Zombie Research Society
Following up on a previous post about zombie survival probability by geographic area (see: Is Your State Zombie Safe?), below are the complete results of Bart Keller’s study.
The Keller Scale gives a numeric score between 1 and 100 for each US State primarily based on population density and combat readiness. The higher a State’s score, the more likely its citizens are to survive a zombie outbreak. States scoring low are seen as vulnerable to being overrun by the undead.
NOTE: Keller’s next project will be to incorporate Canadian Provinces into his zombie survival scale, so look for that soon.
Does this study factor in military veterans? If not it should as I think it would give WV a higher ranking as I think we have a higher % of veterans per population than any other state. Also is there an error margin for the gun ownership stats as most of our population is paranoid of the government and tends not to report all the guns they do own. Also most of the guns we have are inherited from our grand father, father, ect.. and have been in the family a long time. In some cases before the creation of the ATF.(Like mine my grandfather has his fathers WW2 M1 witch I don’t think has to be accounted for)
Your thoughts on this?
what about hawaii? i mean, over here, there are many people that own guns, including all of my friends, not to mention, the only zombies that we would have to deal with are the ones who wash up on shore and the ones on the island. not to mention, you can easily go on the side of the road and pick your dinner off a tree. the easy access of water is also a huge upside, seeing as there is rivers and streams in walking distance of any town (furthest distance is 5 miles) and the water is relatively safe. another upper hand would be the rural areas that have towns in moderate distance from the possible fortresses. just driving around over here in hawaii island, i have found 4 great places to survive: kamehameha schools, mauna kea observatories, akaka falls, and volcano national park. experts please comment.
I don’t see how Louisiana is getting a 64. I’ve lived in Baton Rouge and grew up in Nashville, TN. Believe me, south Louisiana is toast if a zombie virus breaks out. That state has too low of an overall intelligence level to put up a decent survival rate against zombies. I also think TN should have a better rating then 53. There’s woods, mountains, hills, and all kinds of terrain suitable to survive in against zombies. Somebody who knows their local terrain in TN (the woods, not the city parts) can easily survive.
I can’t see how Michigan, a state with two distinct geographical locations, can be summed up within one statistic; Lower Michigan may have a higher population than Upper Michigan, but the U.P. probably boasts a higher gun ratio (except for the gangs of Detroit). Likewise, with two potent natural barriers (Lake Superior and Michigan) and a buffer zone (Wisconsin), I’d personally like to see the UP get, at the very least, their own ranking.
You forget 2 things: 1. ALL of the highways in the LP lead from the wrist to the Mackinac bridge (I-75, M24, I-69, M127, M131, etc.{people will take to the highways in times of danger and the bridge won’t be destroyed in time}) and 2. Gangs aren’t as prevalent in Detroit as some people think (Yes, they exist but not in the inflated numbers that some people like to think).
Still seems like Michigan is a little low, unlike oceans you can very much try the “Live at sea” for an escape from the undead, not a permanent idea but one that can help prolong your life a good amount. If you can catch fish, or at least bring food you are good to go. Fresh water wont be a problem either.
Oh and Isle Royal may be a good place to hide out.
Great nj being rated a 3, i feel really safe….
I have the IDEAL location in case of a zombie outbreak, which has never been mentioned – South Africa.
Due to the high crime levels everyone has very secure homes. We have some of the best specialists in the world when it comes to keeping the unwanted out.
We have extremely high walls (too high to climb) with barbedwire or electric fencing (which could be used to make tools once power is out) and even broken glass cemented into the tops of walls.
Houses have laser beams and motion sensors to detect if there is movement within the walls.
All windows and exterior doors (on all floors) have metal bars across (which are usually slam lock so they can be opened with key incase you need an exit).
Inside the house areas are usually split up with the slam lock doors between areas, so if something gets in you just need to get to the other side of that door pull it across and 100 zombies couldn’t break through!
Everyone (almost) has at least one firearm stored in the house and very often a baseball bat in the car.
So nothings getting in, and if it does you have weapons.
This is all set-up, so you dont need to worry about digging trenches or fortifying.
Sustainability: the soil in areas such as Durban is very rich and rainfall is plentiful. Houses are usually big with decent sized gardens, enabling you to farm within your shelter, and many houses have solar power functioning! Yes!
Temperature annually is between 16 & 32 degrees, with high humidity (good for plant growth) – subtropical. So you wont freeze or boil.
SA is also not very densely populated and 4×4s are in abundance is case you need to leave home to go to the gun store…
One problem is the natural wildlife, eventually predators would reclaim the land, however would lions, leopards, cheetahs etc attack zombies? Could it work in your favour?? Opinions on predators and the undead would be interesting! A guard lion could be pretty awesome!!
The worst location on earth would be Dubai (where i currently am). Large population, in a desert, no farmable land, rain only once a year and to make it even worse extremely limited arms! (The police officers are given 6 bullets only)!
article on bathrooms perhaps thats one thing you havent done
Consider that Pennsylvanians have a high gun ownership rating, and the most practice with those guns. (We’ve got the most hunters) I feel that we were a bit cheated out of a higher rating.
Actually Pennsylvania does NOT have a high gun ownership rate. At less than 35%, it ranks 33 out of 50 States in gun ownership. Add to that a relatively high population density, and the ranking seems logical.
i live in pa 26? a lil low bu i think texas should be higher for sure like every single person in texas has a gun or 2
Not true. In fact, Texas only has a roughly 40% household gun ownership – and that ranks behind 31 other states (out of 50). So Texas is not even in the top 1/2 of all states.
You’d think Hawaii would have a better rating. Though I suppose with the general tourist population and apparent lack of gun ownship, the people on Hawaii better learn how to use melee weapons real well.
I just have a feeling that west tennessee (memphis and maybe Nashville) are what are lowering Tennessee’s survival rate?
Probably. This is a ranking by state – and not broken down by county, etc. So it is a population calculation by state and land mass. That is at least where that part of the equation comes from.
Tennessee has 143 people per square mile on average, and 43.9% gun ownership. Obviously, some areas would be harder hit than others, but this is a general state estimation.
Meaning: if you live out in the middle of nowhere and are armed to the teeth, then you’re probably good. But if they rest of your state dies because they’re not ready and they are all bunched together, then the whole state gets a bad rating. Doesn’t mean everyone’s going to die, just more likely that a lot of people will.
well memphis is still to blame then