Utah is number 1 in the U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of the Best American States for the second consecutive year.
Lanzado pela primeira vez em 2017, o projeto Best States classifica os estados com base no seu desempenho nas áreas de cuidados de saúde, educação, ambiente natural, oportunidades, economia, crime e penitenciárias, infraestruturas e estabilidade fiscal. A análise abrange milhares de dados em oito categorias para capturar como os 50 estados atendem os seus residentes.
As was the case in 2023, Utah’s consistency helped it become number 1 again: the state ranked among the top 10 in five categories evaluated by US News, achieving second place in education, followed by third place in economy and infrastructure.
Other states in the top 5 of the ranking include New Hampshire, which improved one position from 6th place last year, and Minnesota, which moved up one position to 4th. Washington, which ranked second in 2023 and first in 2021 and 2019, fell to eighth place this year, although changes in rankings should be interpreted with caution due to methodological changes between years, the survey reported.
Massachusetts entered the top 10 in 2024, rising one position from 11th in 2023. Only one state – Wisconsin – dropped out of the top 10, falling from 8th to 17th place.
Among the 10 best states, three are located in the West, Midwest, or Northeast regions. One Southern state made the list, Florida.
These are the 10 best states in the U.S.
1. Utah
2. New Hampshire
3. Nebraska
4. Minnesota
5. Idaho
6. Iowa
7. Vermont
8. Washington
9. Florida
10. Massachusetts
Among other noteworthy findings in the ranking are:
• In a presidential election year, the top 10 states are evenly split between Republicans and Democrats based on presidential preference in the 2020 elections.
• Florida – a model in the world of education – is again number 1 in the education category, largely thanks to its performance in the higher education subcategory.
• Southern states represent seven of the 10 lowest-ranked states in the healthcare category.
These are the 10 lowest-ranked states
50. Louisiana
49. New Mexico
48. Mississippi
47. Arkansas
46. West Virginia
45. Alaska
44. Alabama
43. Oklahoma
42. Michigan
41. South Carolina
Source: U.S. News & World Report