While the national ratio of men to women is generally close, there are some states where the balance tips noticeably, and new analysis by Newsweek gives insight into what lies behind America’s demographic makeup.
Analyzing the male to female ratios across different regions offers valuable insights into demographic patterns, social dynamics, and the potential impact on various areas of society, including labor markets, healthcare systems, and dating trends.
Disparities in states’ gender-weightings could also carry electoral consequences, given the differing priorities men and women hold when it comes to casting their ballots.
The ratio of men to women in the United States varies across states, ranging from around 90 to 110, with most states boasting a male to female ratio below 100 given the slightly higher American female population.
Drawing on data from Wisevoter, Newsweek created a map showcasing the male to female ratios in every U.S. state.
Mississippi has the highest female to male ratio among the states listed, with only 93 men per 100 women.
Second is Alabama, with a male to female ratio of 93.12, closely followed by Maryland at 93.72.
Firmly on the other end of the scale is Alaska, with 110.34 men per 100 women, well ahead of North Dakota, which sits in second place with a ratio of 103.37.
What Explains States’ Male to Female Ratios?
Newsweek spoke to Beth Jarosz, Senior Program Director at the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), about the causes and consequences of states’ gender demographics.
“Migration is probably the most obvious answer,” Jarosz told Newsweek. “There are some places that have growing industries that attract men, such as North Dakota’s oil boom in the 2010s.”
Alongside Mark Mather of PRB, Jarosz authored a 2014 paper discussing the relationship between North Dakota’s growing oil extraction industry between 2007 and 2012 and the resulting growth in the state’s population, which found that “young men in their 20s accounted for 29 percent of the recent population growth in western North Dakota.”
Alongside migration, Jarosz said that a state’s military population can also impact its gender demographics.
“While the armed forces are now far more equitable than they ever were, there are still more men than women,” she said. “States with a large military presence relative to their total population (like Alaska and Hawaii) have a higher sex ratio than they would have without the miliary.”
The children’s hospital wing of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, left, and the neighboring Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson, Mississippi. Mississippi has the highest female to male population ratio in the U.S., which experts attribute to the state’s high male mortality rates.
Rogelio V. Solis/AP Photo
In explaining why Mississippi has a larger female population than any other state, Jarosz said that the question proved “a little more complicated,” as it is not known for being a popular migration destination nor having large population outflows.
However, she said that the disparity could stem from the fact that Mississippi men have “much higher mortality rates than women.”
As well as having the lowest life expectancy of any state, in 2020, the Centers for Disease Control found that Mississippi had the country’s widest gender gap in life expectancy, 75.2 for women and 68.6 for men.
Jarosz said: “To me the Mississippi sex ratio is symptomatic of a systemic problem—really abysmal mortality rates that are even worse for Mississippi men than they are for Mississippi women.”
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