Safe and with 'Very High Incomes': See Where Connecticut Ranks Among Best States to Live In

Connecticut may be saddled with big deficits, possible tax increases and an unpopular governor, but none of that mattered to the folks at the financial website 24/7 Wall St., which this week named Connecticut the second-best state to live in.

The website "devised an index composed of three socioeconomic measures for each state: poverty rate, the percentage of adults who have at least a bachelor’s degree, and life expectancy at birth" to come up with its ranking of America's best.

And to that end, our neighbors to the north, Massachusetts, topped the list as the best state to live in. Click here to review more of the methodology.

"Based on social and economic conditions, including measures of educational attainment, poverty, and health, Massachusetts is the nation’s best state in which to live," writes authors Thomas C. Frohlich, Michael B. Sauter and Samuel Stebbins. "More than two out of every five adults have at least a bachelor’s degree, by far the highest proportion of any state. Because a college degree tends to open economic opportunities, the high level of education across the state’s population helps lower the incidence of poverty. With a poverty rate of 11.5%, poverty is considerably less common in Massachusetts than it is across the nation."

By comparison, Connecticut has an annual household median income of $71,346, the fifth highest in the nation, and a poverty rate of 10.5 percent, the sixth lowest.

"Like the vast majority of states on the higher end of our list, Connecticut is also relatively safe," according to 24/7 Wall St. "There were 219 violent crimes reported for every 100,000 state residents in 2015, among the lowest rates of all states."

After Massachusetts and Connecticut, rounding out the top five states to live in are #3 New Hampshire, #4 Minnesota and #5 New Jersey.

On the wrong end of the spectrum, the five worst states to live in are led by (if leading this category is an honor) #50 Mississippi, #49 West Virginia, #48 Louisiana, #47 Arkansas and #46 Alabama.

Mississippi's poverty rate, for example, is above 20 percent, according to 24/7 Wall St., a strong indicator that the state's quality of life is greatly diminished for its residents.

To view the complete ranking of "America's Best States to Live In" click here.

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