Opportunity, Limited Crime Make New Hampshire A 'Best State': U.S. News & World Report

CONCORD, NH — A few factors Americans consider when deciding which state to call home are good schools, health care access, and job opportunities.

Some states, however, do a better job than others when it comes to serving residents and providing for communities, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual best states ranking released Tuesday.

New Hampshire ranked 6th out of 50 states.

The 2023 rankings show that Utah is the No. 1 state in the country. The state earned the spot because it ranked among the top 20 states in seven categories.

Following Utah in the overall rankings are Washington at No. 2 and Idaho at No. 3.

U.S. News ranks each state using more than 70 metrics across eight categories: health care, education, economy, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, crime and corrections, and natural environment. The state’s overall ranking is based on the weighted average of the state’s rankings in the eight categories.

According to researchers, some categories, like education and health care, are given more weight in the rankings because they matter more to residents.

Here’s how New Hampshire ranked in the eight categories:

• Health care: 17th
• Education: 19th
• Economy: 4th
• Infrastructure: 30th
• Opportunity: 1st
• Fiscal stability: 41st
• Crime and corrections: 1st
• Natural environment: 8th

Top-performing states in each category include:

• Health care: Hawaii
• Education: Florida
• Economy: Utah
• Infrastructure: Minnesota
• Opportunity: New Hampshire
• Fiscal stability: Utah
• Crime and corrections: New Hampshire
• Natural environment: Hawaii

This year’s report noted the national mortality rate increased by 23 percent, rising from 715.2 per 100,000 in 2019 to 879.7 per 100,000 two years later. Researchers said the leading cause of death in states was heart disease, cancer, and COVID-19, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hawaii had the lowest mortality rate in 2021, while West Virginia had the highest.

This year’s report also revealed systemic flaws in equality by state. Women are 90 percent as likely as men to work in all states. For every $1 earned by white workers, Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and other people of color only make 63.9 cents.

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