In this article, we will try to answer your questions through statistics, especially the most important question: What is the best state to live in for you?
Some states shine in health care. Some soar in education. Some excel in both – or in much more. The Best States ranking of U.S. states draws on thousands of data points to measure how well states are performing for their citizens. In addition to health care and education, the metrics take into account a state’s economy, its roads, bridges, internet, and other infrastructure, its public safety, the fiscal stability of state government, and the opportunity it affords its residents.
More weight was accorded to some state measures than others, based on a survey of what matters most to people. Health care and education were weighted most heavily. Then came state economies, infrastructure, and the opportunity states offer their citizens. Fiscal stability followed closely in weighting, followed by measures of crime and corrections and a state's natural environment.
1 - Washington
Washington, the only state named after a U.S. president, gained its statehood in 1889.
AREA: 71,301SQ. MI.
GDP: $613 Billion
COLLEGE-EDUCATED: 46.9%
POPULATION: 7,614,893
CAPITAL: Olympia
MEDIAN INCOME: $38,041
The Evergreen State is an outdoor enthusiast’s dream with its geological diversity, ranging from mountains to deserts, rainforests, and a Pacific coastline. It offers the Olympic Mountains, the San Juan Islands, and Mount Rainier, one of the nation’s highest peaks in the Lower 48.
The aerospace industry is a major economic driver for the state. The military and defense sector employs the second-largest number of people in Washington, with more than 127,000 active duty, reserve, guard, and civilian personnel. Other successful industries include maritime, technology, and clean energy.
In addition to its scenic treasures, Washington is known as the birthplace of Starbucks coffee, The Boeing Co., and Microsoft Corp. Because of its coastal location, Washington is a key exporter for the U.S., particularly for transportation equipment. Additionally, Washington is crucial to the nation’s food and agriculture industry, generating 70% of the country’s apples, and also leading in milk, potato, and cattle production.
Seattle – marked by its iconic Space Needle, which rests high above the rest of the city and lights up the night sky – is by far the state’s most populous city. Despite its reputation for rainy weather, Seattle has an average of 152 days of measurable rain per year.
Washington Rankings
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Washington in Photos
This information and statistics will help you to choose a new place to live according to your requirements, abilities, and needs
SOURCE: rankings & Washington
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2 - Minnesota
The U.S. gained the land now known as Minnesota starting in the late 1700s through the Treaty of Paris, the Louisiana Purchase, and negotiations with the Dakota Indians and other tribes who had long inhabited the land.
AREA: 86,943 SQ. MI.
GDP: $384 Billion
COLLEGE-EDUCATED: 48.8%
POPULATION: 5,639,632
CAPITAL: Saint Paul
MEDIAN INCOME: $38,224
The start of Minnesota’s statehood, gained in 1858, was marked by hostile relations between the settlers and the Dakota over land treaties and mistreatment by traders. Only a few years later, Minnesota was the first to offer its troops to the Union in the Civil War, though it was the youngest state.
The state is also known for its many bodies of water, which eventually flow into the Hudson Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico. The headwaters of the Mississippi River start in northern Lake Itasca. The Dakota fittingly named the land “Minnesota,” meaning sky-tinted water. The state’s nickname as the Land of 10,000 Lakes is an understatement – the state has more than 11,500.
As the northernmost territory in the 48 contiguous states, Minnesota is known for its frigid conditions. Its residents see about 70 inches of snowfall each year in the northern region, along with an average winter temperature of 8 degrees Fahrenheit. The cold weather explains ice hockey’s popularity in Minnesota and makes it a perfect destination for cross-country skiing, ice fishing, and other snow sports.
The Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit organization with hospitals and research initiatives in different locations, is headquartered in Rochester and is among the state’s top employers. Manufacturing and retail trade are two other major industries in Minnesota, which houses many Fortune 500 companies such as UnitedHealth Group, Target, 3M, and General Mills.
Minnesota Rankings
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Minnesota in Photos
This information and statistics will help you to choose a new place to live according to your requirements, abilities, and needs
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3 - Utah
Utah was dubbed "Deseret" by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who settled this remote western realm in the mid-1800s, fleeing from religious discrimination in the East.
AREA: 88,898 SQ. MI.
GDP: $193 Billion
COLLEGE-EDUCATED: 44.4%
POPULATION: 3,205,958
CAPITAL: Salt Lake City
MEDIAN INCOME: $31,958
With the outbreak of the Mexican-American War, President James Polk formed a Mormon Battalion. In a march from Kansas to San Diego from 1846 to 1847, they forged a wagon route across the deep Southwest.
They moved to Mexico until the war’s end, returning in 1848 to the place they hoped to make the state of Deseret, a name drawing on the symbol of community found in a honey beehive in the Book of Mormon. By 1850, with a population of more than 11,000, church leaders chose members to head their settlements, and through 1900, the Mormons founded 500 communities in Utah and neighboring states.
On May 10, 1869, the first transcontinental railroad was established at Promontory Summit in the Utah territory, where the Union and Central Pacific Railroads met. As gold and silver were discovered in the mountains, Congress named the territory Utah after local Native Americans. Utah was cut in half to form Nevada; Colorado won a slice, and Wyoming won some land. Utah became the 45th state in 1896.
The state is known for its skiing, with the mountains near Salt Lake City collecting an average of 500 inches of snow per year, as well as for the Sundance Film Festival, one of the world’s premiere independent film festivals, staged each January in Park City.
Utah’s mountains, high plateaus, and deserts – containing the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere, at the state capital of Salt Lake City – are bordered by Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona at right angles. The “Four Corners” are the only such arrangement in the U.S.
Utah Rankings
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Utah in Photos
This information and statistics will help you to choose a new place to live according to your requirements, abilities, and needs
SOURCE: rankings & utah
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4 - New Hampshire
New Hampshire may be one of the smallest states, but it traditionally has played an outsize role in the nation’s greatest task: the election of the president. The Granite State has jealously guarded its position as first in line for the quadrennial presidential primary elections. Political careers have been made, salvaged, and busted in this first-in-the-nation primary, though its actual impact often is overshadowed by its legendary power: Since 2000, most of the New Hampshire primary winners have failed to win the White House.
AREA: 9,350 SQ. MI.
GDP: $88 Billion
COLLEGE-EDUCATED: 47.5%
POPULATION: 1,359,711
CAPITAL: Concord
MEDIAN INCOME: $37,094
The state’s natural beauty stands out more for its valleys, rivers, lakes, and mountains than its mere 13 miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline. Its highest peak, Mount Washington, stands at 6,288 feet in the White Mountains, and Lake Winnipesaukee is its best-known inland resort.
Among the 13 original colonies, New Hampshire was the ninth to ratify the U.S. Constitution at statehood in 1788. Historically, New Hampshire's economy depended heavily on paper mills fed by its forests and grain mills powered by its rivers. With the decline of millwork in the 20th century, New Hampshire turned to manufacture for a time.
Today, the old mills and warehouses lining the Merrimack in Manchester have gone high-tech. "Smart manufacturing" and high-tech industries account for the largest sector of the state’s economy today, much of this concentrated along the seacoast and Merrimack and Upper Valleys.
New Hampshire Rankings
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This information and statistics will help you to choose a new place to live according to your requirements, abilities, and needs
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5 - Idaho
Idaho is as well known for its potatoes, trout and precious stones as it is for its unspoiled, rugged landscapes.
AREA: 83,568 SQ. MI.
GDP: $84 Billion
COLLEGE EDUCATED: 39.4%
POPULATION: 1,787,065
CAPITAL: Boise
MEDIAN INCOME: $29,567
Snowy mountains, deep valleys, lakes, and rivers cover the Gem State, which is twice the size of the six New England states combined. A Rocky Mountain state, Idaho is bordered by Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, and a small portion of Canada’s British Columbia.
Though Spaniards began exploring the Northwest in 1592, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were the first European-Americans to enter Idaho in 1805. During the Gold Rush of the mid-1800s, miners flocked to California and Idaho, where they found gold, copper, and lead.
In the mid-19th century, Union and Confederate supporters fleeing the Civil War went west to Idaho, and Mormons flocked to the region to avoid persecution. Today more Mormons live in Idaho than in almost any other state.
President Abraham Lincoln created the Idaho Territory, which included much of the land that would become Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. In 1868, modern Idaho was carved from the territory, and in 1890 it became the 43rd state.
Idaho’s economy shifted away from mining toward agriculture after it achieved statehood. Some former mining towns began to host resorts, such as the Sun Valley ski resort, which opened in 1936.
The $3 billion tourism industry plays a key role in Idaho’s economy, and major industries in the state include advanced manufacturing, aerospace, computer technology, innovation, energy, food production, and recreation technology.
Idaho Rankings
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Idaho in Photos
This information and statistics will help you to choose a new place to live according to your requirements, abilities, and needs
Economy
