New Hampshire Is Second-Best State In The Country: U.S. News

This is one second-place finish to be proud of. U.S. News & World Report, which Tuesday released its third annual ranking of the best states in America, said New Hampshire was the second-best state in the country. The Granite State, which jumped three spots from last year's rankings, trailed only Washington.

New Hampshire got to the second spot by leading the country in opportunity and crime and corrections, as well as top-10 rankings for natural environment, education and fiscal stability, according to U.S. News. The state lagged in infrastructure, particularly for energy and transportation.

"Today in the Granite State, more people are working than ever before, business taxes are at their lowest this century, and a child’s neighborhood no longer defines their chance for a quality education," Governor Chris Sununu said in a statement Tuesday morning. "Our model is a success story and opportunities abound. The sky is the limit here in New Hampshire, and we are just getting started."

Among other New England states: Vermont was fifth, Massachusetts eighth, Connecticut 21st, Rhode Island 26th and Maine 32d.

Here's how New Hampshire ranked across all categories:

• Health Care: 16
  • Access: 13
  • Public Health: 3
  • Quality: 19
• Education: 5
  • Higher Ed: 30
  • Pre K-12: 2
• Economy: 13
  • Business Environment: 22
  • Growth: 36
  • Employment: 36
• Opportunity: 1
  • Affordability: 34
  • Equality: 21
  • Economic Opportunity: 6
• Infrastructure: 31
  • Energy: 37
  • Broadband: 24
  • Transportation: 38
• Crime & Corrections: 1
  • Corrections: 2
  • Public Safety: 3
• Fiscal Stability: 10
  • Long-term: 48
  • Short-term: 48
• Natural Environment: 4
  • Air and Water Quality: 5
  • Pollution: 31

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.)