Final scoring edition
National rankings
All fifty states scored on the same 25-factor framework and reviewed in a national normalization pass. The spread was internally coherent, so no headline ZSI scores were changed.
The table
Every state plus D.C., one through fifty-one
Primary ranking is the overall ZSI score. Ties go to the state with the higher worst-performing scenario, then the second-worst, then the best, then the combined 25-factor base score.
Personal assessment
Now score yourself.
The states are only half the story. Take the fifteen-question readiness assessment and get your own Zombie Survival Index score out of 100.
Get my free ZSI scoreGrade bands
How the letters map to the numbers
Normalization findings
Outliers we kept
Alaska — elite isolation and winter suppression, but food and logistics constraints lower long-term resilience.
Hawaii — excellent island containment, but import dependence produces a severe long-term weakness.
California — huge agriculture and resource depth offset by extreme population exposure, evacuation risk, water complexity, wildfire and infrastructure dependence.
West Virginia — limited agricultural scale offset by exceptional terrain, water, forests and low major-metro exposure.
Delaware — food, groundwater and water access cannot fully overcome small size, flat terrain, Northeast Corridor exposure and chokepoints.
Personal assessment
Now score yourself.
The states are only half the story. Take the fifteen-question readiness assessment and get your own Zombie Survival Index score out of 100.
Get my free ZSI score