MI Ranked Bottom 10 In Best States Report: Here’s Why

Michigan's No. 46 ranking shows it still has work to give residents the services they need, according to a new 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.

Where Michigan Shines

Michigan's highest ranking came in health care at No. 24, its only top 25 ranking in the list. The state's lowest ranking came in education at No. 45, and didn't fare too well in infrastructure and its economy either.

Here’s where Michigan ranked in the following categories:

Crime and corrections: No. 32

Education: No. 45

Health care: No. 24

Natural environment: No. X

Economy: No. 43

Fiscal stability: No. 38

Infrastructure: No. 42

Opportunity: No. 33

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.