Every state has its pros and cons — but which one came out on top?
US News & World Report released its annual list of the best states to live in, evaluating each in eight categories: education, healthcare, the economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, the natural environment, and crime and corrections. The categories are weighted differently based on a survey of 25,000 Americans that asked what they care most about.
US News & World Report senior data editor Evan Comen told Business Insider that since the categories aren’t evenly weighted, a state excelling in one category doesn’t guarantee a high overall ranking — and in some instances, success in one category could lead to the collapse of another.
Texas, for example, finished outside the top 25 despite ranking first in economy.
“The way we’ve structured our index, it does reflect some of these trade-offs among categories,” Comen said. “Texas is No. 1 in the economy — a lot of that economy is tied to oil and gas manufacturing. But then, Texas is No. 46 in natural environment. And our natural environment category is composed of metrics related to air and water quality and pollution.”
Though Southern states have typically performed well on lists that rank the best places to live, Florida and North Carolina were the only Sun Belt states to finish in the top 25. According to Comen, it’s not that Southern states are getting worse; rather, other states are improving.
“A decline in rankings doesn’t necessarily mean a state is performing poorly in any metric, but rather that they are being outpaced by other states,” he said. “Some states in the South might have experienced ranking decline, but it’s more because they’re being outperformed by other states, particularly the Midwest.”
One state that kept its ranking from the previous year was Utah, which finished first for the fourth consecutive year. While Utah finished 48th in the natural environment category, it had one of the most balanced rankings across categories, including the second-best economy.
Keep reading to see what each state is best at and what it needs to improve on, according to US News & World Report.
The population data comes from the US census.
50. Louisiana
Population: 4,618,189
Best ranking: Fiscal stability (43)
Worst ranking: Crime and corrections (50)
49. Alaska
Population: 737,270
Best ranking: Opportunity (30)
Worst ranking: Economy (49)
48. Mississippi
Population: 2,954,160
Best ranking: Crime and corrections (23)
Worst ranking: Healthcare (50)
47. New Mexico
Population: 2,125,498
Best ranking: Fiscal stability (12)
Worst ranking: Education (50)
46. Michigan
Population: 10,127,884
Best ranking: Healthcare (24)
Worst ranking: Education (45)
45. Arkansas
Population: 3,114,791
Best ranking: Economy (23)
Worst ranking: Crime and corrections (49)
44. West Virginia
Population: 1,766,147
Best ranking: Opportunity (4)
Worst ranking: Healthcare and economy (50 in both categories)
43. Alabama
Population: 5,193,088
Best ranking: Opportunity (19)
Worst ranking: Education and healthcare (44 in both categories)
42. Ohio
Population: 11,900,510
Best ranking: Opportunity (18)
Worst ranking: Natural environment (43)
41. Kentucky
Population: 4,606,864
Best ranking: Crime and corrections (10)
Worst ranking: Healthcare (46)
40. Pennsylvania
Population: 13,059,432
Best ranking: Healthcare (11 )
Worst ranking: Economy (47)
39. Oregon
Population: 4,273,586
Best ranking: Infrastructure (2)
Worst ranking: Economy (48)
38. Nevada
Population: 3,282,188
Best ranking: Infrastructure (1)
Worst ranking: Natural environment (47)
37. Illinois
Population: 12,719,141
Best ranking: Education (13)
Worst ranking: Fiscal stability (50)
36. Oklahoma
Population: 4,123,288
Best ranking Economy (11)
Worst ranking: Education (47)
35. California
Population: 39,355,309
Best ranking: Healthcare (7)
Worst ranking: Opportunity (50)
34. Arizona
Population: 7,623,818
Best ranking: Economy (4)
Worst ranking: Education (43)
33. Rhode Island
Population: 1,114,521
Best ranking Healthcare (4)
Worst ranking: Infrastructure (47)
32. South Carolina
Population: 5,570,274
Best ranking: Economy (6)
Worst ranking: Education and crime and corrections(42 in both categories)
31. Missouri
Population: 6,270,541
Best ranking: Opportunity (8)
Worst ranking: Crime and corrections (44)
30. Indiana
Population: 6,973,333
Best ranking: Opportunity (17)
Worst ranking: Natural environment (50)
29. Montana
Population: 1,144,694
Best ranking: Opportunity (15)
Worst ranking: Healthcare (41)
28. Hawaii
Population: 1,432,820
Best ranking: Healthcare (1)
Worst ranking: Economy (46)
27. Maine
Population: 1,414, 874
Best ranking: Crime and corrections (2)
Worst ranking: Infrastructure (41)
26. Texas
Population: 31,709,821
Best ranking: Economy (1)
Worst ranking: Opportunity (48)
25. Tennessee
Population: 7,315,076
Best ranking: Fiscal stability (5)
Worst ranking: Crime and corrections (40)
24. Kansas
Population: 2,977,220
Best ranking: Infrastructure (5)
Worst ranking: Natural environment (39)
23. New York
Population: 20,002,427
Best ranking: Natural environment (6)
Worst ranking: Opportunity (49)
22. Georgia
Population: 11,302,748
Best ranking: Fiscal stability (10)
Worst ranking: Healthcare (35)
21. Maryland
Population: 6,265,347
Best ranking: Healthcare, natural environment (5)
Worst ranking: Economy (37)
20. New Jersey
Population: 9,548,215
Best ranking: Education (2)
Worst ranking: Fiscal stability (49)
19. Virginia
Population: 8,880,107
Best ranking: Crime and corrections (13)
Worst ranking: Infrastructure (39)
18. Connecticut
Population: 3,688,496
Best ranking: Healthcare (3)
Worst ranking: Fiscal stability (47)
17. Colorado
Population: 6,012,561
Best ranking: Education (1)
Worst ranking: Crime and corrections (47)
16. Wyoming
Population: 588,753
Best ranking: Fiscal stability (1)
Worst ranking: Healthcare (38)
15. Wisconsin
Population: 5,972,787
Best ranking: Education (5)
Worst ranking: Infrastructure (37)
14. Delaware
Population: 1,059,952
Best ranking: Fiscal stability (4)
Worst ranking: Education (37)
13. North Carolina
Population: 11,197,968
Best ranking: Education (10)
Worst ranking: Infrastructure, natural environment (26)
12. Iowa
Population: 3,238,387
Best ranking: Opportunity (2)
Worst ranking: Economy (39)
11. Massachusetts
Population: 7,154,084
Best ranking: Healthcare (2)
Worst ranking: Opportunity (41)
10. Vermont
Population: 644,663
Best ranking: Opportunity (1)
Worst ranking: Fiscal stability (41)
9. Washington
Population: 8,001,020
Best ranking: Natural environment (7)
Worst ranking: Opportunity (34)
8. Florida
Population: 23,462,518
Best ranking: Education (3)
Worst ranking: Opportunity (47)
7. Idaho
Population: 2,029,733
Best ranking: Economy (3)
Worst ranking: Education (30)
6. New Hampshire
Population: 1,415,342
Best ranking: Crime and corrections (1)
Worst ranking: Fiscal stability (36)
5. Nebraska
Population: 2,018,006
Best ranking: Infrastructure (3)
Worst ranking: Healthcare (34)
4. North Dakota
Population: 799,358
Best ranking: Fiscal stability (3)
Worst ranking: Healthcare (29)
3. Minnesota
Population: 5,830,405
Best ranking: Infrastructure (9)
Worst ranking: Economy (24)
2. South Dakota
Population: 935,094
Best ranking: Natural environment (2)
Worst ranking: Crime and corrections (41)
1. Utah
Population: 3,538,904
Best ranking: Economy, fiscal stability (2 in both categories)
Worst ranking: Natural environment (48)
