Here's How CT Ranks Among Best States In Country: U.S. News

CONNECTICUT — Washington is the No. 1 state in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report’s third annual best states rankings. Connecticut ranked in the middle on U.S. News’ list. Its rankings in individual categories were a mixed bag with some being among the best and others the worst for states.

Connecticut's lowest scores were predictably in the areas of economy, fiscal stability and infrastructure. According to U.S. News, Washington’s economy is “booming” thanks to companies like Amazon and Microsoft that are based in the state. Washington also ranks in the top five for health care, economy, infrastructure and education, U.S. News says.

“We are thrilled that U.S. News & World Report has named Washington the No. 1 state in the country,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement shared by U.S. News. “This confirms what we, in Washington have always known, that our state is great for businesses, workers, and investments, coupled with natural beauty and innovative, creative people.

“I am pleased to share Washington’s success with the world.”

Connecticut ranked 21st on U.S. News’ list overall.

Here’s how Connecticut performed in individual categories:

Health Care: 3
Education: 12
Economy: 30
Opportunity: 33
Infrastructure: 46
Crime & Corrections: 7
Fiscal Stability: 46
Natural Environment: 6

Gov. Ned Lamont said the U.S. News ranking should be a wake-up call to improve infrastructure and fiscal stability in the state.

“Connecticut is a great state to live, raise a family, and work, and we want to do everything we can to improve the overall quality of life for the people who call this state home and for the businesses that support our economy,” Lamont said. “But if we want to improve – if we want to grow jobs, grow our economy, and get our state on a path of success – we need to fix our transportation system and create more stability in our finances."

A national survey conducted by U.S. News found that just 27 percent of respondents generally agree that their state is doing all it can to help residents prosper. The survey also found that 52 percent of respondents are generally dissatisfied about the quality of education in their state, 48 percent are dissatisfied about the quality of infrastructure and 42 percent are dissatisfied about the quality of health care.

Respondents also agreed that education, infrastructure and health care are the most underfunded by state governments.

To compile the rankings, U.S. News looked at 71 metrics under eight categories. The eight rankings were weighted based on the average of three years data from a national survey that asked respondents to prioritize each category in their state. Health care, education and economy received the top three weights in the methodology. After U.S. News calculated category scores and rankings, it compiled overall rankings by creating weighted averages of the individual category rankings. (You can read the full methodology here.)