The Most Tech Illiterate States in America [2025]

Much of modern life involves interacting with technology. Nearly all adults (and many children) have smartphones with them all day, more jobs than ever include essential functions that depend on the internet and computers, and even some key aspects of schooling have moved to digital spaces.

Some people have embraced this technological shift more than others and taken steps to increase their tech knowledge, while others have ignored tech developments. To better understand tech literacy across the United States, All About Cookies collected search volume data for dozens of terms related to tech knowledge and tech ignorance to find the most and least tech literate states in the country.

Key findings

• Washington D.C. is the most tech-literate “state” in the U.S.
• Among searches related to tech illiteracy, “Forgot my password” had the highest average search volume nationwide, followed by “How to right click.”
• Based on Google search volume for tech-related terms, West Virginia is the least tech-literate state.

How we found cross-country literacy

To determine the most and least tech-literate states in the country, we collected search volume data for 30 terms or phrases related to tech knowledge. Half of those terms correlate positively with tech knowledge, while the other half are related to tech ignorance.

We took the search volume (scored on a 1-100 scale) across the 15 terms related to positive tech literacy and averaged them to assign each state a “Tech Knowledge” score. To create a “Tech Ignorance” score for each state, we also averaged the terms related to negative tech knowledge and then subtracted that number from 100. This was done so that in both cases, a higher number corresponds to a better understanding of technology.

Finally, the Tech Knowledge and Tech Ignorance scores were averaged together to create an overall Tech Literacy score for each state.

Search terms used

The most tech-literate states

The internet has made it easier than ever for users to stay up-to-date on the latest tech news and trends, but people in some states are taking advantage of that resource more than others.

Rank	State	Tech Literacy Score
1	District of Columbia	61.6
2	Massachusetts	57.7
3	New York	57.6
4	Colorado	57.5
5	Rhode Island	57.5
6	Vermont	56.0
7	Oregon	55.8
8	Montana	55.8
9	Alaska	55.8
10	New Jersey	55.8

The nation’s capital ranks as the most tech-savvy state in the country, an encouraging result given how much modern legislation relates to technology and the internet. Massachusetts ranks first in the country when it comes to educational attainment, so it makes sense that the state’s thirst for knowledge would extend strongly enough to the world of technology for the state to finish second overall in terms of tech literacy. The same goes for Colorado, which ranks second in educational attainment and fourth in tech literacy.

The least tech-literate states

While residents in some states are spending time to stay up-to-date and tech-savvy, people in other states are struggling with more basic issues relating to technology.

Rank	State	Tech Literacy Score
1	West Virginia	43.5
2	Mississippi	44.1
3	Oklahoma	44.9
4	Louisiana	45.5
5	Kentucky	46.6
6	New Mexico	46.8
7	South Carolina	47.0
8	South Dakota	47.4
9	Alabama	47.6
10	Delaware	48.6

Based on combined search volume for search terms relating to both negative and positive tech knowledge, West Virginia is the least tech-literate state in the country, followed by Mississippi and Oklahoma. Access may be an important factor in these findings, as West Virginia has the worst internet access in the country, while Mississippi is third-worst.

In addition to those two, three more states ranked among the bottom 10 when it comes to tech literacy — Louisiana, New Mexico, and Alabama — are also among the 10 worst states in the country as it relates to internet access and infrastructure.

To illustrate the states where people are struggling most when it comes to basic tech knowledge, we wanted to spotlight the states where specific terms were searched for most often.

People around the country forget their digital passwords all the time, but people in Hawaii, Mississippi, and Delaware are the most clueless when it comes to knowing how to fix the problem, turning to Google for solutions more than any other states.

A lack of knowledge isn’t limited to the online world, as people in Utah, Hawaii, and Idaho are looking for help most often when it comes to physically interacting with technology, specifically when it comes to knowing how to “right-click” something using a mouse or mousepad.

Finally, we found that users in Mississippi, Oklahoma, and South Carolina are searching for “what is a search engine” at the highest rates of any state in the country. While the very term “search engine” contains context clues that could help solve the mystery, it is worth pointing out that these results are based on Google Trends search volume, which is a metric based on actual Google searches. That means users in these states are turning to a search engine in order to figure out what a search engine is, illustrating tech illiteracy as it relates to understanding terms and names for things, but still demonstrating a level of baseline knowledge, even if the specifics are a bit fuzzy.

Complete tech literacy rankings for all U.S. states

Check out the interactive map below or the full table to see how every U.S. state compares on our literacy score.

State	Tech Knowledge	Tech Ignorance	Overall Tech Literacy Score
Alabama	62.9	32.3	47.6
Alaska	68.3	43.3	55.8
Arizona	64.3	35.9	50.1
Arkansas	69.3	28.6	49.0
California	63.0	47.6	55.3
Colorado	66.3	48.7	57.5
Connecticut	63.1	48.1	55.6
Delaware	62.3	34.8	48.6
District of Columbia	69.9	53.4	61.6
Florida	60.2	39.4	49.8
Georgia	65.5	35.2	50.3
Hawaii	68.3	38.3	53.3
Idaho	70.1	33.3	51.7
Illinois	57.9	50.1	54.0
Indiana	61.5	37.5	49.5
Iowa	61.1	40.9	51.0
Kansas	64.9	41.3	53.1
Kentucky	56.7	36.5	46.6
Louisiana	64.6	26.5	45.5
Maine	58.5	50.4	54.5
Maryland	64.5	43.9	54.2
Massachusetts	62.3	53.1	57.7
Michigan	60.2	43.5	51.8
Minnesota	63.5	47.1	55.3
Mississippi	65.8	22.4	44.1
Missouri	61.3	42.1	51.7
Montana	68.8	42.8	55.8
Nebraska	60.3	41.5	50.9
Nevada	60.9	36.8	48.8
New Hampshire	62.1	47.3	54.7
New Jersey	60.9	50.7	55.8
New Mexico	58.2	35.3	46.8
New York	57.7	57.6	57.6
North Carolina	70.1	34.1	52.1
North Dakota	66.1	38.6	52.3
Ohio	54.7	47.8	51.2
Oklahoma	65.0	24.8	44.9
Oregon	60.6	51.1	55.8
Pennsylvania	57.2	48.1	52.7
Rhode Island	64.7	50.2	57.5
South Carolina	63.9	30.1	47.0
South Dakota	61.6	33.2	47.4
Tennessee	61.3	43.4	52.4
Texas	62.5	39.0	50.8
Utah	79.2	28.6	53.9
Vermont	66.4	45.5	56.0
Virginia	64.9	44.9	54.9
Washington	62.9	47.9	55.4
West Virginia	58.9	28.2	43.5
Wisconsin	53.9	45.3	49.6
Wyoming	62.8	41.3	52.1
National Average	62.9	41.4	52.1

Bottom line

No matter how tech-savvy you are, here are some tips to help you connect with confidence the next time you log onto the internet.

• Customize your online safety features. Manage your cookie preferences for greater privacy and control against malware.
• Reduce your risk while browsing. Compare these top-rated VPN services to better enhance your online safety.
• Keep a secure home Wi-Fi network. Safeguard your wireless connection by only sharing your Wi-Fi password with those who you can trust.

Methodology

All About Cookies collected search volume data on 15 terms related to tech struggles or illiteracy, and 15 terms related to tech curiosity and literacy. We found the average search volume in each state across both categories of search terms. Searches were conducted in June of 2025, with the time range for the collected data set to the last 12 months.

The average search volume for positive/tech-literate terms was assigned as each state’s “Tech Literacy” score, while the average search volume for negative/tech-illiterate terms was subtracted from 100 and assigned as each state’s “Tech Illiteracy” score. Those two scores were then averaged together to give each state an overall net tech literacy score.