North Carolinians are probably thrilled that their state ranks in the Top 10 in terms of college basketball success over the years (third to be exact), however, they’ll no doubt be somewhat less pleased to learn that a new study by experts also puts North Carolina in the Top 10 category when it comes to having the greatest chance of mold in homes.

The study by FDP Mold Remediation, a national mold remediation service, examined mold and the conditions that cause it across the 48 contiguous states – and found that North Carolina ranked 9th in this category that no one wants to finish high up in.

Florida, it found, is the state where houses and other structures are at the greatest risk of having mold – largely because that very humid state has an average yearly high temperature of 73°.

According to FDP, studies have shown that, in America, nearly 50 percent of homes have shown signs of some form of mold.

The new study conducted by FDP Mold Remediation looked at the risk from mold based on several key metrics that lead to higher chances of mold growing in and outside of homes and other structures. These include average rainfall, average temperature, average humidity and the average age of houses in each state.

These were each given a score to provide a ‘mold index’ on which the states were evaluated.

Coming in after Number 1 Florida, in order of the moldiest states, are:

(2) Mississippi

(3) Louisiana

(4) Alabama

(5) Tennessee

(6) Arkansas

(7) Georgia

(8) South Carolina

(9) North Carolina

(10) West Virginia

The study found that most states in the northeast only have a “moderate” risk of mold, while the states with the lowest risk are Utah, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota  and, the winner is….

Drum roll please….

South Dakota.

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