Can data reveal which cities are the most honest?
After losing his own wallet, Mark Rober launched a large-scale experiment to quantify integrity. By dropping 200 wallets across 10 different cities, he tracked how many were returned to rank urban honesty and identify the profile of a trustworthy person.
The experiment involved a controlled study of 200 wallets distributed throughout 10 cities. The goal was to move beyond anecdote and use data to determine which locations had the highest and lowest return rates. To understand the mechanics of honesty, the study analyzed several demographic variables, including gender, age, and income levels.
Beyond simple location, the project explored whether religious affiliation or the size of a town—comparing small towns to big cities—influenced the likelihood of a wallet being returned. The resulting data provides a ranked look at the most and least honest cities, alongside a profile of the characteristics associated with honest individuals.
Source: 200 dropped wallets- the 20 MOST and LEAST HONEST cities
