Massachusetts Has the Youngest Residents in New England, Maine: Oldest in the Country!

Despite the name, New England is pretty old. So I guess this hurtful data that says that we're old makes sense... kind of but not really, I'm just trying to find the positive spin here.

Unfortunately this doesn't come from some random internet study which we could dismiss like a roofing company telling you about your teeth. This data comes from the US Census Bureau. It's legit. The Census Bureau looked at what states have the oldest and youngest residents in America.

Of all the states, Texas has the youngest residents. The average age in Texas is 35.6 which is making me feel O-L-D. Alaska is surprisingly (to me) second youngest. The median age of Alaskan residents is just a bit older than Texas - 35.9 years old. North Dakota residents are third youngest in the US with an average age of 36.2 years old.

On the flip side is where you'll find many of our New England brethren. Maine has the oldest residents in New England - and even bigger bragging rights - the oldest residents in the entire United States! The average Mainer is 45.1 years old. You might think Florida took second place with all those retirees and snow birds but NOPE! New Hampshire is the second oldest state in America! The average resident of New Hampshire is 43.3 years old. Not your turn yet, Florida! Another New England state is next oldest: Vermont is third oldest in the US with the average resident age currently at 43.2 years old. West Virginia is 4th oldest, average age: 42.9. Then there's Florida! Florida has the 5th oldest residents in the nation with an average age of 42.7 years old.

So what about Massachusetts?! We're the spring chicken... of New England. Massachusetts has the youngest residents in New England. The average age of residents here is 40.3 years old. So we're youngest in New England... but that's only good enough to put us in the oldest 33% of states in the country. Oh well. Give me my rocking chair and peach.

The Census has determined that we're old. But at least we're old with gleaming white chompers?? A new study by WalletHub ranked states' dental health. Let's see how New England states ranked there below!

Do Massachusetts residents have good teeth? It's a tough question to answer if you live in Massachusetts and spend most of your time here. Without seeing people from all of the other states regularly it's tough to get a gauge and determine where we stand in the dental health hierarchy in America. Thankfully like most things - there's a study for that.

WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 25 key indicators of dental wellness to give us a lay of the land when it comes to teeth and gums. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for dental health.

And here are the winners and losers. Bad news first: Arkansas finished with the worst dental health in America, embarrassingly finishing in 51st place even though there's only 50 states! That's the downside to involving DC in these countdowns. Somebody always has to finish in 51st and this time it's you, Arkansas, finishing with an overall score of 33.31 (this "overall score" will help give you perspective as you see more scores, don't worry). Don't feel too bad Arkansas, you finished just .01 below Mississippi, who came in 50th with the 2nd worst dental health in America. West Virginia, Louisiana, and Montana round out the bottom 5.

Illinois was found to have the best dental health in America, finishing at #1 with an overall score of 72.61. Wisconsin took second place with an overall score of 71.82 and Idaho finished in 3rd with a 70.53.

And now we get back to the original question, as seen on the top of this screen if you scroll up: Do Residents in Massachusetts Have Good Teeth? The answer is, heck yeah we do! I'll let you know where we rank and our overall score for comparison's sake below. We'll reveal how all of our New England neighbors did as well. And if you'd like to check out WalletHub's complete study and all the minty-fresh results, check it out RIGHT HERE!

Rhode Island has the 16th Best Dental Health in America according to WalletHub's study. Rhode Island finished with an overall score of 59.41. Out of the 6 New England states, Rhode Island finished 3rd of 6. Not too bad, Rhode Island!

Connecticut is the dental champ of New England! Of the 6 New England states, Connecticut has the BEST dental health. Of the entire country, Connecticut has the 6th best dental health. 6th in the country?? Show off those sparkling pearly whites Connecticut, because that deserves celebrating! Just don't forget to brush afterwards if you're celebrating with a sweet treat, gotta protect that #1 spot (in New England)!

Maine was the opposite of Connecticut. Instead of finishing first in New England as far as dental health, it finished last. BUT... the news isn't all bad. Versus the rest of the country Maine faired a little better, finishing in 34th place. So there are 17 states that were worse off! Glass half-full!

Vermont finished just up the road a bit from Maine. The Green Mountain State finished at #26 in America, putting exactly in the middle of the pack. 25 above, 25 below. Perfectly average. In New England, Vermont's dental health placed it 5th best of 6.

New Hampshire just edged out their flipped-upside-down-state-twin Vermont. New Hampshire has the 25th best dental health in the country. Better than average! That's some good spin! Out of the New England states New Hampshire finished 4th of 6.

So it comes down to Massachusetts. If you've been keeping track (and I hope you have though I think you haven't) you know that Massachusetts has the 2nd best dental health in New England, second to only Connecticut and those blinding chompers! To answer the question posed in this article: yes, Massachusetts residents do have good teeth, on average. Massachusetts finished at #9 in the nation for best dental health. I'll do a shot of mouthwash to celebrate! (Then I'll rinse it around and spit it out of course. Dental health first!)