Latest news with #BestStates2025
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Why does U.S. News rank Kansas as the 25th-best state? And why is Utah No. 1?
Kansas, the nation's geographic center, also finds itself smack dab in the middle of a recent ranking of the best states in the U.S. The Sunflower State finished 25th in the "Best States for 2025" assessment published in May on its website by U.S. News & World Report. This year's list is the seventh version of those rankings, for which U.S. News assesses each of the 50 states using 71 metrics across eight categories. Those categories are health care, education, natural environment, opportunity, economy, fiscal stability, infrastructure and crime/corrections. U.S. News placed Utah at the top of its overall ranking. The Beehive State finished first for the third consecutive year. The website reported Utah placed first among the 50 states in the category of fiscal stability, third in economy, third in infrastructure, fourth in education, seventh in crime and corrections, 14th in health care and 19th in opportunity. Utah did less well in the natural environment category, placing 48th due to its finishing 48th in the metric of "pollution" and 28th in the metric of "air and water quality." Other states rounding out the top 10 were as follows: 2. New Hampshire. 3. Idaho. 4. Minnesota. 5. Nebraska. 6. Florida. 7. Vermont. 8. South Dakota. 9. Massachusetts. 10. Washington. Louisiana brought up the rear in this year's U.S. News ranking after also finishing 50th overall in 2024. The Pelican State finished 50th overall while ranking 50th in economy, 50th in crime and corrections, 49th in natural environment, 48th in infrastructure, 46th in education, 46th in fiscal stability, 46th in opportunity and 44th in health care. Other states near the bottom were as follows: 49. Alaska. 48. Mississippi. 47. New Mexico. 46. West Virginia. 45. Alabama. 44. Arkansas. 43. Michigan. 42. Oklahoma. 41. Pennsylvania. 40. South Carolina. The Sunflower State's 25th-place overall finish this year was the same ranking it had received for 2024. Kansas' outcome was buoyed by its finishing fifth among states in the category of opportunity, including 11th in the metric of affordability, 23rd in economic opportunity and 32nd in equality. Kansas placed sixth among states in infrastructure, where it finished fourth in the metric of transportation, ninth in the metric of energy and 13th in the metric of internet access. Among other categories, Kansas finished 18th in education, 32nd in fiscal stability, 33rd in health care, 34th in economy and 35th in crime and corrections. The Sunflower State's lowest ranking, 43rd, came in the category of natural environment, where it finished 42nd in the metric of pollution and 34th in the metric of air and water quality. Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@ or 785-213-5934. This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: U.S. News ranks Kansas as 25th-best state. Utah is No. 1. Here's why
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. News & World Report's Best States: Where does Virginia rank?
Virginia was ranked 16th on U.S. News & World Report's list for the 2025 best states in the country. Virginia's ranking this year dropped from 2024, when it was ranked the 13th best state. The ranking takes several metrics across eight categories into account: crime and corrections, economy, education, fiscal stability, health care, infrastructure, natural environment and opportunity. Here's how Virginia fared across the board. More: Unemployment claims in Virginia increased last week Across U.S. News' main categories, here's how Virginia ranked: Economy: No. 10 Crime and corrections: No. 12 Education: No. 15 Health care: No. 18 Natural environment: No. 19 Fiscal stability: No. 23 Opportunity: No. 25 Infrastructure: No. 38 Virginia also ranked fairly high in these subcategories: Air & water quality (No. 3), employment (No. 4), long-term fiscal stability (No. 8) and pre-k education (No. 10). According to the ranking, Virginia's job growth was 2.3% this year, above the national average of 1.5%. The state's high school graduation rate of 88.8% was also above the national average of 85.8%, and its poverty rate of 10.2% fell below the national average of 12.2%. More: AAA: Memorial Day travel in Virginia should be slightly higher this year than last However, Virginia's liquidity is only 53.4 according to the ranking, far below the national average of 99.4 and contributing to the state's low score in short-term fiscal stability. Virginia's lowest scores were in the following four subcategories: Short-term fiscal stability (No. 36), pollution (No. 36), affordability (No. 37) and internet access (No. 37). Utah was crowned best state overall for a third straight year and ranked in the top 20 for seven of the eight categories, according to the report. Here are U.S. News' top five overall best states in America: Utah New Hampshire Idaho Minnesota Nebraska More: What Virginia travelers need to know as REAL ID deadline is here Louisiana was ranked the worst state in the U.S., according to the report, and Alaska, Mississippi, New Mexico and West Virginia finished out the report's bottom five states. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: U.S. News & World Report's Best States Rankings: Where does VA rank?
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. News & World Report ranks North Carolina as the 13th best state
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — North Carolina is the 13th best state in the nation, according to the new ranking from U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News & World Report released its Best States 2025 ranking Tuesday. It was based on 71 metrics across eight categories: education, health care, economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, natural environment, and crime and corrections. In the ranking, North Carolina placed seventh in economy, including fifth in growth. It was also 12th in education, 14th in fiscal stability, 18th in opportunity, 25th in health care and crime and corrections, 26th in natural environment, and 32nd in infrastructure. The Tar Heel State moved up six spots from 19th in 2024 to 13th in 2025. 'We have long known that North Carolina is a top state to live, work, and raise a family,' Gov. Josh Stein said in a statement. 'I am proud of our state's work to grow our economy and make it work for more people. But we cannot rest on our laurels. We must invest in public education, health care, infrastructure, public safety, and workforce development to ensure our state's competitive status for years to come.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to
