Nevada is the loneliest state in US, study finds. What's causing isolation among Nevadans?

The state that's home to one of the world's most glamorous entertainment meccas is also the loneliest state in America.

A new study from behavioral treatment center Dawn Wellness Centre and Rehab Thailand revealed which states were the most isolated in the country by analyzing several factors from the Household Pulse Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau between April and June.

This study examined factors such as the percentage of adults who usually or always feel lonely and those who don’t frequently, if at all, get the emotional support they need.

Nevada was named the most isolated state in the study. Reasons for its high score — the higher the score, the lonelier a state — include that about 77% of adults "never attend meetings of clubs or organizations or do so less than three times a year." A quarter of adults message family, friends or neighbors less than three times a week, and nearly half of adults reported that they “sometimes, rarely, or never receive the emotional and social support they need."

How many people feel lonely in America?

A poll from the American Psychiatric Association in January found that 30% of adults experienced feelings of loneliness at least once a week over the past year.

Dawn Wellness Centre and Rehab Thailand’s study comes as America faces an “epidemic of loneliness and isolation” that “has been an underappreciated public health crisis that has harmed individual and societal health,” U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said in a statement last year.

He released an advisory in 2023 addressing the lack of connection and loneliness in America, the latter of which had already existed before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Murthy said he didn’t view loneliness as a public health concern when he first took office in 2014, but conversations with Americans revealed that “social disconnection was far more common” than he’d realized.

Loneliness is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression and anxiety, according to the advisory. Loneliness and social isolation “increase the risk for premature death by 26% and 29% respectively.”

One expert suggested using community to address isolation, from attending concerts to religious gatherings, USA TODAY reported . Murthy suggested people take 15 minutes a day to reach out to someone they care about and look for ways to serve others to prevent feelings of loneliness, according to USA TODAY .

What are the top 10 loneliest states in America?

Other factors measured for this study include the percentage of adults who get together with friends or relatives less than three times a week and the percentage of adults who attend religious services less than four times a year.

Seven of the 10 most isolated states in America, according to the study, are in the West/Southwest.

The top 10 are:

1. Nevada
2. New Mexico
3. Alaska
4. Texas
5. Washington
6. Oregon
7. Georgia
8. Oklahoma
9. Arizona
10. California

The 10 states that are the least lonely, according to the study, are:

1. Connecticut
2. Utah
3. Iowa
4. Wisconsin
5. Ohio
6. North Carolina
7. Idaho
8. Rhode Island
9. Minnesota
10. South Carolina

Paris Barraza is a trending reporter covering California news at The Desert Sun. Reach her at pbarraza@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.

This article originally appeared on Reno Gazette Journal: Nevada is the loneliest state in US, study finds. What's causing isolation among Nevadans?