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Last year, only around 8.4 percent of Americans moved, which represents a historic low for our restlessness, perhaps because of income blows due to Covid (as well as the plethora of home improvement projects that made us appreciate home more!). But now as 2022 is more than halfway gone, some are perhaps thinking of moving before winter settles in. And choosing which state to live in is an important decision.
Do you crave access to the ocean? Are you more interested in mountains, prairies or deserts? Are you a city person or someone who doesn’t want a neighbor within 10 miles? WalletHub has studied the data to compare all 50 states across 52 comparison points of ‘livability,’ from housing costs and income growth to education standards, safety, quality of life and the quality of hospital care. The personal finance website has come up with a ranked list of the top 20 best states to live in for 2022. Here are the results!
The top state is Massachusetts, which ranked first in the nation for education and health, fourth for safety, sixth for quality of life, and 10th for its economy. It did rank a low 44th out of 50 states for affordability, but its overall score was enough to eke out a win over the closely-second next state. Besides a smarty-pants populace, Massachusetts has a strong four seasons, good high-tech industry and plenty of agriculture, fishing and other trade. Plus Boston and baked beans!? Time to move to Mass!
New Jersey was scant points behind Massachusetts and first in the nation for safety. It was ranked fifth for education and health, seventh for quality of life, 39th for economy and a not-quite-the-worst-but-close ranking of 48th for affordability. New Jersey’s got a grip on wonderful beaches, diverse culture, scenic highways and lots of great food. Time to join Bruce Springsteen?
The third best state to live in according to the study is New York. This state won overall for quality of life and was in second place for safety, 16th for education and health, 37th for economy and 46th for affordability. Besides the world-class destination of New York City, this state has tons of state parks and natural beauty, great museums and one of the world’s most famous waterfalls.
Idaho pulled off fourth place without any top scores: sixth for safety, ninth for economy, 22nd for quality of life, 29th for education and health… but 13th for affordability: the first state in the top four to break out of the 40s.
Idaho tied with Virginia for fourth but is listed as fifth; they both have the total score of 58.73. Virginia, like Idaho, was unable to pull off a top score in any of the categories, but came in 11th for safety, 15th for education and health, 16th for affordability, 20th for quality of life, and 23rd for economy.
Here are the top 20:
2. New Jersey
3. New York
4. Idaho
5. Virginia
7. Florida
8. Wyoming
9. Minnesota
10. Wisconsin
11. Maine
12. Vermont
13. Utah
14. Pennsylvania
15. Illinois
16. Iowa
17. Maryland
18. North Dakota
19. Montana
20. Colorado
Interesting takeaways from this study: Maine has the fewest violent crimes per capita, while Alaska has the most. New Hampshire has the lowest percentage of people living in poverty, while Mississippi has the highest. Workers in South Dakota love their commute, which is only an average of 17 minutes, as compared to New York, where drivers spend 34 minutes getting to work. Alabama is the most affordable state, and North Dakota wins for its economy.
In 50th place is New Mexico for safety, Alaska for quality of life, Illinois for its economy, Mississippi for education and health, and California for affordability.
For the full report and your state’s ranking, click here.
Want to compare notes with the best US cities to live in? Click here.