How Great is the Garden State?

We may not be New Hampshire, but at least we beat out New York.

Politico recently named New Jersey the 12th best state in the country.

The political website ranked all 50 states based on 14 state rankings from sources like the Census Bureau, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FBI, and other factors including high school graduation rates, per capita income, crime rates and life expectancy. The website admits that its approach was not scientific.

New Jersey was ranked among the top dozen states in the nation, with New Hampshire garnering the top spot and Minnesota, Vermont, Utah and Massachusetts rounding out the top five.

While the Garden State scored among the top 10 states for lowest poverty, wealthiest per capita and lowest obesity, it fell to the bottom of the ratings for lowest unemployment (ranked 42 and just outscoring Kentucky and Mississippi) and highest home ownership (ranked right below North Dakota at 37).

New Jersey also ranked among the top 10 states with highest math and reading scores and the highest percentage employed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics jobs.