These states are America's worst for quality of life in 2025

CNBC

14-07-2025

American business is in the grips of a serious labor shortage, even though hiring has slowed and artificial intelligence is picking up more of the slack.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says that for every 100 job openings, only 92 workers are available to fill them. That means the nation is short about 1 million workers. To try and meet the demand, companies are seeking locations that are attractive to prospective employees. That makes quality of life a business imperative.
Each year, CNBC's annual rankings of state business climates — America's Top States for Business —considers Quality of Life among ten categories of competitiveness. Under this year's methodology, the category makes up 10.6% of a state's overall score. We consider factors like crime, health care, air quality, and the price and availability of child care. We also consider inclusiveness of state laws, such as legal protections against discrimination. And with data showing younger workers considering reproductive rights in their choice of where they are willing to live, we factor those state laws in our rankings as well.
Some states are particularly welcoming to workers. These are not those states. They are the states with America's worst quality of life in 2025.
Just like in the rest of the country, violent crime in Oklahoma has been trending gradually lower in recent years. But at roughly 418 offenses per 100,000 people in 2023, the Sooner State's violent crime rate is the 14th highest in the country, according to FBI statistics. Of particular concern is a sharp rise in domestic violence homicides, which State Attorney General Gentner Drummond recently called an "epidemic."
"We must continue strengthening our statewide efforts to hold abusers accountable and to provide protection and support for victims," Drummond said in a statement in February.
Oklahoma offers limited protections against discrimination, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, and it has one of the nation's strictest abortion bans.
2025 Quality of Life Score: 97 out of 265 points (Top States Grade: D-)
Strengths: Child Care, Air Quality
Weaknesses: Crime, Health, Reproductive Rights
Life can be rough in the Natural State, which has the sixth-highest percentage of adults in frequent mental distress, according to the United Health Foundation. Nearly 19% of Arkansas households are food insecure. That's the highest rate in the country. One in five Arkansans, and one in six Arkansas children, face hunger.
"It's clear that our state is in critical need of comprehensive solutions to address these sobering statistics and ensure that all Arkansans have access to sufficient and nutritious food," said Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who issued an executive order last fall directing state agencies to address the problem.
She has also signed legislation providing free breakfast for public school students regardless of their family's income.
The violent crime rate in Arkansas is the fourth highest in the country, and the state has among America's most restrictive voting laws.
2025 Quality of Life Score: 95 out of 265 Points (Top States Grade: D-)
Strengths: Child Care, Air Quality
Weaknesses: Health, Crime, Inclusiveness
The Heart of Dixie might pride itself on Southern hospitality, but its state laws suggest that the hospitality does not extend to everyone.
Alabama is one of just five states with no law protecting non-disabled people against discrimination in public accommodations, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
And in February, Gov. Kay Ivey signed the "What is a Woman Act," defining a person's gender based on the sex organs they were born with.
"If the Good Lord made you a boy, you're a boy," said Ivey. "And if he made you a girl, you're a girl."
Opponents said the law will be used to justify widespread discrimination against transgender people.
The state eschews most worker protections, according to Oxfam America, which ranks Alabama 49th on its annual Best States to Work scorecard.
2025 Quality of Life Score: 92 out of 265 Points (Top States Grade: F)
Strengths: Air Quality, Child Care
Weaknesses: Inclusiveness, Worker Protections
While the overall violent crime rate in Georgia is roughly in line with the national average, it has one of the highest homicide rates in the country.
That is but one factor in an overall unhealthy environment in The Peach State. More than 11% of the population lacks health insurance, the third-highest rate in the country. The state ranks 40th for primary care doctors per capita, and 48th for mental health providers, according to the United Health Foundation.
The Commonwealth Fund ranks Georgia 45th in its latest Scorecard on State Health System Performance, which grades the states on health care access, prevention and treatment, efficiency, healthy lives, and health disparities.
Georgia is another one of the five states with no anti-discrimination protections for non-disabled people, and it offers few protections for workers beyond a guarantee of equal pay based on race and gender.
2025 Quality of Life Score: 89 out of 265 Points (Top States Grade: F)
Strength: Child Care
Weaknesses: Worker Protections, Health, Inclusiveness
At around 521 violent crimes per 100,000 people in 2023, the Pelican State has America's fifth-highest crime rate. And those statistics predate this year's New Year's Day attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, where a man drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers, killing 14.
Louisiana also has among the nation's strictest abortion bans, according to the Guttmacher Institute, banning the procedure in all except very limited circumstances.
The state passed eight new voting laws last year that the Brennan Center for Justice deems "restrictive," including multiple crackdowns on absentee voting.
2025 Quality of Life Score: 87 out of 265 Points (Top States Grade: F)
Strengths: Child Care, Air Quality
Weaknesses: Crime, Inclusiveness, Reproductive Rights
The Beehive State derives its nickname from the industriousness of its workforce. But those workers get few protections in exchange for their hard labor.
Even as the cost of living rises in fast-growing parts of the state like Silicon Slopes outside Salt Lake City, the state has kept the minimum wage at the federal rate of $7.25 an hour. And unlike in many states, Utah prohibits local governments setting their minimum wages any higher.
With an average household size roughly 17% higher than the national average, according to Census data, Utah families have a lot of children to care for. And the state is doing poorly in meeting their needs. Utah ranks 48th in licensed child care centers per capita, according to Child Care Aware of America, which also says that a married Utah couple with a median income can expect to spend about 12% of it on child care.
2025 Quality of Life Score: 87 out of 265 Points (Top States Grade: F)
Strength: Crime Rate
Weaknesses: Child Care, Worker Protections, Air Quality
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines affordable child care as costing no more than 7% of a household's income. In Indiana, it costs twice that for a two-parent household. For a single parent, it can cost a stunning 46%.
Business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have identified child care as one of the major factors in getting people back into the workforce. It is also a major quality of life consideration for young families, and it is one of the areas where Indiana falls short. But it is not the only one.
Air quality is poor, according to data from the American Lung Association and First Street Foundation, with high levels of ozone and particulate matter. Indiana also has a strict abortion ban and limited anti-discrimination protections.
2025 Quality of Life Score: 73 out of 265 Points (Top States Grade: F)
Strength: Crime Rate
Weaknesses: Child Care, Reproductive Rights, Inclusiveness, Air Quality
The Lone Star State is consistently a top destination for skilled workers — they flock to Texas for its robust economy and one of the best job markets in the nation. But that does not mean that the quality of life there isn't lacking.
Despite world-class institutions like the Texas Medical Center and the MD Anderson Cancer Center, access to care for the average Texan is poor. According to the United Health Foundation, Texas has the nation's lowest number of primary care doctors per capita, the second-lowest number of mental health providers, and it consistently has the highest rate of people without health insurance.
The state has among America's strictest abortion bans, and crime is on the high side.
2025 Quality of Life Score: 72 out of 265 Points (Top States Grade: F)
Strengths: Child Care, Air Quality
Weaknesses: Health Care, Reproductive Rights, Worker Protections, Crime
Governor Bill Lee's 2025-26 budget, signed into law this spring, includes $175 million in grants to local communities to help them fight crime. By the numbers, that money is badly needed in the Volunteer State. Tennessee has America's third-highest violent crime rate, according to FBI statistics, making it a particularly dangerous place to live, and CNBC's bottom state for Quality of Life in 2025.
Tennessee has also been at the forefront of legislation limiting the rights of its LGBTQ+ population, beginning as far back as 2015. The state was among the earliest to codify a person's gender based on their anatomy, passing its law in 2023.
State laws guarantee equal pay and bar sexual harassment. But beyond that, there are few protections for workers in Tennessee.
2025 Quality of Life Score: 61 out of 265 Points (Top States Grade: F)
Strength: Air Quality
Weaknesses: Crime Rate, Inclusiveness, Worker Protections