The United States of sperm

In biology class, we’re taught that sperm is an endlessly renewable natural resource, relentlessly produced in the millions, providing redundancy upon redundancy. After puberty, it’s just there, ready when you need it, no worries.

In reality, scientists are worried. Worldwide, the average sperm count has dropped 50% in the last 50 years. Sperm health can no longer be taken for granted. The body’s original auto-renew subscription can be affected by almost every variable of everyday life, from diet and exercise to chemical exposure.

And that can be affected by where you live. Let’s dive into Legacy’s data to see how sperm health might vary across state lines.

How we ranked the states

Our team analyzed data from over 22,000 semen samples tested by Legacy’s labs, the largest dataset of its kind.

Legacy’s clinic-grade sperm testing evaluates all industry-standard metrics of sperm health.

Our team ranked each state by sperm concentration, the number of sperm per milliliter of semen. Normal sperm concentration ranges from 15 million to more than 200 million sperm per milliliter. A low sperm count is defined as fewer than 15 million sperm per milliliter.

For this ranking, we’ve included fertile and infertile men and trans women from the 48 contiguous states and Washington, DC — all areas served by Legacy’s mail-in semen analysis kits. We excluded men who’d had a vasectomy, as their sperm concentration was likely to be zero (or close to zero).

Best and worst sperm concentration

The best and worst sperm in the US, by state

#49: Worst sperm in the United States: Mississippi

Average sperm concentration: 25.7 million/mL

Mike Beaumont/Unsplash

#48: South Carolina

Average sperm concentration: 28.9 million/mL

Leo Heisenberg/Unsplash

#47: Oklahoma

Average sperm concentration: 29.1 million/mL

Zbynek Burival/Unsplash

#46: North Dakota

Average sperm concentration: 30.2 million/mL

Jason Rojas/Unsplash

#45: Delaware

Average sperm concentration: 30.7 million/mL

Gary Cole/Unsplash

#44: West Virginia

Average sperm concentration: 30.98 million/mL

Sharosh Rajasekher/Unsplash

#43: Tennessee

Average sperm concentration: 31 million/mL

Nathan Kosmak/Unsplash

#42: Utah

Average sperm concentration: 32.3 million/mL

Andrey Grinkevich/Unsplash

#41: Alabama

Average sperm concentration: 32.9 million/mL

Nathan Anderson/Unsplash

#40: Kentucky

Average sperm concentration: 33.5 million/mL

Amy Reed/Unsplash

#39: Connecticut

Average sperm concentration: 34.3 million/mL

Rusty Watson/Unsplash

#38: Wisconsin

Average sperm concentration: 34.5 million/mL

Caroline Gunderson/Unsplash

#37: Arizona

Average sperm concentration: 34.7 million/mL

Kaileen Fitzpatrick/Unsplash

#36: Kansas

Average sperm concentration: 35.13 million/mL

Laura Gilchrist/Unsplash

#35: Florida

Average sperm concentration: 35.15 million/mL

Denys Kostyuchenko/Unsplash

#34: Indiana

Average sperm concentration: 35.2 million/mL

Steven Van Elk/Unsplash

#33: Maine

Average sperm concentration: 35.81 million/mL

Mercedes Mehling/Unsplash

#32: Arkansas

Average sperm concentration: 35.82 million/mL

Oliver Graham/Unsplash

#31: Rhode Island

Average sperm concentration: 35.95 million/mL

Michael Denning/Unsplash

#30: Texas

Average sperm concentration: 36 million/mL

Courtney Rose/Unsplash

#29: Louisiana

Average sperm concentration: 36.2 million/mL

Kristina Volgenau/Unsplash

#28: Michigan

Average sperm concentration: 36.46 million/mL

Dan Gomer/Unsplash

#27: New Mexico

Average sperm concentration: 36.5 million/mL

Chase McBride/Unsplash

#26: Nevada

Average sperm concentration: 36.65 million/mL

Grant Cai/Unsplash

#25: Nebraska

Average sperm concentration: 36.66 million/mL

Balazs Busznyak/Unsplash

#24: Colorado

Average sperm concentration: 36.8 million/mL

Sam Dellaporta/Unsplash

#23: Missouri

Average sperm concentration: 37 million/mL

Brittney Butler/Unsplash

#22: Virginia

Average sperm concentration: 37.2 million/mL

Stephen Poore/Unsplash

#21: Massachusetts

Average sperm concentration: 37.6 million/mL

Leo Heisenberg/Unsplash

#20: New Hampshire

Average sperm concentration: 38 million/mL

Rafael Rodrigues/Unsplash

#19: California

Average sperm concentration: 38.3 million/mL

Joonyeop Baek/Unsplash

#18: Georgia

Average sperm concentration: 38.7 million/mL

Ian Baldwin/Unsplash

#17: New York

Average sperm concentration: 39.1 million/mL

Thomas Habr/Unsplash

#16: Ohio

Average sperm concentration: 39.4 million/mL

Jake Blucker/Unsplash

#15: Oregon

Average sperm concentration: 39.6 million/mL

Cedric Letsch/Unsplash

#14: North Carolina

Average sperm concentration: 39.7 million/mL

Daniel Weiss/Unsplash

#13: New Jersey

Average sperm concentration: 39.9 million/mL

Kealan Burke/Unsplash

#12: Washington

Average sperm concentration: 40.17 million/mL

Stephen Plopper/Unsplash

#11: South Dakota

Average sperm concentration: 40.18 million/mL

Sophia Simoes/Unsplash

#10: Pennsylvania

Average sperm concentration: 40.22 million/mL

Yuhan Du/Unsplash

#9: Illinois

Average sperm concentration: 41 million/mL

Nikhil Mistry/Unsplash

#8: Maryland

Average sperm concentration: 41 million/mL

Kat Keeling/Unsplash

#7: Vermont

Average sperm concentration: 45.2 million/mL

Peter James Eisenhaure/Unsplash

#6: Minnesota

Average sperm concentration: 45.4 million/mL

Lee Vue/Unsplash

#5: Washington, DC

Average sperm concentration: 49.1 million/mL

Andy Feliciotti/Unsplash

#4: Iowa

Average sperm concentration: 51.3 million/mL

Joel Drzycimski/Unsplash

#3: Montana

Average sperm concentration: 54.4 million/mL

John Kakuk/Unsplash

#2: Idaho

Average sperm concentration: 55.6 million/mL

Abigail Loney/Unsplash

#1 best sperm in the United States: Wyoming

Average sperm concentration: 56.8 million/mL

Karsten Winegeart/Unsplash

Why did the states rank this way?

Although we can’t reach definitive conclusions from this analysis, decades of scientific research suggest that a person’s environment and lifestyle can affect their sperm health. 

In fact, scientists believe the worldwide decline in sperm count has been primarily caused by widespread exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. These toxic agents — present in thousands of common household items including soap, shampoo, detergents, packaging, home furnishings, and clothing — mimic hormones and seem to inhibit testosterone and sperm production. 

Other environmental factors linked to sperm health include:

• Increasing temperatures due to climate change, which lower sperm production
• Air quality, which is increasingly affected by pollution and wildfires
• Time spent in or near nature

Studies have also found that sperm health tracks with many factors that influence overall health — including diet, activity level, body composition, stress level, sleep quality, access to healthcare, and alcohol or drug use.

Considering these factors, it makes sense that several of the country’s hottest states are in the bottom 5 for sperm production, while cooler states rank higher. Additionally, states with lower scores in other health metrics (such as air quality or access to healthcare) also rank low for sperm health.

For more information on how the environment affects sperm quality — and how you can clean up your surroundings to protect your sperm — download our exclusive guide and check out our recent webinar:

And to see how you rank in comparison to your state, test your sperm.