A recent report from the Cato Institute has ranked Texas, Wyoming, and Idaho as the states with the least personal freedoms in the U.S. The study, covering 2023, was conducted by William Ruger and Jason Sorens from the American Institute for Economic Research, which supports limited government.
In the past few years, debates over issues like abortion access, transgender rights, marijuana legalization, and taxes have sparked heated discussions about individual freedoms in American politics.
The report lists the ten states with the lowest personal freedoms as Texas, Idaho, Wyoming, Kentucky, South Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas, Delaware, Alabama, and Tennessee. All but Delaware are led by Republican governments.
On the flip side, the states with the most individual freedoms are Nevada, Arizona, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Vermont, Montana, Missouri, Massachusetts, and West Virginia. Six of these states have Republican governors, while four are led by Democrats.