How the scores work
Methodology
How America's Dashboard ranks and scores all 50 US states.
Overview
America's Dashboard uses real government data to rank all 50 US states across 11 categories. Each metric is normalized to a 0–100 scale and weighted to produce a composite score. States are then ranked 1–50 and assigned letter grades so performance is easy to compare at a glance.
Data Sources
Each source is the latest release its agency has published.
Normalization Formula
Every raw metric is converted to a 0–100 scale using linear interpolation between a fixed minimum and maximum for that metric (each metric's weight and bounds are listed under Category Scoring):
normalize(value, min, max) = ((value − min) / (max − min)) × 100- invert
- When invert = true (lower values are better, e.g. unemployment), the score is flipped: 100 − score
- clamp
- All results are clamped to the 0–100 range. Values below the min map to 0, values above the max map to 100.
Category Scoring
Economy
15% weight- Unemployment rate, 50%, 2.0–5.5%, inverted (BLS LAUS annual average)
- Median household income, 50%, $52,000–$110,000 (Census ACS)
Safety
12% weight- Violent crimes per 100K, 60%, 50–800, inverted (FBI state estimates)
- Property crimes per 100K, 40%, 800–3,500, inverted (FBI state estimates)
Health
12% weight- Life expectancy at birth, 50%, 72–81 years (CDC NCHS state life tables)
- Adults with obesity, 25%, 24–42%, inverted (CDC BRFSS)
- Residents without health insurance, 25%, 2.5–17%, inverted (Census ACS)
Education
12% weight- NAEP math, 40%: average of grade 4 (220–250) and grade 8 (255–285) (Nation’s Report Card)
- NAEP reading, 30%: average of grade 4 (200–225) and grade 8 (245–270) (Nation’s Report Card)
- Four-year high school graduation rate, 30%, 75–92% (EDFacts)
Fiscal Health
8% weight- Total tax burden % of income, 15%, 4.5–14%, inverted (WalletHub)
- State debt per capita, 15%, $1,200–$11,000, inverted (Census State Government Finances)
- Rainy day fund % of expenditures, 15%, 0–25% (Pew Fiscal 50)
- Pension funded ratio, 15%, 45–100% (Pew)
- Credit rating score, 15%, 65–100 (S&P/Moody’s via Ballotpedia)
- GDP per capita, 10%, $38,000–$100,000 (BEA)
- Budget surplus/deficit % of revenue, 10%, −3.5% to 12.5% (NASBO)
- Real GDP growth, 5%, −1.5% to 5.5% (BEA)
Growth
7% weight- Population growth, 40%, −0.3% to 2.0% (Census population estimates)
- Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents, 35%, −6.5 to 13 (Census)
- Unemployment rate, 25%, 2.0–5.5%, inverted (BLS LAUS)
Affordability
10% weight- Typical home value, 25%, $170,000–$800,000, inverted (Zillow Home Value Index)
- Overall price level, 20%, 87–113, inverted (BEA Regional Price Parities, US = 100)
- Residential electricity ¢/kWh, 15%, 10–35, inverted (EIA)
- Center-based infant care per year, 15%, $6,000–$26,000, inverted (Child Care Aware of America; New Mexico has no price, so its other weights are rescaled)
- Gasoline $/gallon, taxes included, 10%, $2.80–$5.00, inverted (EIA)
- Price level for goods, 10%, 93–112, inverted (BEA Regional Price Parities, US = 100)
- Residential natural gas $/Mcf, 5%, $7–$30, inverted (EIA)
Environment
4% weight- Median air quality index, 40%, 24–48, inverted (EPA AirData)
- Renewable share of electricity, 30%, 5–80% (EIA)
- Natural disaster risk score, 30%, 0–70, inverted (FEMA National Risk Index)
Outdoor Access
6% weight- Recreation facilities per 10K residents, 40%, 1.3–6.0 (Census CBP)
- Public land % of state area, 35%, 0.5–40% (USGS PAD-US)
- National park acreage per capita, 25%, 0–5 (NPS)
Transportation
7% weight- Mean travel time to work, 25%, 17–33 minutes, inverted (Census ACS)
- Commuters taking transit, biking or walking, 20%, 0.5–20% (Census ACS)
- Vehicle miles traveled per capita, 15%, 6,000–16,000, inverted (FHWA Highway Statistics)
- Working from home, 15%, 5–20% (Census ACS)
- Commutes of 60+ minutes, 15%, 4–18%, inverted (Census ACS)
- Driving alone to work, 10%, 60–90%, inverted (Census ACS)
Livability
7% weight- Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents, 30%, −6.5 to 13 (Census)
- Restaurants per 1,000 residents, 25%, 1.5–2.3 (Census CBP)
- Arts and entertainment establishments per 1,000, 20%, 0.009–0.08 (Census CBP)
- Social associations per 1,000, 15%, 0.025–0.22 (Census CBP)
- Bars per 1,000, 10%, 0.018–0.48 (Census CBP)
Composite Score
The composite score is a weighted sum of all 11 category scores. Higher weights reflect greater importance to overall quality of life. Because weighted averages bunch together, the sum is then stretched linearly so a raw 35 becomes 25 and a raw 67 becomes 87, clamped to 0–100.
composite = 15% Economy + 12% Safety + 12% Health + 12% Education + 8% Fiscal Health + 7% Growth + 10% Affordability + 4% Environment + 6% Outdoor Access + 7% Transportation + 7% LivabilityLetter Grades
After states are ranked 1–50 by composite score, each receives a letter grade based on its rank bracket:
| Grade | Rank Range |
|---|---|
| A+ | 1 – 5 |
| A | 6 – 10 |
| B+ | 11 – 18 |
| B | 19 – 26 |
| C+ | 27 – 34 |
| C | 35 – 42 |
| D | 43 – 48 |
| F | 49 – 50 |
City Scores
We track 1,312 cities: every place in the 50 states with 50,000 or more residents, plus the largest places in each state so that small states are covered too. Each is matched to its Census place code, county and metro area, so every source joins on the same geography.
City scores use only local data: Census ACS (income, poverty, housing, commuting, age, education), BLS LAUS (unemployment), FBI Crime Data Explorer (a full year of monthly reports from the city's own police agency), CDC PLACES (health), NCES (schools), BEA Regional Price Parities (the metro area's price level, or the state's nonmetro level outside metro areas), the EPA National Walkability Index, and, at the county level, EPA air quality and FEMA's National Risk Index. A category with no local data is left out of the city's score and the remaining weights are scaled up to fill the gap; no city score borrows its state's figure and no missing input is set to a midpoint. Outdoor access has no city-level measure and is not scored for cities. A police agency that reported fewer than 12 months, or that covers a much larger area than the city, gives no crime rate for that city.
City lifestyle scores use the same weights as the state lifestyle scores, rescaled over the categories each city has. Two add city-only measures: families also weigh county natural hazard losses (FEMA), the share of adults without health insurance (CDC PLACES) and the share of households with children (Census); retirees also weigh hazard losses, the uninsured share and the median age of residents.