Florida is one of the US States most likely to survive an 'alien invasion’ — find out how other states rank

"[If] an alien lands on your front lawn and extends an appendage as a gesture of greeting, before you get friendly, toss it an eightball. If the appendage explodes, then the alien was probably made of antimatter. If not, then you can proceed to take it to your leader," Neil DeGrasse Tyson once remarked in "Death by Black Hole." And by November 2024, the Pentagon had received reports on 1,650 UFO sightings. Soon after, GigaCalculator — an online mathematical platform — calculated the survivability of each US state in the event of an alien invasion. Ranging from 0 to 10, each state is assigned a corresponding score.

The research took into account some key factors like the existing number of military bases and personnel in the area, the range of scientists and engineers present, the state’s access to crucial natural resources (forest, water, clean air, etc.), how many caves there are, the no. of food/beverage manufacturing plants, and the density of healthcare professionals and tallied it with the number of UFO sightings in that area.

It turns out that Virginia won the debate by a significant margin (8.06 out of 10), with Florida claiming 8,823 UFO sighting reports since 1944 (according to the National UFO Reporting Center, or NUFORC). The latter got 7.55 out of 10. With the Eglin Air Force Base, NASA’s operations in Cape Canaveral, and plentiful UFO sightings, Florida seems to have the power it needs to survive an alien species. It also boasts wetlands, swamps, and coastal routes for survival and access.

In fact, on March 22nd, 2025, Floridians spotted a strange object floating a few hundred feet above Green Cove Springs. While many such incidents have been dismissed by calling them drones or spycraft, none of these conclusions has any empirical backing.

Such claims are not new to Florida, as the USA has been a hub of extraterrestrial activities, even in recent history. With time, Congress is taking these sightings and events more seriously, which led the U.S. Department of Defense to establish its All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) in July 2022. Since then, it has reportedly deployed a "Gremlin" system — a multisensor system with a wide network for tracking and characterizing UAPs. 

In an interview with SCI-AM, Jon Kosloski, the current director of AARO, stated, "Gremlin is envisioned to be a test bed for sensor evaluations and sensor fusion. We expect it to be a 'living' system, always evolving." Among other top-scoring states in terms of survivability are Alabama, Massachusetts, New York, and Minnesota. They commonly share robust military structures, a high education rate, and easy escape routes.

Despite housing Area 51 — notorious for its secrecy around extraterrestrial operations — Nevada ranks lowest in survivability (5.27 out of 10). This may be due to their lack of natural escape routes and a higher number of UFO sightings. It can be seen that states situated in the southeast and northeast are better equipped to handle this sort of disaster. If you’d like to report a sighting, describe the unusual light, object, or shape in the sky to the National UFO Reporting Center on its website or by calling its phone hotline at 206-722-3000.