To identify the best places to call home, WalletHub compared all 50 states across 51 key indicators of livability, including housing affordability, income growth, educational attainment and hospital quality.
WalletHub’s Top 5 States to Live In
- Idaho
- New Jersey
- Wisconsin
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
WalletHub’s Botton 5 States to Live In
50. New Mexico
49.Louisiana
48. Mississippi
47. Alaska
46. Arkansas
Here are how every state ranked:
1. Idaho: Low Taxes, Short Commutes
WalletHub said it named Idaho the best state to live in largely because it combines affordability, growing household wealth, manageable commutes and relatively low crime. Residents are more likely to own homes, keep more of their income, spend less time in traffic and experience relatively low crime.
The biggest factors were:
- Low property taxes: Idaho’s median real estate tax rate is about 0.5%, among the lowest in the nation.
- Strong homeownership: It has the country’s eighth-highest homeownership rate.
- Low overall taxes: Idaho ranks fourth-lowest for its overall tax burden.
- Rapid income growth: The state posted the highest growth in median household income, suggesting residents’ earnings are rising.
- Less traffic: Idaho has the seventh-lowest share of urban interstate mileage congested during peak hours, contributing to comparatively short commutes.
- Low crime: It has the nation’s lowest property-crime rate and the 14th-lowest violent-crime rate.
The Gem State has the 14th-lowest violent crime rate and the lowest property crime rate in the country.
2. New Jersey: Median Income Third Highest in U.S.
WalletHub ranked New Jersey the second-best state to live in due to household finances, health, quality of life and public safety.
New Jersey’s strongest advantages include:
- High incomes: Its median household income of nearly $104,000 is the third-highest in the country.
- Relatively low household debt: Median debt equals about 27% of annual earnings, the nation’s second-lowest debt-to-income level.
- Lower poverty and hunger: New Jersey has the fifth-lowest poverty rate and fifth-lowest food-insecurity rate.
- Strong health outcomes: The state has the second-lowest premature-death rate, third-lowest obesity rate and third-highest life expectancy.
- Opportunities to stay active: New Jersey ranks sixth for miles of trails and fifth for fitness centers per for fitness centers per capita.
- Relative safety: It has the ninth-lowest violent-crime rate and 17th-lowest property-crime rate.
New Jersey residents have the second-lowest premature death rate in the nation, the third-lowest obesity rate, and the third-best overall life expectancy. The Garden State has the sixth-most miles of trails and the fifth-most fitness centers per capita, which gives people plenty of opportunities to stay active.
New Jersey has the ninth-lowest violent crime rate., the 17th-lowest property crime rate, and the highest number of law enforcement employees per capita.
Wisconsin: Ranks Ninth in Housing Affordability
WalletHub ranked Wisconsin the third-best state to live in because it offers a strong balance of affordability, education, health coverage, employment, and safety. Wisconsin’s ranking appears to come from its consistency across several categories rather than dominance in one, per the report.
Wisconsin residents have access to affordable housing, strong schools, widespread health coverage, employment opportunities and low property crime.
Its strongest factors include:
- Affordable housing: Wisconsin ranks ninth in housing affordability, making homeownership more attainable.
- Broad health insurance coverage: About 94.8% of residents have health insurance, the ninth-highest rate nationally.
- Positive health measures: It has the 15th-lowest premature-death rate and 16th-lowest percentage of babies born at a low birth weight.
- Strong public schools: Wisconsin ranks sixth for school-system quality and has the nation’s highest high school graduation rate, at more than 96%.Low unemployment: It has the country’s seventh-lowest unemployment rate.
- Relative safety: Wisconsin records the sixth-lowest property-crime rate and 18th-lowest traffic-fatality rate.
How Does NJ, Idaho, and Wisconsin Compare? What’s in Common?
Safety is the clearest strength shared by the top three states. But Idaho, New Jersey, and Wisconsin share a broader quality of offering the foundations people look for when they’re starting to build their future lives.
What they have in common includes:
- Economic security: Idaho has strong income growth and low taxes; New Jersey has high incomes, low debt and low poverty; Wisconsin has affordable housing and low unemployment.
- A realistic path to stability: Homeownership is common in Idaho, housing is comparatively affordable in Wisconsin, and New Jersey households generally have strong earnings and relatively low debt compared with income.
- Public safety: All three have relatively low violent crime, property crime or both.
- Healthy living conditions: New Jersey and Wisconsin post strong health outcomes, while Idaho’s shorter commutes may reduce some of the time and stress associated with daily travel.
- Opportunity: Each state performs well in an area that helps residents advance — income growth in Idaho, economic and health advantages in New Jersey, and education and employment in Wisconsin.
- Strong everyday infrastructure: Residents benefit from some combination of good schools, recreation, transportation, health coverage and public safety.
WalletHub’s highest-ranked states are not necessarily the places with the best weather, biggest cities or most entertainment. They are states where people are relatively safe, financially secure and able to access the basic ingredients of a good life — housing, employment, education and health.
For the methadology and other information, see the full report.
