Thank God for Mississippi

"Thank God for Mississippi" is an adage used in the United States, particularly in the South, that is generally used when discussing rankings of U.S. states.^[1] Examples include rankings of educational achievement, business opportunities,^[2] obesity rates,^[3] overall health,^[4] the poverty rate,^[5] life expectancy, or other criteria of the quality of life or government in the 50 U.S. states.^[6][7][8]

Since the U.S. state of Mississippi commonly ranks at or near the bottom of such rankings, residents of other states also ranking near the bottom may say, "Thank God for Mississippi", since the presence of that state in 50th place spares them of being ranked last.^[9] The phrase is in use even among state government officials^[10][11] and journalists,^{[12][13][14][15]} though occasionally with a slight modification.^[16][17][18]

Mississippi's poor reputation is such a common trope in American culture that when Mississippi does rank well in something, the phrase "Thank God for Mississippi" may get brought up just to discuss how it does not apply in the given circumstance.^[19][20][21] The saying comes from Mississippi's poor ranking as compared to the other 49 U.S. states, not from a global perspective.^[22][23]