California placed 35th best state in the United States in a new ranking on Wednesday, showing it still has work to give residents the services they need, according to the report.
Rather than focus on any one issue, U.S. News & World Report pulled together dozens of measures covering health care, education, the economy, infrastructure, public safety, opportunity and other factors that shape everyday life for its 2026 Best States Rankings.
To determine the rankings, categories were weighted differently according to a public survey on key priorities. The most critical areas identified were healthcare and education, receiving the highest importance.
These were followed by state economies, infrastructure, and citizen opportunity. Fiscal stability, crime and corrections, and the natural environment were also factored in, with fiscal stability carrying slightly more weight than the latter two.
Nearly 40 million people live in California, making it the most populous state in the country, according to the report.
It has a gross domestic product of $4.3 million, and the median household income is $100,149.
It's also home to some of the country's best universities in Stanford, Berkeley and UCLA, and beautiful landscapes, such as Yosemite National Park.
Still, the state ranks in the lower half for 6 out of the 8 categories in the report.
The state ranked dead last in opportunity, as the cost of living index is much higher than the national average. Poverty rates, meanwhile, are just below the national average, according to the rankings.
The Golden State also had a high juvenile and violent crime rate, bringing it to 36th place for crime and corrections.
California only bucked one national trend: health. It ranked 7th overall in health, due to its healthcare access and quality, according to the report.
Population without health insurance, preventable hospital admissions and obesity rates were all below the national average, the report shows.
Here's where California ranked in the following categories:
Crime and corrections: No. 36
Education: No. 25
Health care: No. 7
Natural environment: No. 27
Economy: No. 26
Fiscal stability: No. 44
Infrastructure: No. 32
Opportunity: No. 50
The top 10 states in the U.S. News ranking are, respectively, Utah, South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Idaho, Florida, Washington and Vermont.
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