Americans’ favorite state is Hawaii, according to a recent poll. This might lead you to conclude that we have a penchant for palm trees and beaches — but then it turns out that our least-favored state is California. And then there’s Maryland, which Americans feel kind of “meh” about.

Public Policy Polling is one of those outfits that’s always calling up at dinnertime, trying to find out Americans’ opinions on everything from Republican presidential candidates to the most-hated NFL teams (the Cowboys, apparently) to God’s approval rating. Last year, PPP asked American voters about their impressions of each state. The five states that came out on top were Hawaii, Colorado, Tennessee, South Dakota (!?), and Virginia. But most states — Maryland included — make an overall favorable impression. The only five states that Americans feel negative about are California (Hollywood?), Illinois (the Mob?), New Jersey (the Garden State Parkway?), Mississippi (self-explanatory?), and Utah (Mormons?). 

Maryland ranks 30th, liked slightly more than South Carolina and slightly less than Maine. We’re liked more by liberals, less by moderates and conservatives. Men dislike us way more than women. Young people like us more than middle-aged or old people. Hispanic voters aren’t really sure what to make of us.

What do we do with this information? I guess we could try to win over some of those Virginia fans, or gain a little ground by putting out bad PR about South Carolina. Or we could just ignore it, and go back to our lives.