States with the Most Cheaters 2025

Most people have found themselves cutting corners or finding loopholes to get an advantage, but where are Americans cheating the most? From diets and work-related tasks to partners and taxes, Americans are faced with a variety of things to regularly cheat on in their lives.

At Solitaire Bliss, we know people frequently search for ways to work around the system in the gaming world. In fact, we know some users have tried solitaire solvers on our games. So we wanted to learn what other things people are cheating on in 2025. To do this, we surveyed residents in each state and asked about their habits.

We then awarded points to answers that represented cheating behavior and calculated average scores by state, which were then adjusted on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 representing the most cheating. Read on to see which state is home to the most cheaters.

Key Takeaways

• New York, Arkansas, and Alabama are home to the most cheaters in 2025.
• Diet, schoolwork, and store checkouts are the most common areas Americans have cheated on.
• Partners, diets, and schoolwork are the most common things Americans have cheated on and then regretted it.
• 78% of Americans have cheated on a diet.
• 1 in 3 Americans who have cheated on something say they have no regrets.
• 79% of Americans say they cheat less than they used to.

Where People Have Cheated the Most and Least

Whether you cut a long line because you saw your friend was near the front or snacked on a candy bar when you were supposed to be counting calories, most of us are guilty of some form of cheating in our lives. When looking at a variety of examples, we found that New York residents are most guilty as the state ranks first for the most cheaters with a score of 98.04 out of 100.

Overall, we discovered that residents of the Empire State are the most likely to cut corners at work by cheating on work-related tasks. New York residents are also the most likely to cut someone in line. Second in our ranking is Arkansas with a cheater score of 97.54 out of 100. Residents of the state are the most likely to cheat while playing a single-player game. They are also the most likely to hack a business’s order or reward system for their benefit.

Coming in third for cheating is Alabama with a score of 95.69 out of 100. From social media to dating websites, nearly 1 in 2 Alabama residents say they have posted a photo or video where they altered their appearance to look more attractive.

When it comes to cheating at a store checkout, we found New Mexico, Colorado, and Oregon residents are the most guilty. Similarly, Kansas, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania residents are the most likely to report they have cheated on a diet.

When examining more serious topics of cheating, we discovered Oklahoma, Georgia, and Florida residents were the most likely to have cheated in a romantic relationship. Additionally, California, Kentucky, and Illinois residents are the most likely to admit they have cheated on their taxes.

On the other end of the spectrum, it’s North Carolina residents leading the charge for honesty, ranking first for the least cheaters. This is followed by Minnesota in second place and Maine in third.

What Americans Cheat on Most Often

While people cut corners on a wide variety of things, we wanted to gain insight into the areas Americans cheat on the most. Leading the way is one item many of us can relate to, cheating on a diet, which 78% of Americans admit to doing. Whether it’s cutting out sugar or reducing carbs, dieting can be a difficult task, so if you find yourself tempted to have a cheat day, remember you are not alone.

Next up, ranking second for the most common areas Americans cheat is schoolwork with 69% of Americans saying they have done it. This is followed by cheating at store checkouts, which 45% of people admit to doing. This category includes three different ways people cheat while shopping, including purposely not scanning an item at self-checkout (20%), swapping tags or lying about a price to get items cheaper (14%), and consuming food or a drink while shopping and not paying for it (11%).

Coming in fourth place with two-fifths of Americans reporting it is cutting in line. Following closely in fifth place is lying about ages, which includes those who have lied about their own age (26%), those who’ve lied about their child’s age (9%), and those who have lied about both ages (6%).

Cheating on single-player games ranks sixth with 41% reporting it, while nearly 2 in 5 Americans admit they have cheated on work-related tasks. Ranking eighth for the most common areas Americans cheat are romantic relationships as 7% admit to only cheating physically and 10% say it was only emotionally, while 20% say it was both physically and emotionally.

Americans’ Cheating Regrets

In the end, none of us are perfect. We all are guilty of mistakes from time to time, so we wanted to learn more about Americans' regrets regarding their past cheating behaviors. While we found most Americans were regretful for past choices, we also learned that 1 in 3 people have no regrets.

When it comes to areas people are most regretful, it was cheating on a partner that took first place as 1 in 4 admit they regret it. Cheating on a diet took second place with 1 in 5 Americans sharing their regrets. Following closely behind is cutting corners on schoolwork, which 17% say they regret doing.

While only 1% say they cheat more now than they used to, 14% admit they cheat about the same amount. On a more positive note, we discovered most Americans are looking to embrace more honesty as 79% say they cheat less now than they used to.

Honesty Is the Best Strategy—Even in Solitaire

Temptations happen whether it be diets, deadlines, or even board games. Playing Solitaire offers a clean break, however, with no opponents, no pressure, and no shortcuts needed. While the team at Solitaire Bliss can’t help with taxes or treadmills, we can offer wins that feel earned.

Step away from the stress of day-to-day life with a no-drama game of Spider Solitaire or FreeCell or Yukon. Because sometimes the best victory isn’t cutting corners, it’s clearing the board one honest move at a time.

Methodology

In this study, we set out to learn which states are home to the most cheaters. To do this, we surveyed Americans in each state to learn about their cheating habits across a wide variety of topics from gaming and diets to partners and taxes. We then awarded points to responses that represented cheating behaviors and calculated the average score by state. Finally, we adjusted those cheater scores on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 representing the most cheating.

States not included due to lack of responses: Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.