A new analysis ranking US states based on livability has put Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New Hampshire at the top of its list.
Found in WalletHub’s ‘2023’s Best States to Live in,’ the rankings took into account factors such as affordability, education, and economies, as well as more difficult measurers like citizens’ health and quality of life.
New York and Wyoming managed to round out the top five, while harsh-weathered, locales like Alaska and New Mexico – also notorious for its rampant crime – appeared at the bottom of the list.
The report, published Monday, showed how blue states for the most part dominated the sample set, and how more conservative hubs like Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana fell to bottom five.
To find the results, WalletHub – a personal finance firm based in Miami – compared all of the fifty states by compiling data across the five aforementioned dimensions. Those dimensions were evaluated using metrics like levels of unemployment and crime, to give each state a score out of 100.
A new analysis ranking US states based on livability has pegged Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York and Wyoming as the best to live. Rankings took into account factors like affordability, education, and economies, as well as citizens’ health and quality of life
The state to snag the highest was none other than Massachusetts, which earned a total score of 61.67 – despite coming in 44th overall in terms of affordability. This proved to be a them in the compilation, with blue states for the most part beating out their more red counterparts
That said, the state to snag the highest was none other than Massachusetts, which earned a total score of 61.67 – despite coming in 44th overall in terms of affordability.
However, while the notoriously Bay State failed finance-wise, it stood out in terms of schooling, coming in first out of all its contemporaries.
The state also ranked sixth in quality of life – where factors included average hours worked and commute time – and eleventh in terms of economy.
While a failing mark to many, 61.67 was the highest grade garnered by any state, though the runner up recorded a score just barely behind.
That distinction was earned by New Jersey, which did even worse than its neighbor in terms of affordability, ranking third-to-last.
But also like Massachusetts, it exceled in education and quality of life, ranking seventh and eleventh, earning it a total score of 61.48.
In third was another Northeastern, predominantly progressive locale in New Hampshire, which also failed in terms of affordability – ranking just 40th overall.
As was the case with its forebears, though, it did exceedingly well in multiple other categories, coming second overall in two – economy and education, thanks to a low unemployment percentage, several prominent colleges, and the fact most of its 1.3million residents live above the poverty line.
Runner up New Jersey did even worse than its neighbor in terms of affordability, ranking third-to-last. However, it exceled in education and quality of life, ranking seventh and eleventh, earning it a total score of 61.48 out of 100
In third was another Northeastern, predominantly progressive locale in New Hampshire, which also failed in terms of affordability – ranking just 40th overall. It did exceedingly well in multiple other categories, coming second overall in two – economy and education, thanks to a low unemployment, colleges, and the fact most of its residents live above the poverty line
Fourth place was granted to none other than the Big Apple, which ranked first overall in quality of life, likely due to its extensive public transportation system and bike-friendly infrastructure – another factor researchers looked at while doling out scores
Finishing the top five was Wyoming – a bit of an anomaly amid the well-off, largely urban states it ranked with – which earned high marks in terms of affordability and economy, and relatively balanced scores in the remaining categories
Fourth place was granted to none other than the Big Apple, which ranked first overall in quality of life, likely due to its extensive public transportation system and bike-friendly infrastructure – another factor researchers looked at while doling out scores.
Finishing the top five was Wyoming – a bit of an anomaly amid the well-off, largely urban states it ranked with – which earned high marks in terms of affordability and economy, and relatively balanced scores in the remaining categories.
States to round out the top part of the list, meanwhile, were largely conservative, with Florida, Virginia, Idaho, Wisconsin, and Minnesota coming in sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth, respectively.
The worst states to live in, the report found, received their dubious distinctions after several of them earned last place rankings in multiple categories, with Oklahoma – which came 49th in education and health – faring the best out of the bottom five.
Next worse was Mississippi, which ranked either dead last or second-to-worst in three separate categories – economy, education & health, and quality of life.
Coming in 48th overall was nearby Louisiana, which ranked in the bottom ten in economy, education & health, quality of life, and safety.
The worst states to live in, the report found, received their dubious distinctions after several of them earned last place rankings in multiple categories, with scenic Oklahoma – which came 49th in education and health – faring the best out of the bottom five
Next worse was Mississippi, which ranked either dead last or second-to-worst in three separate categories – economy, education & health, and quality of life.
Coming in 48th overall was nearby Louisiana, which ranked in the bottom ten in economy, education & health, quality of life, and safety
The second-to-worst place to live, according to the study, was Alaska, which was found to be the worst in quality of life, and one of the worst in safety and affordability
As for the absolute worst state to live, the report granted the dubious honor to New Mexico, which ranked last in terms of safety largely due to pronounced crime and traffic fatalities
The second-to-worst place to live, according to the study, was Alaska, which was found to be the worst in quality of life, and one of the worst in safety and affordability.
As for the absolute worst state to live, the report granted the dubious honor to New Mexico, which ranked last in terms of safety largely due to pronounced crime and traffic fatalities.
States with a significant amount of tourist attractions, amusement parks and other entertainment hubs, meanwhile, seemed to better than more sparse states like the ones just mentioned, given the nature of WalletHub’s ranking criteria.