Surviving the undead: Arizona one of top states for zombie-attack survival

WASHINGTON — Arizona has been known to lure new residents with its favorable climate and low taxes, but three new studies may give the state a fresh appeal: zombie apocalypse survivability.

Travel site Hopper and real estate search firm Estately recently ranked Arizona as the eighth-best state to be when the undead rise, while online real estate firm Trulia took the other tack, ranking the state as less zombie-friendly than others.

In both scenarios, Arizona came out as good for those with a heartbeat.

The rankings, which were based on such things as good-for-zombies obesity ratings, traffic tie-ups, good-for-humans gun ownership and hardware stores, are the latest in the offbeat “best of” lists that pop up regularly from companies seeking a little buzz.

“It’s a fun way to entertain people and get some brand recognition,” said Estately’s Ryan Nickum, who said the zombie listing got a “pretty substantial” reaction on Facebook.

It’s not the first time such lists have been used to attract attention. Estately, for example, has published lists of the states with the most immature men and each state’s most popular cocktail.

Trulia got in to the spirit of the Halloween season with a survey on prospective homebuyers’ feelings on haunted houses, but it has also revealed lists of cities where homeownership is rising the fastest. Hopper, a travel site, has listed the best U.S. places to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and the best cities to eat ribs (the non-human variety).

“We do a lot of these sort of best cities, best states for all kinds of different variables,” said Nickum, the lead blogger for Estately who wrote its zombie report.

The reports are typically based on data from government or research organizations that is creatively applied.