Story at a glance
- Utah was ranked the best state in the country in U.S. News & World Report’s Best States rankings.
- The ranking began in 2017 and evaluates states’ performance in eight categories using over 70 different metrics.
- New Hampshire, Nebraska and Minnesota made it to the top five spots in the ranking.
Utah earned the top spot in U.S. News & World Report’s Best States rankings.
This is the second year in a row Utah has been ranked the best state in the country with the outlet attributing the Beehive State’s high scores in five categories used in the ranking for its success.
Utah was ranked the second-best state in education and third in economy and infrastructure, according to U.S. News & World Report.
U.S. News & World Report’s Best States ranking evaluate states based on their performance in healthcare, education, natural environment, opportunity, economy, infrastructure, fiscal stability and crime and corrections.
“The analysis encompasses thousands of data points across 71 metrics in eight categories to capture how the 50 states serve their residents,” the outlet said in a press release.
New Hampshire came in at number two in the Best States ranking after landing at the number six spot last year.
Washington state held the number two spot last year but fell to eight on the ranking possibly due to methodological changes, according to U.S. News & World Report.
“Shifts in the rankings should be interpreted with caution,” the outlet said in a statement.
Nebraska and Minnesota came in third and fourth this year, respectively.
Here are the 10 Best States, according to U.S. News & World Report:
- Utah
- New Hampshire
- Nebraska
- Minnesota
- Idaho
- Iowa
- Vermont
- Washington
- Florida
- Massachusetts
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