State websites: readability rankings
Project ScanGov readability rankings for U.S. state government websites, with the most common failures.
C 74
Average readability score of 43 fully scanned state sites
43 of 51
State sites fully scanned. We couldn't fully scan 8, so they're listed without grades
65%
Fully scanned state sites earning an A for readability (28 sites)
23%
Fully scanned state sites earning a D or F for readability (10 sites)
How U.S. state readability scores are distributed
Smoothed distribution of the 43 fully scanned U.S. state sites, score 0 to 100. Height shows how many sites score near each value.
Distribution of 38 scores. The data table lists counts by score range.
- Average
View the data table
| Score range | Sites |
|---|---|
| 0 to 9 | 10 |
| 10 to 19 | 0 |
| 20 to 29 | 0 |
| 30 to 39 | 0 |
| 40 to 49 | 0 |
| 50 to 59 | 0 |
| 60 to 69 | 0 |
| 70 to 79 | 0 |
| 80 to 89 | 0 |
| 90 to 100 | 28 |
Readability grade by state
Each state is colored by its main site's readability grade. Select a state for its report.
Legend: A B-C D-F Not fully scanned / no data
U.S. state sites by readability grade
Share of the 43 fully scanned U.S. state sites in each grade band
- A (90 to 100)
- B to C (70 to 89)
- D to F (below 70)
View the data table
| Group | A (90 to 100) | B to C (70 to 89) | D to F (below 70) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All U.S. state sites | 65% (28) | 0% (0) | 23% (10) |
What each check means
- Reading level. Page text reads at or below a 7th grade level so most users can understand it. Users struggle to understand your content.
All state sites by readability score
| Rank | Site | Checks passed | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
maryland.gov
State of Maryland |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
georgia.gov
State of Georgia |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
iowa.gov
State of Iowa |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
oregon.gov
State of Oregon |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
nc.gov
State of North Carolina |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
texas.gov
State of Texas |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
hawaii.gov
State of Hawaii |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
kansas.gov
State of Kansas |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
dc.gov
District of Columbia |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
utah.gov
State of Utah |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
nj.gov
State of New Jersey |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
in.gov
State of Indiana |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
ca.gov
State of California |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
wyo.gov
State of Wyoming |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
oklahoma.gov
State of Oklahoma |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
idaho.gov
State of Idaho |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
vermont.gov
State of Vermont |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
pa.gov
State of Pennsylvania |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
virginia.gov
State of Virginia |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
wv.gov
State of West Virginia |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
illinois.gov
State of Illinois |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
de.gov
State of Delaware |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
mississippi.gov
State of Mississippi |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
maine.gov
State of Maine |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
alaska.gov
State of Alaska |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
mn.gov
State of Minnesota |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
wisconsin.gov
State of Wisconsin |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 1 |
nebraska.gov
State of Nebraska |
1 of 1 checks pass | A |
| 2 |
kentucky.gov
State of Kentucky |
0 of 1 checks pass | F |
| 2 |
nm.gov
State of New Mexico |
0 of 1 checks pass | F |
| 2 |
ny.gov
State of New York |
0 of 1 checks pass | F |
| 2 |
nd.gov
State of North Dakota |
0 of 1 checks pass | F |
| 2 |
myflorida.gov
State of Florida |
0 of 1 checks pass | F |
| 2 |
ct.gov
State of Connecticut |
0 of 1 checks pass | F |
| 2 |
louisiana.gov
State of Louisiana |
0 of 1 checks pass | F |
| 2 |
tn.gov
State of Tennessee |
0 of 1 checks pass | F |
| 2 |
mo.gov
State of Missouri |
0 of 1 checks pass | F |
| 2 |
mt.gov
State of Montana |
0 of 1 checks pass | F |
About readability
Write content at a reading level most users can understand.
Why it's important
Plain language helps people understand services and procedures the first time, reducing calls, errors and office visits.
Risks
- Users cannot understand your content.
Guidance
What we use to grade readability:
- 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA)
- Automated Readability Index (ARI)
- Flesch-Kincaid (FK)
- U.S. Federal Website Standards
- Plain Writing Act of 2010
Standards
Grades/scores
ScanGov
About this data
ScanGov scans the homepage of the main website of each U.S. state government and the District of Columbia. Scores come from the checks listed on standards.scangov.org. Sites were scanned between 7/27/2026 and 10/2/2026; each site's report shows its own scan date. A site counts as fully scanned when its homepage returned successfully and sent the scanner its page content. Averages, grade shares, failure rates, and ranks use fully scanned sites only. We weren't able to fully scan 8 sites because they did not respond, blocked the scanner, or returned no page content. They appear in the table without grades, each with its scan status, and are left out of every figure. Grades follow the ScanGov grade scale, and rank follows the ScanGov ranking method. The full dataset, including every county's raw results, is published in the ScanGov data repository.