Utah trail hikersDoug Pensinger/Getty Images

There are a few states that are not very nice to their unemployed.

Reasons including high unemployment rates, wealth disparities, and low unemployment benefits are among the factors cited for warranting these states their dismal distinction.

But what are the eight best states for the unemployed? Using the same three criteria  — income replacement, or average unemployment benefits (as of 4Q 2012) as a percentage of average state income per capita; unemployment rate (as of March 2013); and wealth disparity, the ratio of households with incomes of at least $200,000 to those with incomes of less than $10,000 (as of 2011 Census ACS) — each state’s rank was averaged.

See if you recognize any geographic pattern among these eight best states.
