Despite attempts by school districts to clamp down on bullying on school grounds, the issue remains a nationwide problem. About one in five American students say they have been bullied at school.
To compile a list of the states with the most students being bullies either on school property or online, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which includes local school-based surveys of representative samples of 9th through 12th grade students. Students answered questions about whether they were bullied on school property (ever during the 12 months before the survey) or whether they were bullies electronically (counting being bullied through texting, Instagram, Facebook, or other social media, ever during the 12 months before the survey). Data for the District of Columbia and nine states — Delaware, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming, is not available.
Children are bullied for a variety of reasons, such as child obesity, poverty, a physical feature, and mental stress. According to StopBullying.gov, a website on bullying prevention managed by the Department of Health and Human Services, bullying can have a profound impact on a child’s development. Depression, anxiety, physical ailments, and poor academic performance often occur with the tormented youngster.
Social media has added a horrific dimension to bullying among young people, who in the past only had to deal with bullying in person. With cyberbullying, a child can feel like there is no escape from the abuse.
The terror of bullying in the Internet age was cast in stark relief last year when a 14-year-old New Jersey high school girl was attacked by a pack of girls in a school hallway, an incident recorded on cell phones. The victim killed herself after footage of the assault was posted on social media. (FYI, in New Jersey 16.4% of students are bullied on school property, sixth-lowest on our list.)
Some states have written anti-bullying laws to address the problem. Most of these require that schools investigate when bullying is reported and respond accordingly.
To protect their children, some parents take their child out of the school and move, if the school fails to get to the root of the problem as to why a bully is behaving badly.
Alaska is a rough state for children who get bullied. Besides the fact that more than 25% of students are bullied on school property, the highest in the nation, it is second in students bullied anywhere online. New Hampshire, Iowa, and West Virginia are other states that rank among the highest states for kids bullied at school and online. (Here are 20 warning signs your child may be getting bullied at school.)
Here are states where students are bullied on school property.
Texas
- Students bullied on school property: 14.3% — the lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 12.2% — 4th lowest
Georgia
- Students bullied on school property: 14.5% — 2nd lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 10.6% — the lowest
Nevada
- Students bullied on school property: 14.6% — 3rd lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 11.9% — 3rd lowest
Florida
- Students bullied on school property: 14.9% — 4th lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 11.3% — 2nd lowest
Colorado
- Students bullied on school property: 15.4% — 5th lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 12.2% — 5th lowest
New Jersey
- Students bullied on school property: 16.4% — 6th lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 13.8% — 12th lowest
Rhode Island
- Students bullied on school property: 16.4% — 7th lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 13.0% — 6th lowest
Maryland
- Students bullied on school property: 16.7% — 8th lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 13.5% — 10th lowest
Hawaii
- Students bullied on school property: 17.0% — 9th lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 13.1% — 7th lowest
New Mexico
- Students bullied on school property: 17.4% — 10th lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 13.3% — 8th lowest
Virginia
- Students bullied on school property: 17.4% — 11th lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 13.9% — 13th lowest
Connecticut
- Students bullied on school property: 17.8% — 12th lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 14.3% — 15th lowest
Arizona
- Students bullied on school property: 18.2% — 13th lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 13.4% — 9th lowest
Utah
- Students bullied on school property: 18.4% — 14th lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 15.8% — 19th highest
Mississippi
- Students bullied on school property: 18.5% — 15th lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 13.6% — 11th lowest
North Carolina
- Students bullied on school property: 18.9% — 16th lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 14.8% — 19th lowest
Pennsylvania
- Students bullied on school property: 19.1% — 17th lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 14.3% — 14th lowest
Louisiana
- Students bullied on school property: 19.3% — 18th lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 15.0% — 22nd highest
Oklahoma
- Students bullied on school property: 19.4% — 19th lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 14.5% — 16th lowest
Illinois
- Students bullied on school property: 19.9% — 21st lowest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 16.0% — 17th highest
North Dakota
- Students bullied on school property: 19.9% — 21st highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 14.7% — 17th lowest
Alabama
- Students bullied on school property: 20.9% — 20th highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 16.1% — 16th highest
Missouri
- Students bullied on school property: 21.0% — 19th highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 18.1% — 6th highest
New York
- Students bullied on school property: 21.0% — 18th highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 17.3% — 12th highest
Kansas
- Students bullied on school property: 21.1% — 17th highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 17.2% — 13th highest
Idaho
- Students bullied on school property: 21.2% — 16th highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 16.7% — 14th highest
South Dakota
- Students bullied on school property: 21.2% — 15th highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 16.1% — 15th highest
Nebraska
- Students bullied on school property: 21.3% — 14th highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 15.7% — 21st highest
Michigan
- Students bullied on school property: 21.4% — 13th highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 18.1% — 5th highest
Tennessee
- Students bullied on school property: 21.5% — 12th highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 14.9% — 21st lowest
Montana
- Students bullied on school property: 22.0% — 11th highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 17.9% — 9th highest
Wisconsin
- Students bullied on school property: 22.3% — 10th highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 17.4% — 10th highest
Maine
- Students bullied on school property: 22.4% — 9th highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 18.0% — 7th highest
Arkansas
- Students bullied on school property: 22.6% — 8th highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 17.4% — 11th highest
West Virginia
- Students bullied on school property: 22.7% — 7th highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 18.4% — 4th highest
New Hampshire
- Students bullied on school property: 23.0% — 6th highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 20.1% — highest
Iowa
- Students bullied on school property: 23.0% — 5th highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 18.6% — 3rd highest
South Carolina
- Students bullied on school property: 23.3% — 4th highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 14.9% — 20th lowest
California
- Students bullied on school property: 23.5% — 3rd highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 14.7% — 18th lowest
Kentucky
- Students bullied on school property: 23.8% — 2nd highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 18.0% — 8th highest
Alaska
- Students bullied on school property: 25.5% — the highest
- Students bullied anywhere online: 19.4% — 2nd highest