According to recent rankings by US News and World Reports, Minnesota remains one of the best states to live in. The list was topped by Utah (for the third year in a row), New Hampshire and Idaho. States are ranked based on 71 metrics across a number of categories, such as economy, healthcare, opportunity, education, infrastructure, crime and environment. Education and healthcare were weighted highest this year.
While Minnesota ranked highest in the Midwest, the Upper Midwest fared well in this latest ranking. Nebraska was just one place behind in 5th, with South Dakota 8th, North Dakota 12th, Iowa 14th, and Wisconsin 17th. Iowa ranked 6th last year, but slid down to 14th this year in part due to a rise in poor air quality. It also suffered more in heavier-weighted categories such as economy and healthcare.
See all the rankings here, including a map and details of how each state ranked in the top 8 measured catedgories.
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – shensrud@homesmsp.com
