Residents of the Tri-State Area see themselves as a tough, self-sufficient, independent bunch. At least that’s the narrative generations have used to fuel a “pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps” approach to many things. But the reality might be something different, as one study suggests our region ranks near the bottom when it comes to independence.

WalletHub’s 2023’s Most and Least Independent States puts Pennsylvania at 30th overall, Ohio at 36th and West Virginia at 46th.

Ohio is 30th in financial dependency, 17th for government dependency, 32nd for job market dependency, 34th for international trade dependency and 44th in vice dependency, which accounts for drinking and other substance abuse.

West Virginia came in at 46th for financial dependency, 49th for government dependency, 45th for job market dependency, 19th for international-trade dependency and 40th for vice dependency.

Pennsylvania, meanwhile, was 18th for financial dependency, 34th for government dependency, 43rd for job market dependency, 22nd for international trade dependency and ninth in vice dependency.

The Mountain State came in last for the percentage of households with a rainy day or emergency fund and for median household income (adjusted for cost of living), 49th for federal dependency and 46th for the percentage of households receiving public assistance and SNAP/food stamps.

Those numbers aren’t a good fit with the narrative.

“Now, with sky-high inflation affecting people across the country, many Americans are struggling to maintain financial independence,” WalletHub reports. “Some have become at least temporarily more dependent on support from the federal government. Other people have become more dependent on personal vices, such as drinking and drugs, due to stress and depression.”

There is so much talk about, as WalletHub’s financial writer put it, “our strong ability to rely upon ourselves as individuals,” that we forget to look around and notice it’s just not true.

It could be, though. What do Utah, Colorado, Florida, Washington and Virginia — the top five most independent states — have that we don’t have? It’s something to consider — and it should start with each of us — we shouldn’t have to wait for elected officials who believe they know the answer to that question to work doing something about it.

It is not just for those in Columbus, Charleston or Harrisburg to work toward expanding and diversifying our economy in a way that erases much of what such studies call “dependence.” It is up to the rest of us to want and to embrace that change. It is up to the rest of us to live up to all our talk.