Which U.S. is the most corrupt?  According to a survey conducted by the Center for Public Integrity, Public Radio International and Global Integrity - the answer is Georgia.  New Jersey wins the title of most transparent state government though no state was able to earn an overall A.

The Los Angeles Times reports five states received a grade of B (New Jersey earned a B-plus with a score of 87 out of 100).  Those states are: Connecticut (86), Washington (83), California (81) and Nebraska (80).

A spokesperson for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told the Associated Press “government operates and behaves better when it’s open and transparent, and taxpayers feel informed and a part of the process when thy can see how their money is spent, who is getting contracts and who’s on the payroll and such.”

New Jersey was rocked by multiple corruption scandals prior to Christie’s election and the state now has some of the strictest anti-corruption laws. 

States receiving failing grades (those earning 59 points or less) are North Dakota, Michigan, South Carolina, Maine, Virginia, Wyoming, South Dakota and Georgia.

Data for the study was collected by reporters in each of the 50 states by researching corruption indicators, including access to information, lobbying disclosure and ethics enforcement.  Full results of the study can be found here.