New Hampshire Ranks as Third-Best Place to Live: Study

A new report on the best states to live in says people tend to rely on subjective factors – like weather – to rank their home states. But 24/7 Wall St. recently reviewed three fairly objective statewide measures and found that New Hampshire comes near the top.

If weather was included, we probably would have lost.

24/7 Wall St. published a report this week that looked at the poverty rate, educational attainment and life expectancy at birth to determine the quality of life in each state. According to the site, New Hampshire has the lowest poverty rate and one of the lowest unemployment rates.

• The October unemployment rate was 2.8 percent, the second lowest in the country.
• The poverty rate is 8.2 percent. Ideally it would be 0, but the rate is lower than any other state.
• Massachusetts residents' life expectancy at birth is 79.9 years old, the seventh highest in the nation, signifying a healthy state.

The top five best states to live in according to the list are Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Minnesota and New Jersey.

The lowest ranked states were Mississippi, West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama and Kentucky.

Click here to read the full report.