Data Sources
Rankings are computed from publicly available federal and state government datasets, supplemented by a handful of published indexes (such as America's Health Rankings and the Tax Foundation). No synthetic or estimated data is used, and every source is cited below.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (Dec 2025) · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023 · FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, 2023 · America's Health Rankings, 2025 · WalletHub/NAEP, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 · Cook Political Report, PVI 2024 · Tax Foundation, Facts & Figures 2025 · ALEC Rich States Poor States, 2025 · WalletHub Tax Burden Study, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau / FHFA, 2025 · BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023 · EPA AirData, Median AQI by County 2024 · EIA State Electricity Profiles, 2024 · FEMA National Risk Index v1.20, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau, Net Domestic Migration 2024 · FCC / BroadbandNow, Broadband Access 2025 · National Park Service API, 2024 · USGS Protected Areas Database (PAD-US), 2024 · U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023 (Commuting) · FHWA Highway Statistics, 2023 · EIA Natural Gas Prices, 2024 · DOL National Database of Childcare Prices, 2023 · Child Care Aware of America, Price & Supply 2025 · BEA Regional Price Parities (Food), 2023 · NCES Common Core of Data (CCD), 2023-24 · EDFacts ACGR Graduation Rates, 2021-22 · NCES School District Finance Survey (F-33), 2022-23 · BEA GDP by State (SAGDP9), 2023 · NASBO Fiscal Survey of States, FY2023 · Census Bureau State Government Finances, FY2022 · Pew Charitable Trusts Fiscal 50, FY2023 · Pew Charitable Trusts, State Pension Funding FY2022 · S&P/Moody's via Ballotpedia, 2025 · Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES (May 2023) · IRS Statistics of Income, State-to-State Migration (latest release) · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS State-to-State Migration Flows (latest release) · Zillow Research, Home Values, Rents & Market Metrics (latest release)