.90 percent, which is 3.5 times lower than in New Mexico and North Carolina, the highest at 17.00 percent.
