Here's How New Jersey Ranks Among Best Places To Live

New Jersey has been ranked the 6th best place to live in the country, according to a new report that looked at three socioeconomic factors. The financial news and opinion site 24/7 Wall St. ranked every state and published the results Friday, Nov. 2. The rankings were based on an index that measured poverty rate, life expectancy at birth and the percentage of adults who have at least a bachelor’s degree.

These metrics, the authors said, effectively sum up quality of life when it comes to health and prosperity. New Jersey fell between Minnesota and Hawaii in the rankings. Here’s what the authors found for our state:

• 10-yr. population change: +3.7 percent (12th smallest increase)
• Annual unemployment: 4.6 percent (17th highest)
• Poverty rate: 10.0 percent (7th lowest)
• Life expectancy at birth: 80 years (10th longest)

Here’s what the authors wrote:

"New Jersey is the second most affluent state on this list behind Maryland. The median annual household income of $80,088 exceeds the national figure of $60,336 by almost $20,000. In New Jersey, 16.7% of households earn at least $200,000 annually, the largest share of any state and well above the comparable national share of 9.0%. In addition, only 10.0% of New Jersey residents live in poverty, the seventh lowest share of all states and below the 13.4% of Americans that live in poverty nationwide."

Massachusetts was ranked the No. 1 place to live in America. While there are many reasons the Bay State topped the list, the authors highlighted its status as the most educated state in the country, with more than 43 percent of adults holding at least a bachelor’s degree.

“This high level of educational attainment sets these residents up for higher paying positions in their career,” the report said.

Massachusetts also had the fourth highest median household income at $77,385 a year and boasts a poverty rate of 10.5 percent, well below the national rate of 13.4 percent.

Here are the top 10 states to live in, according to 24/7 Wall St.

1. Massachusetts
2. New Hampshire
3. Connecticut
4. Colorado
5. Minnesota
6. New Jersey
7. Hawaii
8. Maryland
9. Vermont
10. Utah

On the flip side, several states in the South ranked as the worst places to live. Mississippi was ranked dead last with slow population growth and high unemployment, as well as the highest poverty rate and shortest life expectancy in the country.

“Mississippi is the worst state to live in because it ranks last in a number of important measures that determine overall quality of life in a state,” the authors wrote.

The state’s life expectancy — 74.9 years — was more than four years below the national life expectancy, the authors noted. This is likely due in large part to “suboptimal access to and quality of health care,” they said.

Mississippi also had the fewest primary care physicians per capita and the third highest rate of preventable hospitalizations.

West Virginia, Louisiana, Alabama and Kentucky rounded out the bottom five states, followed by Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Tennessee and South Carolina.

24/7 Wall St. said rates for poverty and bachelor degree attainment came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 American Community Survey. Life expectancy figures came from The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and were from 2014, the latest year data was available. Unemployment rates came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and were yearly for 2017.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

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