New Hampshire is the best state in America in 2026, scoring 83.4 out of 100. Wyoming (79.9) and South Dakota (79.3) round out the top three, while Louisiana finishes last at 30.0.
This page answers one question: how do all 50 states stack up once you weigh jobs, safety, schools, health, housing costs, and the outdoors together? Every score is built from official government data plus a handful of published indexes, so you can see not just where a state ranks but why. Use it to check your own state, size up a move, or settle an argument. How the scoring works →
Pick your state to see where it ranks overall, the numbers behind its rank, and how it compares with the #1 state. We'll remember it on the other ranking pages.
The national averages every state is measured against. A state's rank is really a story about how far above or below these lines it sits.
The typical state scores 57.9 out of 100, and 53.4 points separate New Hampshire from Louisiana. 22 states have a median household income above $80,903, and the ten highest-income states are all in the Northeast and West. 22 states beat the 3.9% average unemployment rate. Housing cuts the other way: 28 states have a typical home value under $383,360, and the ten cheapest housing markets are all in the South and Midwest, where every one of them also trails the national average on income. 21 states report a violent crime rate above the national average of 313 per 100,000 residents (FBI estimates; Florida and North Dakota use the prior year's estimate because their latest year is based on limited data).
Darker states score higher. Hover, focus, or tap a state to see its score, rank, and grade in the panel, or switch the map to any single category.
The five highest and five lowest scoring states, with composite score and letter grade.
Click any column header to re-sort, search for a state, or narrow the list by region or grade. The # column is always the overall rank, even after you filter.
| # State | Grade | Lean | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1New Hampshire | A+ | 83.4 | 74.0 | 94.3 | 73.9 | 77.5 | 3.2% | $99,782 | 118 | D+5 |
| 2Wyoming | A+ | 79.9 | 50.3 | 86.1 | 51.4 | 65.3 | 3.4% | $75,532 | 180 | R+20 |
| 3South Dakota | A+ | 79.3 | 70.0 | 71.8 | 51.7 | 60.6 | 2.1% | $76,881 | 308 | R+20 |
| 4Idaho | A+ | 78.4 | 50.9 | 86.6 | 61.9 | 55.2 | 3.7% | $81,166 | 217 | R+20 |
| 5North Dakota | A+ | 75.5 | 63.7 | 70.2 | 58.8 | 65.3 | 2.6% | $77,871 | 257 | R+20 |
| 6Utah | A | 75.4 | 65.6 | 76.0 | 69.2 | 76.8 | 3.6% | $96,658 | 236 | R+15 |
| 7Montana | A | 75.0 | 51.5 | 60.9 | 58.9 | 67.1 | 3.3% | $75,340 | 419 | R+10 |
| 8Vermont | A | 74.0 | 66.5 | 77.7 | 75.1 | 52.4 | 2.7% | $82,730 | 214 | D+20 |
| 9Maine | A | 71.6 | 51.1 | 94.5 | 57.6 | 51.8 | 3.4% | $76,442 | 93 | D+5 |
| 10Nebraska | A | 71.1 | 56.7 | 78.0 | 58.2 | 63.8 | 3% | $76,376 | 218 | R+15 |
| 11Wisconsin | B+ | 70.6 | 54.8 | 81.6 | 60.5 | 76.5 | 3.2% | $77,488 | 240 | Even |
| 12Minnesota | B+ | 70.4 | 53.1 | 77.1 | 74.5 | 64.7 | 3.9% | $87,117 | 224 | D+5 |
| 13Massachusetts | B+ | 70.0 | 59.8 | 76.4 | 88.6 | 92.0 | 4.5% | $104,828 | 303 | D+20 |
| 14Iowa | B+ | 69.2 | 48.8 | 79.8 | 60.3 | 69.0 | 3.5% | $75,501 | 234 | R+10 |
| 15Virginia | B+ | 67.7 | 64.6 | 79.3 | 61.4 | 65.4 | 3.4% | $92,090 | 206 | D+5 |
| 16Connecticut | B+ | 66.9 | 59.4 | 90.1 | 74.3 | 74.1 | 4% | $96,049 | 110 | D+10 |
| 17Hawaii | B+ | 64.8 | 86.3 | 75.7 | 88.6 | 59.1 | 2.4% | $100,745 | 205 | D+20 |
| 18Colorado | B+ | 64.7 | 60.3 | 50.4 | 75.4 | 65.3 | 4% | $97,113 | 422 | D+5 |
| 19Rhode Island | B | 62.0 | 41.4 | 90.8 | 76.5 | 53.5 | 4.5% | $83,504 | 144 | D+15 |
| 20Washington | B | 61.8 | 52.3 | 63.9 | 68.2 | 57.4 | 4.7% | $99,389 | 284 | D+10 |
| 21Florida | B | 59.9 | 45.0 | 73.1 | 60.5 | 61.1 | 3.9% | $77,735 | 275 | R+5 |
| 22Indiana | B | 59.2 | 42.9 | 79.9 | 40.3 | 73.5 | 3.7% | $71,959 | 254 | R+10 |
| 23North Carolina | B | 59.1 | 43.2 | 63.1 | 46.6 | 60.6 | 3.8% | $73,958 | 330 | Even |
| 24Tennessee | B | 57.1 | 45.8 | 52.2 | 28.7 | 71.7 | 3.5% | $71,997 | 492 | R+15 |
| 25Pennsylvania | B | 56.9 | 39.2 | 78.1 | 59.6 | 65.4 | 4.3% | $77,545 | 227 | Even |
| 26Georgia | B | 55.4 | 54.1 | 71.2 | 39.5 | 53.1 | 3.4% | $79,991 | 297 | Even |
| 27Kansas | C+ | 55.1 | 44.6 | 52.7 | 45.8 | 63.2 | 3.8% | $75,514 | 457 | R+15 |
| 28New Jersey | C+ | 55.0 | 49.4 | 81.8 | 78.1 | 74.8 | 5.2% | $104,294 | 194 | D+10 |
| 29New York | C+ | 54.9 | 46.3 | 63.0 | 79.7 | 56.6 | 4.3% | $85,820 | 368 | D+15 |
| 30Delaware | C+ | 53.6 | 40.6 | 65.0 | 49.9 | 45.2 | 4.8% | $87,534 | 347 | D+10 |
| 31Maryland | C+ | 53.6 | 65.3 | 60.3 | 63.6 | 55.5 | 4% | $102,905 | 358 | D+15 |
| 32Texas | C+ | 52.2 | 42.5 | 61.8 | 37.7 | 60.7 | 4.2% | $79,721 | 345 | R+5 |
| 33Ohio | C+ | 52.1 | 30.3 | 72.6 | 44.8 | 67.4 | 4.6% | $72,212 | 276 | R+5 |
| 34Missouri | C+ | 51.0 | 38.3 | 58.1 | 44.1 | 59.7 | 4% | $71,589 | 418 | R+10 |
| 35Oregon | C | 50.9 | 32.9 | 59.6 | 63.8 | 35.6 | 5.2% | $85,220 | 311 | D+5 |
| 36South Carolina | C | 49.0 | 31.8 | 60.0 | 41.3 | 50.1 | 4.5% | $72,350 | 388 | R+10 |
| 37Alabama | C | 48.5 | 49.8 | 66.3 | 29.5 | 49.4 | 2.9% | $66,659 | 348 | R+15 |
| 38Arizona | C | 47.8 | 42.6 | 63.2 | 49.7 | 32.6 | 4.3% | $81,486 | 378 | Even |
| 39Illinois | C | 47.6 | 39.8 | 73.4 | 58.8 | 65.9 | 4.6% | $83,211 | 251 | D+10 |
| 40Nevada | C | 45.8 | 28.0 | 55.9 | 44.9 | 40.3 | 5.3% | $81,134 | 379 | Even |
| 41Kentucky | C | 44.8 | 23.7 | 80.2 | 33.1 | 67.6 | 4.6% | $64,526 | 212 | R+15 |
| 42Alaska | C | 44.3 | 49.1 | 29.5 | 42.6 | 16.7 | 4.7% | $95,665 | 729 | R+10 |
| 43Oklahoma | D | 43.0 | 42.2 | 56.4 | 26.7 | 30.2 | 3.4% | $66,148 | 408 | R+20 |
| 44West Virginia | D | 42.8 | 26.2 | 80.9 | 21.3 | 45.1 | 4.2% | $60,798 | 242 | R+20 |
| 45Michigan | D | 42.7 | 21.9 | 63.9 | 55.4 | 42.2 | 5.2% | $72,389 | 416 | Even |
| 46Mississippi | D | 41.9 | 30.4 | 79.0 | 18.1 | 62.9 | 3.8% | $59,127 | 227 | R+15 |
| 47California | D | 40.2 | 41.5 | 54.7 | 77.6 | 51.7 | 5.5% | $100,149 | 433 | D+15 |
| 48Arkansas | D | 40.1 | 28.7 | 48.9 | 28.0 | 49.3 | 4.1% | $62,106 | 532 | R+15 |
| 49New Mexico | F | 30.6 | 32.2 | 32.9 | 36.2 | 6.6 | 4.2% | $67,816 | 622 | D+5 |
| 50Louisiana | F | 30.0 | 24.9 | 45.5 | 29.9 | 48.3 | 4.3% | $60,986 | 515 | R+15 |
Each state earns a 0 to 100 score in 11 categories. Those scores are weighted by how much they shape daily life and combined into one composite score. The percentage is the share of the final score each category controls.
Unemployment rate and median household income.
Violent and property crime rates per 100,000 residents.
Health outcomes, behaviors, and access to care.
K-12 school quality, test scores, and graduation rates.
Home prices, cost of living, utilities, childcare, gas, and goods prices.
Tax burden, state debt, reserves, pension funding, and credit rating.
Population growth, net domestic migration, and unemployment.
Commute times, transit use, miles driven, and remote work.
Net migration plus restaurants, arts, clubs, and bars per capita.
Recreation facilities, public land, and national park acreage.
Air quality, renewable energy share, and natural disaster risk.
Grades follow rank, not score, so there are always five A+ states and two F states.A+1–5A6–10B+11–18B19–26C+27–34C35–42D43–48F49–50
Every raw metric is scaled from 0 (the worst state) to 100 (the best state), so a category score is a position between the two extremes rather than a pass/fail mark. Two inputs count twice because each signals both current strength and momentum: unemployment feeds economy and growth, and net migration feeds growth and livability.
The overall winner is not the winner everywhere. These are the #1 states in each of the 11 categories, with the numbers behind each lead. Click through for all 50 ranked in that category.
Hawaii pairs a 2.4% unemployment rate with a median household income of $100,745: the #2 lowest unemployment rate and the #4 highest income in the country, and one of only 2 states in the top 10 on both.
Maine records 93.2 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, about 30% of the typical state's rate, along with 939.1 property crimes per 100,000.
Where do people live longest and healthiest?
#1 · #13 overall · Grade B+Massachusetts88.6Massachusetts residents live to 79.8 on average, 27% of adults have obesity against 34.0% in the typical state, and 2.8% of residents are uninsured.
Massachusetts's public school students post the highest eighth-grade NAEP math score and the highest reading score, and 90.1% of high school students graduate on time.
Which state governments are on solid financial footing?
#1 · #2 overall · Grade A+Wyoming79.4Wyoming owes $1,420 per resident, has 77% of its pension promises funded, keeps a rainy-day fund worth 45% of annual spending, and holds a AAA credit rating. It is also #2 overall.
Idaho's population grew +1.44% last year, with a net +9.9 movers per 1,000 residents arriving from other states, while unemployment held at 3.7%. It is also #4 overall.
The typical home in Mississippi is worth $197,606, about 3.3x the typical household income, and everyday prices run roughly 13% below the national average. Overall it ranks #46, pulled down by outdoor access (#35).
Where is the air cleanest and disaster risk lowest?
#1 · #9 overall · Grade AMaine77.1Maine's median air quality index is 34 (lower is cleaner), 78% of its electricity comes from renewables, and its FEMA disaster risk score is 12.7 out of 100.
61.8% of Alaska is public land, and it has about 7 recreation businesses for every 10,000 residents plus roughly 75 acres of national park per person. Overall it ranks #42, pulled down by growth (#49).
Oregon wins on time and distance rather than transit: the average commute is 23.2 minutes (the typical state is 25), residents drive 8,768 miles a year each, and 3.4% walk to work. Only 2.4% ride public transit. Overall it ranks #35, pulled down by growth (#42).
Montana draws a net +5.6 movers per 1,000 residents and has about 201 restaurants, 4 arts venues, and 15 social clubs for every 100,000 people.
Patterns in the 2026 rankings that the table alone does not show.
4 of the top 10 states are in the West: Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, and Montana. At the other end, 6 of the bottom 10 are in the South.
The 10 most populous states all land between #21 (Florida) and #47 (California). As a group they score below the national average in 9 of 11 categories, with the widest gaps in outdoor access, economy, and environment.
Utah is #6 overall but ranks #48 for livability. Last-place Louisiana still ranks #3 for affordability. If one category matters most to you, the overall rank can mislead.
The five most affordable states are Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Iowa. Only 1 of them rank in the top half overall. Low costs usually come paired with weaker economies, health, or schools, which is why affordability is worth 10% of the score rather than all of it.
Maine (safety and environment) and Massachusetts (health and education) are the only states that win more than one. Oregon, ranked #35 overall, is #1 in transportation.
That is the widest split of any state, and it is why Alaska lands at #42 overall. The composite score rewards balance, so a state that is superb at one thing and poor at another cannot finish near the top.
Mean composite score of the states in each Census region.
The Northeast outscores the South by 14 points on average.
New Hampshire is the best state in America in 2026 with a composite score of 83.4/100. It is followed by Wyoming (79.9), South Dakota (79.3), Idaho (78.4), and North Dakota (75.5). Scores combine 11 categories including economy, safety, health, education, and affordability using government data.
Louisiana ranks #50 with a composite score of 30.0/100. The bottom five states are Louisiana (#50), New Mexico (#49), Arkansas (#48), California (#47), and Mississippi (#46).
Each state gets a 0-100 score in 11 categories built from official data (BLS, Census Bureau, FBI, CDC, EPA, and others). Category scores are weighted and combined into a composite score: economy 15%, safety 12%, health 12%, education 12%, affordability 10%, fiscal health 8%, growth 7%, transportation 7%, livability 7%, outdoor access 6%, and environment 4%. States are ranked 1 to 50 by composite score and assigned a letter grade from A+ to F based on rank.
The Northeast has the highest average composite score at 63.8, followed by the Midwest (62.0), West (58.4), and South (49.4). 4 of the top 10 states are in the West.
Mississippi is the most affordable state with an affordability score of 91.9/100, based on home prices, cost of living, utilities, childcare, gas, and groceries. It ranks #46 overall. Arkansas and Louisiana round out the top three.
Maine is the safest state with a safety score of 94.5/100, recording 93.2 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. Alaska ranks last for safety. Crime rates are FBI estimates.
Scores are updated quarterly as source agencies publish new data. Every data source and its vintage is listed on the methodology page and in the footer of each page.