Two of the nation’s 10 best states to live in are right here in New England, according to U.S. News & World Report.
The publication just released its rankings, and New Hampshire came in at No. 4 and Massachusetts at No. 9. Washington is the best state to live in for the second year in a row, according to the report. (That’s 2021 and 2019; the publication did not release rankings last year because of the pandemic.)
The report analyzed each state in the following eight categories: health care, education, economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, crime and corrections, and natural environment, with health care and education receiving the most weight.
Massachusetts performed well in health care and education, ranking No. 2 in both categories (second only to Hawaii for health care and New Jersey for education). The Bay State also did well in the categories of crime and corrections, natural environment, and economy, ranking in the top five in all three.
New Hampshire led the way in the crime and corrections category, which measures public safety and the quality and fairness of the prison systems. The Granite State also ranked in the top 5 in the categories of opportunity and natural environment. Opportunity measures poverty, housing affordability, and equality for women, people of color, and the disabled.
The publication used government and private sources to compile the report and took into account 71 metrics across the eight categories, as well as data from an annual survey of nearly 70,000 U.S. citizens.
Here’s how the other New England states fared: Vermont ranked No. 11, Connecticut (20), Maine (27), and Rhode Island (34).
The following are the top 10 best states to live in:
- Washington
- Minnesota
- Utah
- New Hampshire
- Idaho
- Nebraska
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Massachusetts
- Florida
View the entire list of best states rankings.