By Dakota Cantwell

Wyoming was named the number one most prepared state for the Zombie Apocalypse, according to a study completed by Insuranks. Following Wyoming was Alaska in second, Vermont in third and California in dead last.

According to Insuranks, “It’s definitely an advantage to not live in a populated state and a mountainous state in the West would be a great place to avoid zombies.” Insuranks explained that living in an isolated mountainous area meant that you could live off the land and stockpile weapons, likely long enough until a cure was discovered.

Insuranks based many of its decisions on population locations, making areas like California, Texas, Florida, and New York terrible locations due to high-density populations around the state.

According to the study, more than 1 in 10 Americans believe that a zombie apocalypse is inevitable and 1 in 5 believe that scientists know more about the zombie apocalypse than has been released to the public.

While more than 50 percent of Americans said they know how to kill a zombie, most also reported that they would likely be the first to die in a zombie apocalypse. Those who took part in the study said that a shotgun would be the best weapon against zombies and placed the katana as the tenth most “go-to” weapon for the zombie apocalypse.

The Walking Dead’s walkers were reportedly the most realistic zombie according to the study. Still, participants also said that other realistic zombie types were 28 Days Later, World War Z, and Zombieland. The recent The Last of Us fungus zombie was reported as the tenth most realistic type of zombie.

Trust is an important factor in any type of apocalypse and participants did not shy away from saying that they would trust in themselves far more than anyone else at 79 percent of participants reported they would trust in themselves most. The next highest trust levels we’re friends at only 35 percent and pets made the list at 14 percent.

66 percent of those who participated said that they would be able to kill a loved one if they were infected or turned. This follows suit with participants reporting that moms would be second most likely to die first and grandmas being fourth most.

The study took place in January of 2023. Insuranks surveyed 1,047 Americans with an age range of 18 to 79. Insuranks also analyzed 1289 Google searches relating to the zombie apocalypse that ranged from January 2019 through December 2022. During this time, there was a significant increase in searches relating to the zombie apocalypse, with a 41,594 percent increase in searches for the CDC zombie apocalypse between March 2019 and March 2021. There was also a 120 percent increase in searches containing “apocalypse weapons.”

For more information regarding the study, check out Insuranks article to see where your state ranks for preparedness and for information on how to start preparing for the zombie apocalypse, check out the CDCs graphic novel zombie preparation guide which can be downloaded here.