State Rankings

All 52 states ranked by quality of life composite score.

Rank State Population Median Income Median Home Unemployment Poverty Commute Score
#1 Minnesota 5,739,445 $89,062 $329,300 4.1% 9.3% 23 min 70.1
#2 New Hampshire 1,394,868 $99,031 $402,500 3.3% 7.2% 27 min 68.9
#3 Utah 3,392,331 $95,166 $489,400 3.6% 8.5% 22 min 68.7
#4 Nebraska 1,978,707 $76,475 $238,600 3.0% 10.6% 19 min 67.5
#5 North Dakota 784,841 $76,657 $249,900 2.8% 10.8% 18 min 66.8
#6 Iowa 3,210,507 $75,059 $208,000 3.6% 11.1% 20 min 65
#7 Wisconsin 5,914,872 $77,485 $266,500 3.2% 10.6% 22 min 64.9
#8 Vermont 647,106 $81,203 $316,600 3.6% 10.1% 24 min 64.4
#9 South Dakota 907,428 $75,081 $257,400 2.9% 11.9% 18 min 62.2
#10 Maryland 6,206,011 $103,678 $419,900 4.9% 9.4% 31 min 62.1
#11 Kansas 2,947,197 $74,275 $217,200 3.9% 11.3% 20 min 61.4
#12 Colorado 5,862,189 $95,470 $539,400 4.6% 9.4% 25 min 60.9
#13 Alaska 735,706 $92,788 $352,900 5.9% 10.1% 19 min 60.4
#14 Virginia 8,705,170 $93,170 $383,700 4.3% 9.9% 27 min 60.3
#15 Wyoming 582,397 $76,176 $309,700 3.7% 10.5% 19 min 59.2
#16 Connecticut 3,624,508 $95,781 $366,900 5.6% 10.0% 27 min 58.3
#17 Idaho 1,934,262 $77,800 $418,600 3.7% 10.6% 22 min 56.4
#18 Hawaii 1,445,235 $100,389 $839,100 4.9% 10.0% 26 min 56.2
#19 Massachusetts 7,044,056 $103,960 $562,100 5.2% 10.0% 29 min 54.9
#20 Washington 7,816,116 $98,141 $564,600 5.1% 9.9% 27 min 54.3
#21 New Jersey 9,343,809 $103,556 $454,400 6.3% 9.7% 31 min 53.6
#22 Maine 1,387,817 $74,733 $296,600 3.8% 10.7% 25 min 53.5
#23 Delaware 1,021,191 $84,954 $352,000 5.1% 10.4% 26 min 52.9
#24 Indiana 6,851,073 $71,957 $218,200 4.3% 12.3% 24 min 52.8
#25 Illinois 12,694,798 $83,390 $263,300 5.8% 11.8% 28 min 51.3
#26 Pennsylvania 13,018,639 $77,971 $254,500 5.3% 11.7% 26 min 50.8
#27 Montana 1,116,875 $72,509 $375,800 3.6% 11.5% 19 min 50.7
#28 Ohio 11,810,293 $71,389 $214,800 4.8% 13.3% 23 min 50
#29 Missouri 6,191,814 $70,702 $230,300 4.0% 12.6% 24 min 49.8
#30 Rhode Island 1,101,801 $87,796 $404,200 5.8% 11.2% 26 min 48.9
#31 Oregon 4,254,293 $83,011 $477,600 5.4% 11.9% 23 min 46
#32 Arizona 7,378,838 $79,964 $394,500 5.1% 12.5% 25 min 45.8
#33 Texas 30,188,424 $78,476 $283,800 5.3% 13.8% 27 min 45
#34 Oklahoma 4,028,634 $65,039 $199,800 5.0% 15.3% 22 min 44.5
#35 Michigan 10,077,761 $72,875 $231,600 5.7% 13.2% 24 min 44.1
#36 North Carolina 10,730,404 $72,388 $288,900 4.7% 13.0% 25 min 43.5
#37 Arkansas 3,049,391 $60,773 $188,000 4.9% 16.0% 23 min 42.1
#38 California 39,287,377 $99,122 $734,700 6.6% 12.0% 29 min 41.3
#39 Georgia 10,940,407 $77,353 $303,300 5.1% 13.4% 28 min 41.1
#40 District of Columbia 681,294 $109,870 $737,100 6.3% 15.4% 30 min 40.2
#41 Alabama 5,086,768 $63,999 $209,900 4.7% 15.6% 26 min 39.8
#42 Kentucky 4,534,824 $63,726 $205,600 4.9% 16.1% 24 min 39.8
#43 Florida 22,416,077 $74,568 $359,000 4.8% 12.6% 28 min 38.8
#44 South Carolina 5,296,225 $69,324 $259,000 4.9% 14.1% 26 min 38.3
#45 Nevada 3,184,612 $78,260 $435,400 7.0% 12.4% 25 min 38.2
#46 Tennessee 7,066,383 $69,595 $286,700 4.7% 13.8% 26 min 37.5
#47 New York 19,852,366 $85,974 $423,800 6.4% 14.0% 33 min 35.7
#48 West Virginia 1,778,373 $59,608 $162,600 5.4% 16.7% 27 min 34.4
#49 Mississippi 2,946,779 $56,447 $169,800 5.8% 18.9% 26 min 32.4
#50 New Mexico 2,120,246 $64,059 $248,100 6.0% 17.8% 24 min 31.3
#51 Louisiana 4,611,961 $60,756 $216,500 6.3% 18.9% 26 min 27.3
#52 Puerto Rico 3,234,309 $26,297 $131,500 10.7% 40.5% 28 min 15.4